Chicago IT Support: How Do Businesses Implement Disaster Recovery Plans?
Disaster recovery planning is the discipline of planning for a company to resume operations shortly after a disaster destroys the IT system. Because the IT system contains most of a company’s proprietary information and data for day to day business functions, losing it in a disaster makes resuming business an insurmountable challenge; unless, of course, a disaster recovery plan that allows a company to efficiently recover its data is in place .
Developing a Plan
The development of disaster recovery plans inevitably begins in house, with a team of proponents for a plan developing an initiative that will move company decisions makers to approve the plan. This phase of planning is often the most difficult, as those who develop the initiative are not disaster recovery professionals. This is why it is important to have a Chicago IT support provider that specializes in disaster recovery provide guidance during the planning phase.
A provider of Chicago IT support that specializes in disaster recovery can help you create a plan that meets your company’s needs and articulate each aspect of the plan to company decision makers. While recovery plans differ from company to company, they typically involve at least four aspects in each case: offsite data storage, deploying emergency hardware, establishing an alternate business location, and deploying staff to the alternate business location, if needed.
Offsite Data Storage
Data must be stored offsite to provide a second copy of data that can be migrated onto new hardware. To expedite the implementation of the recovery plan, a company should ideally receive data storage from the service provider that implements the recovery plan.
Emergency Hardware
As mentioned above, emergency hardware is needed to migrate stored data onto new hardware. For the best results, data should be migrated onto new hardware within 48 hours following a disaster. The more time passes, the less likely a company is to stay in business following the catastrophe.
Alternate Business Location
If a disaster destroys the IT system, it will presumably make the building that housed the system uninhabitable. This is why it is important to establish an alternate business location, where your company can operate until the old location is repaired, or a new one is chosen.
Temporary Staff
If a disaster indisposes some of your staff, it may need the assistance of temporary workers to make it through the immediate wake of the disaster. Sometimes temporary staff members aren’t necessary, but it is best to plan as if they will be needed.
Contact Us Today
If your Chicago company lacks a disaster recovery plan, Stratosphere Networks — a premier provider of Chicago IT support — is here to help. We have assisted hundreds of companies with implementing disaster recovery plans that protect them against catastrophes that destroy the IT system. For more information about our services, contact us today at (877) 599-3999, or click here to use our contact form.
