The current hurricane season brings to mind the importance of a solid Disaster Recovery Plan. Think about what would happen to your company if all computer data was lost. How many people would be unable to work? In an effort to avoid larger losses, some companies may spend up to 25% of their budgets on disaster recovery planning. Of companies that have major loss of computerized records, 43% NEVER reopen, 51% close within two years, and only 6% survive long term. (Jim Hoffer, "Backing Up Business - Industry Trend or Event", Health Management Technology, Jan 2001) In another survey by the Disaster Recovery Forum, 47% of over 1000 surveyed said that no plan exists at their company.
These statistics are scary, and the proactive manager should have a disaster recovery plan in place. Here are some common causes of major data losses. Your plan should cover all of these possibilities:
- Fire, heat, smoke
- Human error
- Legal issues
- Natural Disasters
- Power, equipment, software, or system failures
- Organnized/deliberate disruptions including computer viruses and theft
- Terrorist attacks
- Testing
- Worker strikes
Here are some interesting Disaster Recovery Resources you may find helpful:
Bravo! It's good to see that some people evangelize the importance of Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Planning.
It's scary that so many medium/large organizations are so far behind the curve on this important topic.
Hopefully your post will spur some action on this all important topic.
Posted by: John Alfonso | August 23, 2007 12:24 PM | Permalink to Comment