Business Continuity: Preventing Data Loss in the Wake of Disasters

Perceptive companies know the value of being accustomed to change, but what happens when change is precipitated by an event that results in a company being displaced and unable to access its data? Unless the company has a business continuity plan that was developed with the assistance of a disaster recovery services consultant, surviving the situation may be impossible. Consider the following statistics:

• Forty-three percent of companies fail to reopen following a major data loss (DTI/Price Waterhouse Coopers)


• Fifty-one percent of companies close within two years of experiencing a major data loss (University of Texas Center for Research on Information Systems)


• Eighty percent of companies that fail to rebound from a major data loss within one month have a significant chance of closing (Bernstein Crisis Management)

Consider also the following statistics about companies that experience a major disaster:

• Companies that do not resume operations within ten days of the event are likely to close for good (techworld.com)


• Only twenty-nine percent of companies that reopen without a continuity plan in place are still open two years later (The Hartford Financial Services Group)


• Seventy-five percent of companies that do not have business continuity plans fail within three years of the event (Crisis Management International in Blindsided: A Manager's Guide to Catastrophic Incidents in the Workplace by Bruce Blythe)

These statistics remind companies of the importance of storing data offsite and implementing a continuity plans with the help of a disaster recovery services provider. In addition to providing offsite data storage to assist with recovery, the provider also:

• Supplies hardware onto which remotely stored data can be migrated in the event of an emergency.


• Works with the customer to develop a continuity plan and recovery plan that address crucial needs.


• Helps customers test the plans by providing a testing environment and/or hardware that would be used in the event of an emergency.

Offsite data storage can be an important part of continuity planning. However, as the statistics above point out, simply retrieving data does not keep a company from floundering. To remain viable, a company must retrieve its data in a short period, typically within ten days, and use it as directed in the continuity plan. The service provider assists companies with both tasks by helping them develop a continuity plan to maintain important business functions, develop a recovery plan to ensure the IT network remains functional, and test each plan to ensure its execution results in the expected outcome.

Conclusion

A major data loss is a common reason why companies close their doors, and a major disaster is a common reason why companies experience a major data loss. To survive a data loss that is caused by a disruptive event such as a pandemic, earthquake, or flood, companies must implement a business continuity plan with the help of a disaster recovery services provider. When they do, they have an excellent chance of surviving, and even thriving, in the wake of disastrous events that cause many companies to close their doors.