Business Continuity – Disaster Recovery

By Dinah Dean, Marketing Manager, RMM Solutions

Given the threat of natural disasters (recent tornados are a good example), employee error, hardware/software malfunctions and malicious viruses, it’s not a question of “if” but rather it’s a question of “when.” 

A few years ago, Gordon Aluminum in Schofield, began developing a zero-downtime disaster recovery program. Unfortunately, disaster didn’t feel like waiting until the plan was fully implemented.  Early one morning, lightning struck the Gordon Aluminum plant. Fueled by a blown main gas valve near the hit, the resulting fire caused more than $8 million in damage, including the complete devastation of the company’s IT infrastructure and phone system.

“Of course our initial concern was making sure nobody was hurt, and then determining if our manufacturing processes were affected. Then when we looked at the business portion of the company, we realized that the bulk of our computing network, our phone system and business systems hardware had been wiped out by fire,” said A.J. Gordon, President, Gordon Aluminum.  “After a moment of panic we got our heads together and called RMM.”

It may shock you to learn that 52% of local companies surveyed indicated that they did not have a disaster recovery plan in place. And yet when asked how long their company could survive a disaster (without major and potentially irreversible damage to their service delivery and customer relations), close to two-thirds of the respondents said 24 hours or less.

Events which force companies to declare disasters

• 91% Power outage
• 77% Hardware error
• 63% Fire
• 58% Flood
• 52% Hurricane
• 44% Software error
• 38% Snow/Wind storms
• 11% Contaminations
• 9%   Burst pipes
• 7%   Forced evacuation
• 7%   HVAC evacuation
• 5%   Delayed relocation

What if you lose the owner or a key employee?

• How will you service your clients?
• Will your client relationships be at risk?
• What critical functions should be prioritized when you lose a colleague and you and your staff are in shock?
• How do you keep everything running while you hire a replacement?

What if an owner passes away?

• Will credit be lost?
• Will the surviving partner or spouse be required (and able) to run the business?
• Is insurance coverage adequate to pay the business debts?
• Will partners have to work with an unskilled owner?
• Are buy-sell agreements in place and funded?

Having a disaster recovery plan means having plans in place that can help you restore your business to pre-disaster conditions – quickly!  Business continuity on the other hand is preventing business interruptions and having the ability to continue your critical business functions during and immediately after a disaster.

Which plan do you have?  Or do you even have one?

The best time to prepare for a disaster is well before it happens. There’s nothing you can do to lower the risk of a disaster. But there are measures you can take to protect your company’s bottom line. First and foremost is putting together a disaster recovery/business continuity plan.  

Things you should consider as you plan for the future:  

Backup site

• Equip your backup operations site with critical equipment, data files, and supplies
• Backup files and data
• Power generators
• Computers and software
• Critical computer data files (payroll, accounts payable and receivable, customer orders, inventory)
• Phones, radios, TV
• Equipment and spare parts
• Vehicles and spare parts.
• Digital cameras
• Common supplies
• Supplies unique to your business (order forms, contracts, etc.)
• Basic first aid/sanitary supplies

Create a business inventory — Take photos of your company’s computers, mobile devices, company vehicles, company building and other equipment. Record the items’ descriptions and serial numbers and store this information (along with their respective receipts) in a safe, off-site location.

Contact Information - Do you have current and multiple contact information (e.g., home and cell phone number, personal email addresses for:

• Employees
• Key customers
• Important vendors, suppliers, business partners
• Insurance companies
• Financial institutions
• Contractors
• Local and State Emergency Management Agencies
• Is contact information accessible electronically for fast access by all employees?

Develop a communications strategy — Do you have access to multiple and reliable methods of communications with your employees:

• Website
• Cell phones
• Pagers
• Smart phones
• Internet
• Email

Create a contingency plan — be sure your plan outlines the following and is reviewed and updated regularly:

• What the evacuation strategy will be if an emergency occurs onsite
• Who will notify all employees
• Where employees will meet if your business’s building is physically inaccessible
• How employees should respond if approached by the media
• When can employees return to work and when can customers return to shop or receive goods and services
• How you will access a backup source of power or communications systems
• What the financial impact would be if your business shuts down for a day, a week, or an entire revenue period

Customer Preparation – Make sure your key customers know:

• Your emergency contact information for sales and service support
• Your backup business or locations
• What to expect from your company during the event
• Alternate methods for placing orders
• Alternate methods for sending invoice payments 

It’s clear that every organization needs a solid disaster recovery plan. Please be sure to visit our website for more information about this very important subject. Better yet, contact us today for a complimentary consultation. We can help you get started on this important component of your company’s success strategy.