Hurricane Preparedness: What’s Your Data Recovery Plan?

The US has been hit by two major hurricanes in less than two months: Hurricane Florence hit the Carolinas and Atlantic coast on September 14 as a category 1 storm, and Hurricane Michael in the Florida panhandle on Oct. 9 as a category 4 storm. Both have caused massive flooding, killed nearly 60 people and are estimated to cause billions of dollars in damage when all is said and done.

As people recover from the storms and assess their personal damages, businesses across the country are assessing their damages, too. Some may have gotten lucky and escaped with little or no water damage to their offices or equipment. Others may be operating out of a makeshift office for the next few weeks until it’s safe to return to their place of business. And still others may be staring at the remains of their companies and wondering what to do next.

It’s times like these that remind all of us of the importance of a data recovery plan, which includes disaster recovery and offsite backup. An office can easily replace its physical assets like furniture by going to the store and buying more, but how do you recover your data without a second site?

Disasters aren’t always inflicted by Mother Nature, but she typically serves as the starkest reminder that despite our technological advances, we are not immune to data loss. The ability to quickly recover when the worst happens is critical in today’s fast-paced world.

According to FEMA, a data recovery plan should be developed for each component below. There are four of them:

1. Physical environment in which data/servers are stored –This includes data centers equipped with climate control, fire suppression systems, alarm systems, authorization and access security,
2. Hardware – This includes networks, servers, devices and peripherals.
3. Connectivity such as fiber, cable, wireless, etc.,
4. Software applications such as email, data exchange, project management, electronic healthcare record systems, etc., data and restoration.

We suggest a fifth component: People. Who is in charge of keeping the DR plan up to date? Who is the “trigger” person–the one who puts the plan in motion when needed? Who gives the all clear? Who replaces or temporarily takes over for key personnel? These are key questions your DR plan should comprehensively address.

Your plan should reflect different disaster scenarios as well. For example, your protocols during a hurricane will likely be different than a different kind of disaster, such as a data breach.

Don’t let your business fall victim to Mother Nature, or any other kind of disaster. Learn more about building a resilient disaster recovery strategy at our upcoming webinar Oct. 30!