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Organizations over the globe are generating and saving an unprecedented amount of information by the day. With the cost of data storage plummeting due to the incessant advancement in technology, most companies are reported to double their stored information every 18 months. Generally, this is a result of federal requirements, laws, and business initiatives that entail businesses to retain a certain amount of information for a designated period. Also, the increase in data output and the growth in retention requirements can be attributed to industry rules, necessitating rigorous reporting regulations to both customers and regulatory agencies. Effective data recovery planning has never been more important.
Advancements in technology have also enhanced the growth of information, and as a result a need for storage, to epic proportions. Whereas, the industry standards before included only gigabytes and megabytes, storage reservoirs now tout the capability to hold exa-bytes and terabytes. As regulations change and quantities grow, it can become increasingly difficult to decide what information should be destroyed, and what should be preserved.
A plethora of recent events have proved that the results of an unanticipated catastrophe can have a vast impact on business continuity. For instance, Hurricane Sandy in October 2012 left more than $65 billion of harm in its wake. According to the “2013/2014 Information Governance Benchmarking” survey, hardly 30% of respondents agreed that their company’s crisis management, data recovery, information management, and integration of records with business continuity, are mature. Most private or public companies cannot afford prolonged or unplanned downtime, and need to recover from a setback as soon as possible, in order to be operational again. According to a research conducted by the National Small Business Association, even a year after Hurricane Sandy, a staggering 83% of businesses has no viable business continuity plan in order.
Contingency Plans
As company records and data grow, the obligation to protect and manage company information heightens. This has been highlighted by a plethora of events, which have focused the world’s attention to the need for effective data recovery planning. Fires, mudslides, blackouts, floods, hurricanes, and terrorist acts have forced businesses to view their records in a new light. Organizations are fast realizing that physical data is extremely vulnerable to damage or loss, and even computerized files fare no better.
Unforeseen network shut-downs, as well as virus and worm attacks, have the ability to halt all business processes. Since the question of what constitutes an emergency means different things to various companies, data recovery planning can vary from business to business. For some, effective disaster recovery means protection against the loss or deletion of files, while other companies anticipate natural or man-made disasters. Without efficient access to their data, businesses could suffer catastrophic loss.
In addition, data recovery planning is also indispensable because regulatory agencies can mete out harsh fines and punishments, when companies fail to meet the requirements due to data loss events. As organizations prepare for emergencies and gauge their contingency plans, it is vital that they put the highest focus on preserving the integrity of their company records.
Preparing for Action
Businesses and organizations which do not have a viable contingency plan in action may have trouble getting started now. In fact, those businesses which have not yet been affected, may consider themselves immune from disaster. However, it is better to be prepared in advance than incurring irrevocable losses in the future.
When devising a plan of action, it is prudent to work with an experienced partner that has vast expertise in business continuity and disaster recovering planning. Finding a credible vendor, who is willing to assist you with disaster recovery, is indispensable. Your vendor in Perth can offer strategic services to help you test your current processes for gaps, review them, assess them, and redefine what should be done. Your vendor would also help you implement the new data recovery plan in action.
The importance and benefits of a disaster recovery plan couldn’t be stressed enough. Once a feasible plan is enacted, the organisation can easily mitigate risk, remain compliant, minimize downtime, and ensure that the client records are protected and safe through proper storage.
