Business Continuity Services That Will Keep You Afloat No Matter What
Does your business have a continuity plan that will keep your company up and running in the event of a natural disaster, pandemic, cyberattack, or IT breakdown? If not, you’re not alone. Recent statistics indicate that an astounding 75% of businesses don’t have a business continuity plan or disaster recovery plan. Sadly, many of these same businesses are hard hit when disaster strikes, which it inevitably will at some point. It has been estimated that 96% of businesses experience an outage in a three-year period and the cost of a single hour of downtime ranges from US$8,000 to US$700,000.
A business continuity plan isn’t just something nice to have; it’s a must if you want your company to remain successful long-term. Thankfully, you don’t have to create such a plan on your own. IT managed service providers that specialize in providing business continuity services can help you not only create a plan but also implement, monitor, and test your plan to ensure your business is ready for any adverse situation you may encounter. Following is some insight into what to expect when partnering with an IT service provider to plan for your future.
I have been using Steadfast for over 6 years now and find their service prompt, helpful, and efficient. They are easy to work with and explain things so they are easy to understand. I have never had a problem they couldn’t fix!
Vicky Cutler
Comprehensive, Customized Business Continuity Services
If you are just starting a business relationship with an IT managed service, the company should send its IT experts to your business to get to know your industry, way of operating, and short and long-term business goals. The service should also conduct a comprehensive IT assessment to determine what improvements and upgrades need to be made to keep your IT systems in good working order at all times.
Once an IT service understands your business, it can work with you to create a disaster recovery plan that will cover all plausible disaster scenarios, including:
- Natural disasters
- Pandemics and ensuring lockdowns
- Human error
- IT breakdowns
- Power outages
- Viruses, Trojans and other forms of malware
- Ransomware attacks
The plan should include:
A back-up system that backs up your data in real-time.
Cloud storage systems are a common option and they certainly have many advantages. They can be accessed from anywhere, scaled to meet your needs at any given time, and won’t be affected by in-house disasters such as IT failures and local power outages. Even so, you’ll need to choose between a private cloud, public cloud, or hybrid cloud solution. In some cases, you’ll still need an on-site back-up system to complement your cloud server. Your back-up system should be regularly tested to ensure that it is secure and can be used with ease no matter what happens.
A plan to keep your business running even if you aren’t able to use your full IT set-up.
If, for instance, a natural disaster prevents your employees from coming to the office, does your business continuity plan provide them with the tools and resources they need to work remotely? If human error in the office crashes a software program your company relies on for daily operations, do you have a workaround so your staff members can do their jobs. Your interim plan can help you avoid devastating downtime that could cost your business hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Strong communication systems that can withstand any incident.
You need to be able to communicate with your employees, suppliers, and customers without disruption. Additionally, employees in your office will need to be able to communicate with you and with each other in order to do their jobs. You need a strong, secure line of communication that will keep morale high and enable company leadership to maintain control over important business operations.
Delegated responsibilities so everyone knows what role they play in keeping your business running and repairing the damage.
In the event of a cyberattack, your PR department needs to know how to handle the fallout as customers and suppliers question your ability to keep their valuable personal data safe in the future. You’ll need legal help as you report the incident and deal with any legal repercussions that may arise. In the event of a natural disaster, each employee will need to know what to do in order to do their jobs from home or another remote location. Supervisors should know how to communicate with staff members and what measures they need to take to get their department up and running again.
IT training for staff members.
Over half of all data breaches are caused by human error. Cybersecurity training for your employees can help to prevent disasters that could cost your company millions of dollars. IT training can also help your staff members identify a cyberattack in progress and take measures to limit the damage, connect to your office from a remote work area without compromising the security of your IT network, and give them needed information so they know who to reach out to after a breakdown or natural disaster.
Introducing Steadfast Solutions Business Continuity Services
Steadfast Solutions is a leading IT managed service provider that offers IT managed and co-managed services throughout Australia. We work with companies of all sizes and from all industries, partnering with business owners to help their companies succeed long-term. We specialize in business continuity services, offering cutting-edge tools and technologies you need to keep your company running smoothly no matter what. Our team will not only create a top-tier business continuity plan for your company but also update it every twelve months to ensure it continues to meet your current and future needs. Additionally, we offer proactive IT tools and services such as IT management, cybersecurity, business telephone services, Microsoft support and consulting services, and VCIO solutions to keep your IT set-up running at optimal speed and performance. Get in touch with us at your convenience to learn more about our firm or to make an appointment with our team of IT experts.
