Regional leader in managed IT services stresses the need for business continuity and disaster recovery plans
Lexington, Ky. (June 27, 2013) – It’s been eight months since Hurricane Sandy. What have we learned about the health of businesses affected by the storm? More than half of the small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in New York City, New Jersey and Connecticut suffered losses in revenue. Likely, the businesses of Oklahoma will face the same fate due to the recent tornadoes.
Often, the most costly damage to these businesses is related to information technology. With fewer resources than enterprise organizations, SMBs must plan ahead to weather summer storms.
This should include a disaster recovery plan, which can help a business maintain access to their data and ensure it is protected for use after a catastrophe. But these plans need to be regularly updated and widely understood – something which does not always occur.
“Many businesses treat their disaster plans like casual readers treat a copy of War and Peace: they like having it on the shelf, but aren’t interested in reading it,” said Bryant Wilson, CEO of On Hold Company.
Wilson emphasized the need to backup important information and mission-critical applications, something that only a quarter of East Coast-based SMBs had done prior to Hurricane Sandy.
Not only will this prevent data from being destroyed, but it will help employees to access necessary business information in the immediate aftermath of a disaster. Wilson labeled this as being “the most important” task for achieving business continuity.
According to the Business News Daily survey, the loss of Internet and phone connectivity after Sandy “affected [companies’] ability to contact customers and keep their businesses open,” said Ray Sprague, senior vice president of the Small Commercial insurance segment for The Hartford.
Many SMBs in the New York, New Jersey and Connecticut area are finding out that downtime has both immediate and long-lasting effects. In some cases – particularly for companies that didn’t plan accordingly – it could take up to a year to recover if at all.
Sprague noted firms that take these preparatory steps “tend to be the ones that can prevail after emergencies.” But what exactly do those proper steps entail?
In a recent article from SmartData Collective, Thu Pham, a specialist for Online Tech, suggested that working with an expert in business continuity and disaster recovery could be the optimal route to go.That’s because experts with these solutions have seen it before and can provide a better road map. Additionally, third party managed services companies have the experience and expertise necessary to help companies devise effective business continuity strategies.
Furthermore, while achieving business continuity and establishing a robust disaster recovery strategy are essential to prevent revenue loss, this is not the only major benefit.
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About NetGain Technologies:
NetGain Technologies is a leading provider in the design, procurement, implementation and management of high-performance IT solutions. With services ranked among the best in the world by MSPmentor and CRN Tech Elite, a multi-state regional footprint and a three decade pedigree; we’ve helped thousands of unique clients thrive by leveraging our best-in-class service and support programs.
