The Benefits of Disaster Recovery for a Company
Disaster recovery for a company should not be overlooked. For businesses big and small, disasters come in many forms. It could be as malicious and targeted as a cyber attack, or as unpredictable as a power cut. Either way, the result is the same. Your business data can no longer be accessed and your operations grind to a halt. Your profitability takes an enormous hit as productivity grinds to a halt.
Sooner or later, your business is bound to experience downtime. The inevitability of a disruption begs the question – what if you could plan ahead? Or better yet, what if you could avoid a disaster all together?
As our modern, fast-paced digital landscape moves and evolves, large and small businesses alike are becoming increasingly reliant on their digital assets and IT infrastructure to get through the day. In response, many are turning to bespoke disaster recovery strategies to cement continuity in their day-to-day operations, boost productivity and nurture growth.
So what is disaster recovery? And what are the benefits of disaster recovery for a company?
What is disaster recovery for a company?
As the name suggests, disaster recovery services are a business or organisation’s process of regaining access to its digital assets and IT infrastructure following a disruption. Disruptions can range from natural disasters such as flooding or an earthquake, to cyber attacks and attempted data theft. Disaster recovery is a crucial component of business continuity. In fact, it can be the difference between regaining access quickly or extended costly downtime
How does disaster recovery work?
The process of disaster recovery often relies on the replication of data in an offsite backup. This backup will be stored in a specialised environment away from your centralised office or workspace. If your servers go down as a result of equipment failure, cyber attack or natural disaster, your business needs to be able to access and recover your digital assets and data as quickly as possible from the second location where the backup is stored. This is why it’s also paramount to back up your server, network and systems. Ideally, you’ll be able to transfer everything to a remote location. This means your operations can continue in the event of a disruption.
The advantages of disaster recovery for a company
There is nothing worse for a business than experiencing a disruption without a proper plan in place. The result ranges from minor downtime to utter chaos that can have a lasting impact on your operations beyond the time it takes to regain access. From expensive break-fix IT services to the theft of sensitive personal information, a disaster can have a dramatic effect on both your productivity and reputation as a business.
Putting a plan in place to curb the impact of a disruption is essential to large and small businesses alike.
Business continuity
During a disruption, every second that your operations are offline and unusable is detrimental to your business. Depending on your sector, disasters can cause irreparable damage to your reputation not to mention your profitability. Perhaps most pertinent, a disruption can also directly impact the productivity of your staff.
Having a disaster recovery plan for your company will ensure even in the event of a disruption, you are able to quickly regain access to your digital system and continue as normal. This cements continuity in your operations, empowers your employees to get their tasks done uninterrupted and nurtures business growth.
Security
Like it or not, cyber attacks, particularly ransomware attacks, are on the rise. This is why incorporating an offsite backup and disaster recovery strategy into your daily operations is so important. Without a properly thought-out plan, your business runs the risk of falling victim to a cyber attack where your sensitive data and information could be stolen.
Ensuring a regular offsite backup is incorporated into your disaster recovery plan ensures that even if your business is the victim of a cyber attack, the impact will be limited. This is because your digital assets, data and information will be kept away from your centralised work space in a secure, purpose-built environment.
In addition, these specialist purpose-built environments often include enhanced security meaning unauthorised access is harder for criminals to achieve.
Customer retention
Whatever sector your business operates within, customer trust should be of the utmost priority. After all, if your customers can’t trust you with their personal information and other important data, why should they trust your business or the services you’re offering?
A disruption in your operations, particularly a cyber attack, can result in wary customers who don’t fully trust your business. They may question how their data was stored, and just how reliable your business really is. The longer your operations are disrupted, the more frustrated they will become. Your customer may be able to excuse a momentary lapse in your services but if you’re offline for days at a time, the reputation you spent years carefully cultivating could crumble in an instant.
One of the many benefits of implementing a bespoke disaster recovery plan is ensuring your staff are equipped with the information they need to handle client questions. This ensures your customers are kept up-to-date and portrays your business as well-organised and fully prepared for disruption.
Cost-effective
One of the most catastrophic downsides of a disruption is costs. From penalties resulting from the compromise of sensitive data to a loss of productivity and profitability, it goes without saying that disasters can be incredibly costly affairs for large and small businesses alike. Ensuring you have a bespoke disaster recovery strategy in place can be the difference between extended, costly downtime and getting back online and thriving in no time at all.
