We’re in the business of disaster recovery. We might not sort through rubble, but we’ll help get your data back onto your computers if something goes awry. That said, while we’ll back up all of your data, there are other things you probably do (but might not) keep record of around your office. Here are a few things we suggest keeping in a Disaster Recovery Kit to help get everything back up and running.
A Hard Copy of Your Disaster Recovery Plan
If your computers get destroyed in a hurricane, you need to have your plan accessible to help get the business back up and running immediately. Don’t have a disaster recovery plan? Time to put one together. Draft one internally, or consider hiring a third party who specializes in disaster recovery to help. Your plan should include:
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A Business Impact Analysis, which ranks different functions of your business in level of importance, so the most important aspects of your business can get up and running sooner than those deemed less so.
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Lists of employee contact information. It’s important to keep everyone in the loop, so contact info like emails and personal phone numbers so that everyone is kept abreast of the situation.
Offsite Workspaces
Having an entire office wiped out can have negative impacts on other offices across the country too. Some companies offer workspaces to employees that come fully equipped to go right back to work, even if their original office is wrecked. They provide desks, phones, and computers that can have access to company data.
Getting Your Data
Of course, just like the departments are ranked in the Business Impact Analysis, some of your data will be more crucial to running the business than the rest. The recovery plan can reflect those priorities, and many cloud providers are capable of providing that. The backup plan should also implement security and safeguards to ensure that in the case of an emergency, only appropriate people are able to access your data.
The Paperwork
You have insurance for a reason. Keep policy numbers and other important information that your insurance provider will need in a safe location offsite, and provide the information to multiple people. While some focus on getting your office back up and running remotely, others can get to work on having the current office cleaned, reconstructed, and made new again.