TaylorWorks Blog

You don’t need to be repeatedly told just how important risk management is. If you did, you probably wouldn’t have made it this far. One problem you see from business owners today is that while they understand just how many problems there are--and which ones they need to find solutions for first--they want to grow their company so fast that they overlook potential problems and end up hurting their business as a result. This month, we thought we would talk a little bit about contingency planning and how, if it is done right, it can have a marked effect on your business’ ability to carry-on after a problematic event. 

Much is made about business continuity planning, but there is a knowledge deficit about what exactly business continuity planning entails. Today, we will talk about the basics of the business continuity plan (BCP) and how today’s most successful businesses go about reading their contingency plans. 

Everyone from Wall Street to Main Street is feeling the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak. As a result, many businesses have had to enact their disaster recovery strategy to ensure that their business remains on solid footing during this dark time.

Each March 31st, we like to observe World Backup Day, where we educate people about the benefits of having a comprehensive backup plan in place. This year, with tens of thousands of people being affected by Coronavirus, business has ground to a halt in large portions of the world. Today, we are going to look at the business continuity strategy and how, in times like these, you’ll be glad you have your data backed up. 

It’s never an easy thing to talk about, but it does need to be talked about. If one of your key employees were to pass away, how would it affect your business? How do you prepare for this type of inevitability?

Businesses generate and collect a huge amount of data - some of it, practically useless, and some, critical to your business and its operations. It is this latter group that makes it so important that you have a comprehensive backup plan ready to go.

Businesses don’t like to spend money on solutions they don’t need. You’d rather make sure you hit payroll, dish out Christmas bonuses, and have something left over to grow. With this in mind, a business that doesn’t properly back up their data might not get a chance to make payroll, dish out bonuses, or even keep their doors open. Data backup isn’t something to skimp on, because when the time comes, it can mean disaster for your business.

Data recovery is a major consideration that every organization that depends on data has to plan for as a part of their business continuity strategy. Since there are so many ways that businesses can lose data, there needs to be a plan to recover data for any possible reason. Today, we will take a different look at operational data loss and talk about how your organization should consider strategizing data recovery.

Take a moment to imagine the absolute worst disaster scenario for your business. Does it involve a catastrophic event destroying your office building? Does it include key staff being absent from the office for extended periods of time? Does it include your business suffering from data loss or security breaches?

Running a business requires the ability to stay in control, especially when others couldn’t. However, there are some situations--like major weather events--that simply will not be controlled. In cases like these, you need to make sure your business is prepared to withstand the worst. A business continuity plan can help you do so.

The future of any organization is only as good as its business continuity plan. This is a well thought out plan that instructs a company of what to do in the face of a disaster, so they can return to normal operations as quickly as possible. One key part of every business continuity plan that should never be overlooked: the backing up and recovery of your data.

Thankfully, natural disasters like floods and tornadoes are rare. However, there are plenty of other threats that are much more prominent, and they can strike at any time. This makes it dangerous to be complacent about your company’s business continuity plan, especially since you have no way of predicting these events ahead of time. This forces you to have the mindset of “If not now, when?”

“It won’t happen to me.” This is a common excuse amongst business owners who refuse to equip their network with a comprehensive data backup and recovery solution. They may feel like they’re careful enough to avoid a major data loss-causing disaster. Yet, the inconvenient fact remains that a disaster can happen to any business, no matter how prepared they may be.

Data backup is foundational to every business continuity plan. Despite this, many businesses don’t realize that data backup and disaster recovery are two very different solutions. This oversight could leave a company high and dry in the face of a disaster causing data loss.

Whether we like it or not, memes have had a profound effect on how the world’s population views current events and popular culture. In part, this is thanks to the prevalence of the Internet, which has fostered these absurd images and provided them an outlet to flourish. Due to how viral they are, it would be foolish to dismiss them as inconsequential; in fact, when leveraged properly, memes can make a statement about your business and its specific brand.

Computer hardware doesn’t last forever. Sooner or later, you’ll need to replace your equipment, or risk operations slowing to a crawl due to outdated equipment still in use. Do you have a timetable for replacing your equipment? Do you have a procedure in place to properly dispose of your old hardware? Every organization needs to think through the end-of-life and the afterlife of their computer hardware.