When working with an IT support company, you will also receive proactive management. This means your IT service will be able to resolve issues in your digital assets and IT infrastructure before they escalate, which cements continuity in your operations and can even prevent a disruption all together.
Heightened productivity
Another benefit of having a disaster recovery plan in place is the cementation of continuity and resulting boost in productivity.
One of the advantages of having a disaster recovery plan is that your employees have clear steps to follow that can get you back online as soon as possible as well as reduce panic. In fact, a thorough, well-thought out disaster recovery strategy will ensure your team know exactly what their role is in keeping important data and information secure. They will also know how to react during a disruption which can improve efficiency in the event a disaster does occur.
How does my business implement a disaster recovery strategy?
The easiest and most simple way to implement a disaster recovery plan within your business operations is through a professional IT support company. In our modern, fast-paced world, both large and small businesses alike are turning to managed IT support for assistance with their technology. From internet connectivity to implementing a bespoke disaster recovery strategy, there’s no denying the benefits of outsourcing the management of your IT infrastructure and digital assets to a dedicated service. This is especially pertinent if you’re hoping to boost productivity and maintain continuity in your day-to-day operations – a professional IT service can help you get there.
Can I just train my employees?
Although training your current employees may seem like the logical decision, do you really want your employees to forget about the jobs you hired them to do so they can go about addressing your technical issues? Hiring an IT support company means your staff will have more time to focus on their own tasks which can ease tension within your team and boost productivity.
So what other benefits does an IT support company offer?
Flexible & cost-effective
Using the services of an outsourced IT management agency can dramatically cut your overhead expenditures. While hiring an in-house IT person typically costs a business an annual salary plus perks, outsourcing the management of your digital assets and infrastructure to a professional IT management company will provide you and your team with a fully employed staff of technical specialists – at a fraction of the cost.
Furthermore, many professional IT support companies offer flexible payment plans, such as short-term contracts. This means that even small businesses with a fraction of the personnel and earnings of a large corporation can benefit from IT support.
A single point of contact
Do your employees call you every time there’s a technical problem? Or worse, scramble and panic? Don’t fret. Your IT support provider will provide your team with a single point of contact in the case of a crash or disruption. This heightened level of accessibility can boost your productivity as well as improve the performance of your technology, since both will benefit from a quick and effective response to any issues.
Resilient infrastructure
To get through the day, your business is most likely reliant on your IT infrastructure and digital assets. An IT support business can proactively monitor your system and keep everything under constant surveillance, resulting in a more secure and resilient infrastructure. This will ensure issues and problems with your hardware are resolved before they escalate, resulting in a more resilient IT infrastructure for your business.
Service level agreement (SLA)
One of the biggest advantages of working with a professional IT support company is a dedicated service level agreement. As the name suggests, a service level agreement is the contract between your business and your IT support company. It puts into writing the level of service they will provide to you, your team and your company. A service level agreement is also known as an SLA and essentially means your IT support provider is contractually obliged to provide your business with a set response and resolution time.
If you’re hoping to implement a disaster recovery plan within your day-to-day operations, having a service level agreement with your IT support provider will ensure your strategy is well-thought-out, thorough and efficient. Your IT service will also be legally obligated to get your business back up and running within an agreed time.
Disaster recovery for a company at Acronyms IT Support
From reducing overhead costs to ensuring a faster recovery in the event of a crash or disruption, no business, big or small, can afford to neglect their disaster recovery strategy.
No business wants to think about let alone pre-empt a disruption in their operations. However, in the fast-paced, digital world we live in, it’s never been more important to implement a disaster recovery strategy. Having the right plan in place can be the difference between just getting through or thriving.
Looking to implement a bespoke disaster recovery strategy within your operations? Since 2003, the team at Acronyms IT Support has been helping large and small businesses alike with their disaster recovery. Our experienced team of engineers, consultants and technicians offer a wide array of innovative digital solutions, including the implementation of disaster recovery plans. We also offer other services such as cyber security and managed IT services. Our knowledgeable staff can assess your business operations and implement the bespoke, innovative disaster recovery plan you need to cement operations in your day-to-day operations.
If you have any questions about implementing disaster recovery strategy within your business operations, contact Acronyms IT Support today.
