Can your business survive a natural disaster?

According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), almost 40 percent of small businesses never reopen their doors after a disaster.

The biggest problem when a natural disaster hits is the absence of a disaster recovery plan. If you are interested in what goes in to developing a disaster recovery plan, check out this FEMA site (your tax dollars at work).

If you read closely, the only suggestion for IT preparedness is that, “recovery strategies for information technology should be developed so technology can be restored in time to meet the needs of the business. Manual workarounds should be part of the IT plan so business can continue while computer systems are being restored.”

Wow! That really helps! What are you supposed to do if all of your servers and workstations are destroyed? What if all of your backups are gone too? Where do you source new servers and how do you reload all of your applications and personal data on every personal computer?

The reality is that most SMBs simply don’t have the resources to create a viable disaster recovery and business continuity plan even if they have the foresight to make the attempt. A “true” business continuity plan requires the ability to deploy replacement hardware and software in a short enough time to prevent clients and customers from canceling contracts and services. It means that all company and personal data (e.g., email and personal files) are restored quickly and efficiently. It means that all workstations have to be re-imaged so that employees don’t experience productivity disruptions.