Essential Components to your Disaster Recovery Plan

Data is the lifeblood of any business. After all, confidential information about your company’s clients, employees and finances are regularly collected, stored, and shared on a daily basis. Imagine what would happen to your company if a hardware malfunction or natural disaster occurred.

While nobody likes to think about this possibility, the reality is that the unexpected happens. And without a proper data backup system in place for protection, your company could risk losing data or going out-of-business. In fact, 40% of small businesses close after a natural or man-made disaster.

Would your company survive after a major catastrophe?

What are the Major Elements of a Disaster Recovery Plan?

Disaster recovery involves the policies and procedures set in place to help a company’s infrastructure get back up-and-running in the event of a natural or human-induced disaster.  It covers what could happen before, during, and after an occurrence. Here’s how to ensure your business is prepared for the unexpected:

• Conduct an Inventory Assessment
  • Take the initial step to perform an inventory assessment of systems that will be affected, including your company’s hardware, software, infrastructure, and applications. By assessing your company’s situation and prioritizing minimum recovery requirements, you will better understand the quantifiable impact on your business.
• Offsite Data Storage
  • While some companies may consider an in-house data backup system, such as transferring electronic material to hard drives, USB drives or tapes, it’s not a secure solution. From humidity, temperature changes to external environmental conditions, there are inherent hazards with onsite records and media storage. Information risks being destroyed or permanently lost should a flood or fire occur. Instead, partner with a records management provider that will shelter your media in off-site tape storage facilities with climate-controlled conditions.
• Data Accessibility
  • When disaster strikes, you don’t need to waste time searching for information. By securely storing your data with a third-party professional that provides 24/7 response time, your data is both protected and easily retrievable. With web-based records management and a physical backup site, data retrieval is readily available, allowing your business to recover quickly.
• Know Your Plan Works
  • If the unavoidable were to happen, it’s essential to have peace-of-mind knowing your disaster recovery plan works. With secure offsite data storage in climate-controlled vaults, you can rest assured your business is prepared for the worst.

Learn more about Off-Site Records Storage

As your information management partner, Vital Records Control has your data storage needs covered. Our offsite storage facilities exceed regulatory and IRS storage guidelines and are monitored by a security service, 24 hours a day.