Did you learn any lessons during the past year with the coronavirus pandemic? Many of the clients we work with say they were unprepared and blindsided by the shut down, making arrangements for remote workers and protecting company data.
You may not have been able to predict the 2020 coronavirus pandemic – who could? – but a business continuity and disaster recovery (BCDR) that addressed how you’d respond to an office shut down would likely have had measures in place for a work from home staff.
As a business owner you should be always asking, “what if.” Whether it’s about hiring new staff, buying new equipment, closing a location, opening a new location, operating in the midst of a pandemic or weather event that closes the office – business owners need to plan for items that you may not have expected.
What is a business continuity plan?
It is the document that has a plan in place in the event there is a:
- Weather emergency
- Natural disaster
- Pandemic
- Cyberattack
- Employee sickness
- More
Your BCDR puts you in a position to be protected against outside – or inside – sources that threaten business operations.
5 Questions To Ask When Preparing Business Continuity Plan
Ask these five questions when sitting down with your team to prepare the BCDR.
- What risks could potentially befall your business? If you’re in a warm climate, chances are you will never need to prepare for freezing conditions or snow fall. Look at potential threats and even those that have never occurred. For example, you may be in a flood plain and there hasn’t been a flood in one hundred years – it is something to plan for because you just never know. Write down all the risks and potential risks and ask “what if” this happened… what would we need to do to continue on? Write all of this down – no matter how far-fetched.
- What stakeholders need to be notified in case of disaster (key employees and vendors) and how will you reach out if the communication systems are down? How will you reach out to your vendors and buyers to let them know what you’re doing to survive and thrive in the midst of this disaster.
- How long can your business operate without its computer system or network? For many businesses the answer is “not long at all.” Make sure you have an IT recovery plan in place – even if, especially if, it means you have to equip your staff to work from home.
- When is the last time your company data was backed up? Where are the backups kept? Who has access to them? Is there a back up to the back up? Redundancy is critical in many cases.
- Will the plan really work? The only way to know is to put it through its paces. Do a dry run with all principles involved THEN do a run through without letting the team know it’s “not a test” so you can come together at the end and see what worked, what didn’t and what needs to be changed.
Grab a copy of our business continuity and disaster recovery self assessment.
Common sense truly rules the day when it comes to protecting your identity and your passwords. If you have any questions about passwords, password protection or protecting your business from ransomware, give us a call today.
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