The theme from this week’s QuickTips going. June 1 is the beginning of Hurricane season, which means a bit more for some places than others, as it does here in Central Florida. The Weather Company, an IBM business, expects 13 named storms throughout the season, including six hurricanes and two major hurricanes of Category 3 or greater intensity. That is actually a fairly average season, but any one of the storms could test your preparedness and bring disaster to your company. Let me throw some numbers from the Small Business Disaster Survey at you:
74% of small business owners don’t have a disaster recovery plan
84% do not have natural disaster insurance
71% do not have access to a backup generator
65% of U.S. businesses are located in areas that regularly suffer from natural disasters
60% of small businesses in Mississippi closed after Hurricane Katrina and Rita in 2005
If those facts aren’t scary enough, 93 percent of businesses go bankrupt within a year of losing their data for ten days. It is obvious businesses are not taking the impact of disasters seriously.
You may say “My data is backed up on a separate drive.” If your backup is onsite, do you think it will be spared when the disaster hits your office?
“My data is backed up somewhere off site,” you say. Well done, but do you know how that data will be retrieved in case of an emergency? Have you tested your solution to see how quickly it can retrieve information and get you back up and running? Have you calculated how much you’ll suffer when your business operations are down?
Hopefully you see how important it is to have a backup and a plan in case of a natural disaster. If you are convinced that remote backup, disaster recovery, and business continuity are imperative, but are still unsure how to properly implement them, CMIT Solutions of Tampa – Temple Terrace is here to help. We specialize in helping small to medium-sized businesses prepare for and weather even the toughest storm. Contact us today so we can put you on the path to well-prepared, sustained, and reinforced success.
