DisasterPreparedness

What would happen to your company if you experienced a disaster like flooding, fire or employee theft? The statistics may astound you:

50% of companies that lose all of their critical data go out of business immediately (90% within one year). Fewer than 40 percent of US companies have any type of recovery plan. Less than 10 percent of US companies have an I.T. disaster prevention/recovery plan. 70% of malicious and/or damaging activity to a company's data occurs from within.

So what can you do to ensure your company is ready? Here are some general guidelines on preparing for a disaster in the workplace:

Create a Plan

Organize a Disaster Preparedness team to create, communicate, and practice the plan.

Communicate & learn the plan

Everyone in the company should be informed on what or what not to do in the event of a disaster. This should be communicated when someone is hired, and at least twice a year thereafter.

Practice the plan

At least once a year, everyone in the company should participate in a mock disaster. Going through the steps will help employees learn what to do and better cope with a real disaster.

Update the plan

It's important to schedule regular updates to the plan. Change is a constant in any company, and a disaster preparedness document should periodically be updated.

A well-designed, customized plan for I.T. preparedness and recovery will help you significantly reduce the damage a disaster can cause. The good news is that many network and data-related disasters can be avoided.