Being from L.A., I've had to deal with earthquakes and fire (no, it's not always sunshine here). And, of course, I saw the devastation of the recent fires.
But what about some of the businesses that need to rebuild? Could they have prepared for the fires?
Well, I recently interviewed Jon Toigo, a disaster recovery expert at Toigo Partners International. Over the past 20 years, he has put together nearly 100 disaster recovery plans. His clients include Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO), and Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ). Also, Toigo has a partnership with Office Depot to help businesses deal with disaster preparedness.
"The bottom line in disaster preparedness is to protect your most irreplaceable assets – your people and your data," said Toigo.
People
Employees will want reassurance and direction. If not, things can fall apart pretty quickly.
As a result, Toigo recommends building solid contact lists. They should include at least five different points of contact -- say, phone numbers, mobile numbers, email, SMS and also information on relatives.
Data
"You may be astonished to learn that nearly 20 percent of small businesses do not back up their data," said Toigo. "With businesses relying on technology now more than ever, it's my job to remind professionals that if you lose your data, you can lose your business."
Thus, he recommends a data back up at least once a week – and there should also be an off-site storage facility.
Fortunately, storage technology is getting much cheaper. For example, Toigo likes small flash drives like Ativa's 8GB system (which can store up to 320,000 pages) and can be put in your pocket when you leave the office.
"The truth is, more than one in four businesses will experience a significant crisis in a given year, and of those businesses that experience a disaster and have no emergency plan, 43 percent never reopen," said Toigo. "But with a plan in place, the overwhelming feeling should be greatly reduced because you'll know you are covered."
Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
11-05-2007 @ 9:21AM
Luckilady43 said...
Back up! Back up! Back up! That's THE most important thing you can learn when it comes to computers. They crash with NO warning! Business computers or personal computers, always remember to back up your important files or you may regret it.
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11-05-2007 @ 9:33AM
Ron said...
You should be aware that it's as easy to lose those "thumb drives" as it is to put it in your pocket!
It is one thing to protect your data from disaster . . . And, quite another by creating your own "personal" disaster by Giving away your data to a perfect stranger.
Thumb drives are a bad idea due to the ease of losing them!
11-05-2007 @ 11:10AM
minny0338 said...
i really think its a shame that even its happens to the best of us but to lost everything such as momentims it really goes to show people now and then just be more careful when and before closeing your eyes to go to sleep just take a few minutes to look around to see what will spark your home or cause a fire i myself i wouldnt want this happen to someone i love or to myself
11-05-2007 @ 12:19PM
mbuchele said...
How about doing this the easy way--online automatic backup services. Google this and you'll come up with a variety of services that will check your company's computers every time you go online, then back up the files that have been added or changed since the last online session. They bill by credit card, it couldn't be easier.
I use Data Deposit Box, which charges $2 per month per gig of data, no matter how many computers are involved.
This is a no brainer solution!
11-05-2007 @ 1:24PM
James Speed said...
In Real Estate its "Location, Location, Location" - when it comes to data "Backup-Backup-Backup". I am an IT Expert with over 20 years experience. I have seen horror stories of LAZY Business owners, Managers etc who didnt LISTEN TO ME. Yes, I saw about 1/2 of them not recover when they lost their stuff.
The ironic part is that I remember one of them actually BLAMED ME! He had called me on the phone and was yelling at me. I said, hold on, Ill be right there. I went to his office, we had a nice, quiet conversation on what I could do to help while at the same time "Reminding" him that I continually told him to backup his stuff. I had sold him the equipment but he never bothered much to use it.
I'm sorry, if a business owner looses all his data - in this day and age, I have absolutely NO SYMPATHY for them whatsoever. There are so many resources available to take care of this. Its pure laziness and the belief that its not going to happen to them.
Sorry I just rambled on - but this article is SO true.
11-05-2007 @ 2:40PM
John said...
I experienced a total loss fire in 1990. It was a relief to see everything come up on my new computer. I had backed up everything about two days before the fire, on time consuming "A" floppy drives in those days.