Introduction
Disasters can happen to anyone, anywhere, and at any time. When disasters strike, there are so many catastrophic situations that need to be dealt with, depending on the size of the disaster. In the case of natural disasters, such as hurricanes, or man-made disasters, such as fires, resources can be depleted and people can be left homeless or without power to run their homes or businesses. Often, buildings will lay in ruins and families and companies will be left to try and rebuild what they once had. Many companies have plans to deal with this style of disaster but fail to complete any information technology IT disaster recovery planning.
Heading: Reasons you need IT disaster recovery
Often, companies don’t think that an IT disaster will happen to them, and by the time they understand the need for an IT disaster plan, it is too late. Recovery from IT disaster can be costly, like recovery from natural disasters, but with preplanning, these costs can be alleviated.
1. People are not perfect, and they make mistakes. IT disasters are not as grandiose as hurricanes, and they can occur from a simple mistake. Sometimes, the simplest mistake can be so costly. Forgetting to back up a drive, saving over data, or entering the wrong code can delete years of work and can set the company back financially or lower their reputation.
2. Machines fail. People create and program machines, and we are not perfect, so the machines are not perfect. There is always a chance for machines to break down, for power outages, or for other systematic failures to shut down your business if you are not prepared.
3. Natural and man-made disasters. When these disasters happen, it will influence your business. A company may need to begin operations from a new place without all the equipment or paper files that were previously accessible. Following a disaster, it could be days, weeks, or months before your company is fully functional.
4. Pandemic and epidemics. Throughout history, there have been pandemics and epidemics, but most recently, it was noted that a pandemic can cause an IT disaster, and that it needs a specific IT disaster recovery plan. Many companies have relied on their employees coming to work every day, but the current pandemic has changed the way that many companies operate. When employees are not able to come to work and the company is not able to function because the IT is not able to handle the new requirements, it can cause an IT disaster.
IT disaster recovery planning is not a prevention plan:
Many companies state that they have a plan in place. In reality, what they have are policies and procedures for employees to use as preventive measures. An IT disaster recovery plan is what happens when those procedures have failed. Companies need to have precautionary rules and regulations as well as an IT recovery plan.
Conclusion:
An IT disaster can occur for numerous reasons, and preventive plans are helpful; however, IT disaster recovery planning is needed to ensure that your company can recover from unplanned incidents. For more information about an IT disaster recovery plan, click here.