Four Disaster Recovery Tips For South Florida Businesses

Every business needs a disaster recovery plan. For organizations in South Florida this is especially true. Don’t let the next big storm destroy your company’s most important data. So, how would your disaster recovery hold up in a catastrophe? Here are 4 tips to follow to help prevent a catastrophic data loss.

Test Your Recovery Plan – If you haven’t or can’t test your DR plan then you’re putting your organization at risk. When a disaster strikes you could find yourself in a bad situation. Testing can make a big difference in determining how quickly you can get back up and running or if you can get back up and running at all. Add this layer of protection if you can and make sure to test your plan at regular intervals. If you don’t have the ability to do this yourself look to an outside IT provider for help.

Update your DR Methods – If your systems crash, can you get your most important parts of it up and running again. Here is the big question: if there is a system crash, how soon can you get your urgent systems up and running again? Can it be done quickly? If it takes you over 24 hours to get back up then you need to strongly consider upgrading your backup and recovery plans. Any business that answers over 24 hours needs to strongly consider upgrading. You are potentially losing profit for every minute of downtime.

Build a Complete DR plan – Make sure your critical data is backed up. Too often companies look at DR like an insurance plan. They only consider it a necessity when something goes wrong.  If your plan doesn’t have all of your data covered then you could be losing critical information. Don’t take this risk.

Integrate Your DR Plan with Your Systems – Your goal should be to access IT systems and be back up and functioning normally in an hour or less.  Without proper integration you could be losing precious time.

Is your backup and disaster recovery plan lacking? If so, it’s time to seriously reconsider your IT budget in order to make DR planning a priority. One big storm could wipe out years of data.

Comprehensive Business Systems can help you protect your business with experts who have years of experience in disaster recovery planning and implementation. Click here and make the first move to protect your business.

The storms and hurricanes that we endure in South Florida makes it necessary for businesses to prepare for the worst.  25% of businesses that face a major disaster go out of business within 2 years. The Department of Labor estimates that 40% of companies who go through a major catastrophe end up closing down permanently.

A big part of this failed business equation is data loss. It is expensive and can cripple an organization. If your data isn’t protected the future of your company is at risk.

You may think that you can deal with small amounts of downtime here and there, but those events add up. Think about your downtime over the course of a year. While not a disaster, the accumulated problems are costing you money and time. According to the security company Symantec SMB companies risk from $3,000 to $23,000 per day because of downtime.

These risks can be reduced through a solid back up and disaster recovery plan. More and more, South Florida companies are looking to cloud storage services to provide them with data security at a low cost of ownership.

Cloud backup storage is no longer a luxury that can only be afforded by larger businesses. SMBs are adopting cloud computing as a form of back up to help them minimize downtime and protect their data. The pricing models of cloud allow you to pay a fixed rate annually. Better than that, you pay for what you need. As your storage needs change over time your cloud storage can flex to meet your business growth and development.  You also benefit from the ability to access your data from anywhere. This lets helps in a disaster situation in case your office is unusable.

Don’t face data devastation due to disaster, investigate whether cloud services are right for your data security.

At Comprehensive Business Systems, we understand how to adapt cloud storage solutions to your company’s advantage. Contact us today to gain peace-of-mind by harnessing the power of cloud storage.

 

 

When you’re strolling outside during South Florida’s beautiful “dry” season, it’s hard to think about hurricane season. The fear of another Category 5 storm has instilled the importance of data protection into the hearts of many Florida IT Managers.

As organizations get ready for the inclement weather, now is the perfect time to rev up Disaster Recovery plans that ensure critical information is safeguarded. Here are 3 ways to prevent data loss from drowning your company’s productivity:

• Have you Tested Your Disaster Recovery Plan? Even though testing your disaster recovery plan is simple to do, many companies install Disaster Recover and Data Backup solutions and then never test them. This is truly a false sense of security. In a world where weather-related catastrophes can pop up with little to no warning – surprises aren’t are the last thing you need. Have you tested your DR plan? Testing give you an added layer of security and confidence. Practice restoring critical information it can cut tremendous time off of recoveries should you experience unexpected downtime.
• How complete is your disaster recovery coverage? Are you sure that every piece of your critical data is safely stored away?  Your company’s needs change over time. When is the last time you re-evaluated what was covered under your DR plan. Conversely, it can be expensive to store data that isn’t necessary for day-to-day business functions. A well thought out, updated Disaster Recovery plan will reduce risk and costs by ensuring the correct data is accurately covered.
• Are your transitions and transfers as seamless as possible? Everyone wants to be back up and running as soon as they can when a data outage strikes. One key is enhanced integration between day-to-day IT infrastructures and backup systems. A big part of the battle is safeguarding data, but to maintain profitable business function, you should ensure that daily data transfers and transitions are as seamless as possible.

Avoid being left out in the storm when disaster strikes. Keeping up to date with the latest advancements in Disaster Recovery planning and do what you can to build up your defenses to prevent against future data loss.

Is your Disaster Recovery plan is up to par?  Find out how we help companies in South Florida prepare for worst with our Disaster Recovery Services.