Are you prepared to protect your data and important documents? This article is designed to help you create a disaster recovery plan, courtesy of an Arizona auction house that has first hand experience. Specifics may vary from person to person; however, the following information includes helpful and important guidelines from which everyone can benefit.
Recently our Arizona auction house was hit by a microburst storm, which isn't necessarily uncommon in our area, especially during the monsoon season. A microburst is when a dust storm and a thunderstorm meet and create tornado like conditions. The storm blew out our plate glass windows, which are 8ft by 8ft and filled our offices with water. Water was coming in so quickly that computers were pulled out as quickly as possible to prevent damage.
Even though we sustained a tremendous amount of physical damage to our building and to many of our computers, we were fortunate that no one was injured in the storm. It took over a week to get our Arizona auction house back up and running but luckily we had a computer back-up system that recovered our lost information.
The point of this story is not to tell you about Arizona's often unpredictable weather; it is to share with you the importance of data backup and paper backup. I always have recognized the importance of backing up computers and keeping copies of back-ups offsite from our auction facility. This was really more in the event of a computer crash than any other possible catastrophe occurring.
Having a safe copy of your data and documents is crucial. It doesn't matter if you're a small business, a large corporation or a home computer user. We have insurance for our consignor's goods so I was never concerned about product replacement, however, if you don't have insurance, you should look into it. We also had insurance on all of our office equipment as well so I thought we were in good shape. What I had never done was put together a disaster recovery plan.
A disaster recovery plan includes the following:
1. Off-site paper copies of all contracts, corporate papers and insurance papers. 2. Off-site location of some business checks and deposit slips. 3. Emergency contact telephone numbers for key employees and repair personnel, which have been distributed to all key personnel. 4. Plan for securing an auction site while under repair. 5. Back-up of all computer systems including copies of operating systems, manuals and software applications. 6. List of duties and responsibilities for each staff member in the event of a disaster including a backup person for each job task in the event that the staff member is unavailable.
The key to making a disaster recovery system work is to constantly update each step of the system on a weekly, bi-weekly or monthly basis. Not only does this prepare your company for a disaster it gives you the peace of mind that you can quickly recover and serve your clients well. Good luck and stay safe.
There are many questions that may arise when an individual embarks on a new business venture. Whether the individual is starting a new business or revamping an old business, there are certain steps that should be taken to protect the individual's investment in their company and ensure that business can continue as usual in the event that something adverse happens to affect the business. Many individuals have turned to using a disaster recovery plan to ensure the fast implementation of procedures that will help a business recover and continue to satisfy clients if anything happens to affect the business. So when is a disaster recovery plan needed for a company? Preferably, the company should have it in place before a disaster strikes.
A disaster recovery plan is an outline created by the principals of a company, or those they choose to hire, to detail how a business will deal with any potential disaster that may occur. This may include any adverse events from server failure to an earthquake leveling the building. Because a true disaster is typically unforeseen, it is best for the company to have a plan in place prior to a disaster occurring within the company. The disaster recovery plan will outline the steps that need to be taken to ensure that the customers will be taken care of in a timely manner and return the business to operation as quickly as possible.
A proper disaster recovery plan will need to be formed only after an intense review of business practices has been conducted. Any business procedures that are found to be ineffective or unneeded can be corrected at this time. By focusing on the business methods that bring results and including them in the plan, the business will be focused on completing the steps that will bring the best results if any type of adverse event affects the course of business. The action plan may cover several different types of disasters and the steps that may be needed to recover from each.
There are many types of businesses that could benefit from having this plan, but many business owners either believe that a recovery plan is not necessary or they put off creating, implementing, and testing a plan for so long that a disaster strikes and disrupts their business before they have a plan put into place. This is the catalyst that many business owners need before they decide to create a plan, but unfortunately much damage could be done and much revenue lost because a disaster recovery plan was not in place before the disaster occurred.
Both Deb Weidenhamer & Amy Nutt are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Deb Weidenhamer has sinced written about articles on various topics from Shopping, Property Guide and Shopping. Deb Weidenhamer is President of Auction Systems, the Southwest's most active auction and appraisal company. Check out our website for our. Deb Weidenhamer's top article generates over 5400 views. to your Favourites.
Amy Nutt has sinced written about articles on various topics from Culture and Society, Recreation and Sports and Women. Fusepoint offers that will help your organization ensure continuous operations. Fusepoint will assist your business pu. Amy Nutt's top article generates over 368000 views. to your Favourites.