Companies around the world face numerous threats. International studies also show this. A study by Arcserve shows that 76 percent of companies have suffered a serious data loss. In this context, 83 percent described downtime of 12 hours or less as acceptable. 10 tips for a successful business continuity plan.
As an Arcserve study shows, only 52 percent of affected companies were able to recover from their data loss in 12 hours or less. Although 95 percent of companies stated that they had a disaster recovery plan, only just under a quarter of them described it as mature, resilient, well-documented and up-to-date. So where to start? Preferably with a detailed checklist for a business continuity plan.
10 tips for the “Business Continuity” checklist
1. Put together a planning team
Assemble key employees from different areas of the company and ensure that management supports your business continuity project. This team is responsible for ensuring that a comprehensive plan is created that covers all critical business areas and systems.
2. Conduct technology inventory
Perform an audit of all IT assets, for example using a tool from Enterprise Talk's Top 10 list. This creates an overview of hardware, software, cloud services, external service providers and other resources that are essential for the operation of a company. This overview enables you to carry out effective risk management and appropriate disaster recovery planning.
3. Set up a business impact analysis
First, the critical business processes and data should be prioritized - of course taking compliance requirements into account. Assess the potential impact of a business failure or data loss on your processes. The goal is to understand which business areas need to be restored immediately to minimize the negative consequences. A list of priorities for restoring business functions, processes and data is helpful.
4. Draft a business continuity plan
First, the scope of the plan should be determined, including identifying critical business functions, data and resources, and documenting roles and responsibilities. Then develop appropriate disaster recovery strategies so that a blueprint is created that helps you successfully manage your company despite a disruption.
5. Design employee training courses
It is advisable to develop a training program and conduct regular exercises. The focus should be on the timely detection of malicious emails and the reporting process for suspicious activities. But employees should also be informed about crisis management, emergency procedures and responsibilities so that they can act as the first line of external defense in the event of an emergency.
6. Securing business-critical information
To protect sensitive information from cyber threats and physical damage, it is helpful to implement security measures such as Intercept X Advanced from Sophos. In addition, sensitive data should be encrypted and security protocols should be regularly updated and created.
7. Implement backup strategy
Set up regular backup schedules aligned with your RTOs and RPOs, and follow the 3-2-1-1 backup strategy. This is the only way to minimize downtime and data loss and to quickly restore data and systems after a disruption.
8. Provision of failover and redundancy solutions
Having redundant systems, especially for critical functions and data, is essential. Use the high one for this Availability of modern cloud services especially those that can failover with a single mouse click. Such a service enables business operations to continue even in the event that a primary system is breached or fails.
9. Create a communication plan
Develop communication guidelines for internal and external stakeholders and appoint an official spokesperson. Preparing crisis communication templates is also helpful to minimize confusion in this critical situation and maintain trust and communication.
10. Test and update frequently
The only way to ensure that a plan works is to test it regularly. You should continually adapt the plan to changing circumstances and also take these changes into account in business processes and technologies. This is the only way you can be sure that the business continuity plan will continue to develop and work even as the risk landscape changes.
By following these steps, companies can have a business continuity plan in place to best respond to potential disruptions. In this way, costs due to data loss and business interruptions can be avoided and a company's reputation can be protected.
More at Arcserve.com
About Arcserve Arcserve offers exceptional solutions to protect the valuable digital assets of companies that require complete and comprehensive data protection. Arcserve was founded in 1983 and is the world's most experienced provider of business continuity solutions for securing multigenerational IT infrastructures with applications and systems in any environment, on site and in the cloud. Companies in over 150 countries around the world rely on Arcserve's highly efficient, integrated technologies and expertise to reduce the risk of data loss and prolonged downtime while reducing the cost and complexity of data backup and recovery by up to 50 Reduce percent. Arcserve is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota with numerous locations around the world.