Why Backup and Disaster Recovery Are Essential in Times of Crisis
Limit business disruptions with data backup and disaster recovery.
Articles published September 16, 2020 by Ben Killion
2020 has been a challenging year for U.S. business owners. The COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect organizations around the globe, regardless of industry. Severe weather events, such as an unprecedented wind storm in the Midwest, wildfires in California, Oregon, and Washington, and hurricane activity along the East and Gulf Coasts, have resulted in widespread power outages and closures. This year has proven that businesses must be ready for anything.
This especially holds true when it comes to managing network disruptions. A growing number of businesses require internet access and a stable IT infrastructure to function. That means if any sort of network disturbance hits — due to software failure, human error, or natural disaster — the downtime can have a significant impact on a company’s bottom line. According to a 2020 server reliability survey from ITIC, 98% of firms said an hour of downtime costs them $100,000 or more.
Small business owners may find that estimate to be a bit extreme, but there’s little doubt that network downtime negatively impacts revenue across organizations of all sizes. That’s why it is essential for organizations to invest in backup and disaster recovery solutions so that they can restore operations as quickly as possible in the event of an unexpected network disruption.
Backup vs. Disaster Recovery
Backup and disaster recovery are often packaged together as one IT service, but these are actually two separate solutions that work together to help companies reduce downtime.
IBM defines backup as “the process of making an extra copy — or multiple copies — of data.” If your system, software, or hardware fails or becomes compromised, you can use a recent “clean” backup copy of your data to minimize loss and resume business operations as soon as possible.
Most companies have transitioned to using cloud backup services, ensuring that even if disaster strikes your physical location, your data will be safely backed up and accessible from anywhere. Meanwhile, a trusted fiber optic network can help get your business back online promptly.
Disaster recovery is your plan to restore your IT infrastructure back to fully functioning levels when natural or human-induced disaster strikes. If you only make a backup of your data, without a plan, your organization will face significant downtime and lost revenue. A disaster recovery plan helps soften the blow caused by a major network disruption and reduces overall downtime.
When Should I Invest in Backup and Disaster Recovery?
The best time to invest in backup and disaster recovery is when business conditions are normal. You want to establish regular backups of data and have a plan in place before disaster strikes. However, if your business neglected to invest in backup and disaster recovery prior to a network disruption you can use this as a case study for why you need to do so as soon as possible.
If you’re still on the fence about investing in backup and disaster recovery, consider performing a business impact analysis. This well-known risk management exercise helps businesses determine the cost of downtime resulting from the disruption of everyday business functions and processes.
How Do Backup and Disaster Recovery Fit Into My Business Continuity Plan?
Backup and disaster recovery solutions fall under the umbrella of business continuity. A business continuity plan focuses on the continuation of business during and immediately after a disruption. This type of planning goes beyond systems restoration and touches on all areas of operations.
As more and more businesses rely on a stable IT infrastructure to function, this further emphasizes the need for a disaster recovery plan to maintain business continuity. Organizations that take a proactive approach to their IT strategy will be more resilient in the long term.
Keep Your Business Running During a Crisis
Backup and disaster recovery are important pieces of the business continuity puzzle that determine how quickly your organization can recover from a natural or human-induced disaster. Backup is the foundation of any solid disaster recovery plan. Aureon has a history of providing these and other business continuity services to clients across a broad range of industries.
As 2020 has shown, there’s no time like the present to invest in managed IT services.
How safe is your high-risk data when disaster strikes? Do you have a business continuity plan in place to avoid downtime?