Conducting a business interruption readiness check does not belong to the most pleasant of tasks. As a small business owner, you need to be aware of the importance of business continuity and understand the way interruptions can make or break your company. A disaster can make you go bankrupt, but it can also prove your resilience and superiority when compared to the unprepared competition.
The team of experts behind Continuity2 BCMS agree that the absolute basics such as business continuity software, frequent data backups to the cloud, and having the right IT infrastructure to handle sudden disconnections should be at the very top of your readiness checklist, but there are other things that managers frequently overlook.
Business Interruption Readiness Checklist
Read these points to learn more about what should go into your full business interruption readiness checklist.
Have a Disaster Recovery Plan
Disaster recovery is probably the single most important aspect of business continuity and preparedness. No amount of other preparations, even business interruption insurance, will fully help if your disaster recovery plan is not fully functional. The plan should be tested regularly and should account for all possible disasters.
The plan should also include a step-by-step procedure on how to resume operations after the disaster. This will allow you to quickly resume your activities even if you do not have internet access or are unable to reach your employees. It will also help keep your employees calm in an emergency situation, as they will be aware of what to do next.
Establish a Business Continuity Software
Business continuity software helps automate the disaster recovery process, ensuring that your company can continue working even when your operations are interrupted. These business continuity software solutions are tailored for all kinds of companies and include different features.
These applications can be used for regular backups, making sure that data is safely stored offsite. If your business depends on physical offsite media storage, rather than cloud storage, Corodata offers custom offsite media storage services for your data on magnetic tape, cartridges, optical media, and other types of physical backups. They can also automatically detect an interruption and initiate procedures to ensure that operations can resume without any delays. Additionally, some of these applications provide data loss prevention functionality, helping prevent data from leaking during a disruption.
Data Protection and Backups
One thing is for certain – data loss and downtime are always going to be imminent, no matter how prepared you are. The only way to survive it is by protecting your sensitive data from getting lost or corrupted, making sure it is backed up regularly, and an offsite copy of this backup stored in a secure location.
Technology has changed the way that we work and communicate. We rely on our computers and mobile devices for almost everything we do, which makes it very easy to lose everything in an instant. Having regular backups is critical for businesses, but it is not enough. Your backups should be stored offsite and should be easily accessible even when there is no internet connection available.
Cloud storage providers offer fast, reliable storage servers and a large number of cloud services to choose from. These cloud backup providers can help you store your data offsite in secure databases and can help you restore your data even if your entire IT infrastructure is destroyed by a disaster.
Prepare Your Employees
Make sure that everyone understands what they need to do in case of an emergency. You need to make sure that each employee has easy access to critical information about the company, such as a phone number or email address of another employee who can help them get in touch with the right people. You also need to ensure that your staff knows exactly what the procedure is if they experience an emergency at home or have to leave work early due to an accident or personal issue. This way, your employees will be able to act appropriately when something happens, which is very important for your company’s productivity and reputation.
Regular training is another essential part of keeping your business prepared for any eventuality. You need to make sure that your employees know how to operate the devices you have on-site, such as fire alarms or other equipment. You might even want to teach them some first aid techniques so they can take care of themselves or other people in case of an emergency situation. Make sure that everyone is fully comfortable with using whatever resources are available on site.
Conduct Regular Disaster Scenarios Exercises
Many businesses have never been faced with a serious disaster such as a fire or flood. These events can occur at any time, so it is best to be prepared for them before they actually happen. Conducting regular exercises is one of the best ways to prepare for disasters and learn how to respond in the event of a crisis.
Create an Emergency Communication Plan
Disasters happen suddenly and cut off all communication channels with employees and customers. In the case of a disaster, you will need to make sure that everyone knows what to do and where to go in order to remain safe. This communication plan needs to include all employees including those who work remotely.
Conclusion
There is no room for hesitation when it comes to business interruption readiness. A disaster is not something you can predict or prepare for, and you need to be ready for it at all times. If you are not sure where to start, use a checklist to make sure that all the basics have been covered.
It is not enough to just set up a disaster recovery plan and hope for the best. You need to actually test it out and make sure that it works as expected. The only way to do this is to simulate an emergency situation and see how your employees react. In the end, you will be glad you did it.
