Of course, our goal is "Disaster Avoidance",  but when it comes to protecting your business, we need to be prepared to deal with the worst case scenario.

 

OK, first it's important to understand that there is a difference between disaster recovery (DR) and business continuity (BC).  Disaster recovery starts with documentation, systems and plans so that in the event of a disaster (think fire, etc) everyone knows what to do and how to do it.  A disaster recovery plan will identify the key systems, processes, people, and vendors needed to 'quickly rebuild' the business and get your key systems running in a reasonable period of time.  A business continuity plan, on the other hand, will allow your business to CONTINUE to operate even in the midst of a disaster.  For the purpose of this short article, I will discuss a basic DR plan, business continuity is covered under our consulting plans listed under Strategic Planning on the right.

A comprehensive Disaster Recovery plan addresses issues such as: 

 

• Identify and document contact info for all key employees, vendors, suppliers and customers
• Full information for all insurance, utility and facility information
• List all software license and subscription info, including all cloud services
• List all ISP & telecom info including phone numbers, account numbers, IP addresses, SIP or PRI line info etc.
• A full asset list of all computer office and other equipment, including serial numbers
• Detailed instructions: What to tell staff, suppliers, customers and vendors
• Execution plan for the IT staff: How to rebuild and restore standby systems

 

Of course this is just the tip of the iceberg, every business is different and your team will need to dedicate time to help craft a DR plan that addresses your unique needs.  We can provide a template as well as guidance to help your team address the business process side of the plan.  White Mountain can easily deal with the IT and technology side of the plan, starting with restoring the off-site backups into virtuallized cloud severs and desktops to get your core systems, email and telecom back online.