Decision-makers are increasingly recognizing the importance of implementing disaster recovery plans to safeguard their businesses. Whether a storm damages your office, your hardware suddenly fails, or an exploded water pipe floods your office, unpredictable incidents can derail business operations.
Even with Superstorm Sandy and Hurricane Katrina fresh in our minds, a Harris Interactive study of more than 3,000 decision-makers indicates 28 percent of businesses do not have a disaster recovery plan in place. An additional 19 percent aren’t sure if they do. A survey of 600 American small businesses conducted by Alibaba, Vendio and Auctiva indicates 74 percent lack disaster preparedness plans.
The companies without plans in place are gambling with the future of their businesses. According to the National Archives & Records Administration, 93 percent of companies which lost access to their data for 10 or more days in the aftermath of a disaster filed for bankruptcy within a year. This emphasizes the significance of a strong disaster recovery plan.
Conceiving a disaster recovery plan isn’t enough: Periodic testing of your plan will detect any issues with its execution. While a successful test may not offer absolute reassurance, an unsuccessful test certainly indicates the need for an overhaul.
Once a strong disaster recovery plan is in place, its details should be distributed to employees so that everyone knows what to do. All employees should also have a master document with everyone’s contact information. The aforementioned test runs will help familiarize employees with their responsibilities.
With a data center located in Tampa, Hostway knows firsthand the importance of preparing for disasters. Accordingly, Hostway does everything in its power to ensure that data is protected. Should Tampa be hit by a hurricane, Hostway customers can rest assured their business continuity is not at stake.
Prior to each hurricane season, Hostway’s Tampa team reviews its Hurricane Preparedness Guide, refamiliarizing itself with contingency plans for the months ahead. The 10th-floor data centers are protected from any flooding, and their building is constructed to withstand the strongest winds on record.
If a strong storm is coming, Hostway will prepare its facilities to make sure they’re fully stocked with supplies and in tip-top shape. Staff will remain on-site during the storm with a stockpile of food and water. To learn more about how Hostway’s hurricane preparedness plan protects your data, click here.
