When was the last time you tested your backups? Is your disaster recovery plan current?
If it’s been a while, you need to test, update and prepare as soon as possible, especially if you’re located in the central and eastern regions of the U.S. Spring is in the air, and so are severe storms and tornadoes as cold fronts from Canada combine with warm, humid currents from the Gulf to spin up intense storms, according to AccuWeather.
Why you should prepare for disaster right now: Tornado season is underway
If you’ve tuned in to weather reports this spring, you’ve probably noticed that tornadoes have already begun churning across the country. Multiple twisters recently swept across the South and Midwest, leaving trails of destruction and over 100,000 people without power across Indiana, Illinois, Arkansas, Tennessee and Kentucky, according to The New York Times.
While the months of peak tornado activity vary by state, these weather events generally crescendo during the spring and summer months, according to the National Weather Service (NWS). AccuWeather notes that March, April and May usually provide the perfect conditions for powerful storms.
Forecasters have predicted more widespread thunderstorms in May, especially across the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic in addition to Tornado Alley. AccuWeather has projected “75 to 150 tornadoes in March, 200 to 300 in April and 250 to 350 in May, all of which are near or above the 30-year historical average.” In addition to tornadoes, we can expect derechos, or “inland hurricanes,” with strong winds.
Now is the perfect time to ensure your business can bounce back fast if severe weather strikes. If you fail to prepare, the consequences could be dire: After a natural disaster, 75 percent of businesses without continuity plans will fail within three years, according to the Ready Business Severe Wind Tornado Toolkit from Ready.gov.
How to update your disaster recovery plan
Refresh your recovery plan to ensure a disaster won’t close your doors. Here are some recommended steps to make sure everything is up-to-date, according to TierPoint, Ready.gov and Channel Futures.
- Review and test your disaster recovery plan, including drills/practice.
- Document and fix any issues you discover during the test.
- Note whether you can meet your recovery time objective (RTO) and recovery point objective (RPO) targets for critical systems and data.
- Ensure your recovery process aligns with your compliance requirements.
- Explore your Disaster Recovery as a Service (DRaaS) options from managed service providers.
If you’re crafting a business continuity plan from scratch, please refer to this blog entry: “What is a Business Continuity Plan and Why is it Important for My Business?”
Our trusted technology advisors can help you find best-in-class business continuity, backup and disaster recovery solutions that align with your specific needs. We can rapidly identify the best options for your business by leveraging over 20 years of IT experience, partnerships with best-in-class suppliers, the latest market data, and an advanced decision-making tool that generates detailed comparison matrices. Why spend dozens of hours researching independently when we can find offerings that support your goals in mere minutes?
Don’t wait until it’s too late and let a severe storm shut down your business. Act now by calling 877-599-3999 or emailing sales@stratospherenetworks.com.
