IT failures are a big problem for businesses, and not just small ones!

In recent times, companies such as Facebook, Jetstar, and Lloyd’s Bank have all been severely affected by mishaps in their IT systems.

So, if multinationals can’t even prevent IT failures, what hope do small and medium enterprises have?

Luckily, while you can’t guarantee that no failure will occur, you can put systems in place to mitigate the damage caused when you do have to deal with one.

To find out our top tips on business continuity and disaster recovery, read on below.

Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery: What to Do to Back up Key Data in Case of an IT Failure

The following five tips are, we feel, vitally important for protecting your business operations. If you can think of any other important ones, get in contact and let us know!

1. Identify all potential risks

This will always be your first step. It’s impossible to effectively back up information if you don’t know which information is at risk.

There is a degree of prioritization to be performed here as well. Identify the processes that are absolutely key to the survival of your business. Contrast these with the processes that are not utterly essential.

2.  Set objectives 

You need to be able to assess the seriousness of a potential breach in monetary terms. This will allow you to distinguish between fatal breaches and those that you can roll with.

Once you’ve done this, set objectives for individual recovery processes, communicate these to your team. Everyone should absolutely know what needs to be done in the event of a failure and how quickly.

3. Hold regular drills

This is closely tied to point #2 above. However, it is worth stressing by itself, particularly for those businesses in which speedy system recovery is a priority.

Basically, the best system failure procedure in the world will be of no use to your business if operatives aren’t able to implement it. Practice the key aspects of your contingency plan semi-regularly. Make sure to iron out any difficulties your colleagues may experience.

4.  Store data backups in a variety of locations

This one is Data Backup 101. It should be obvious to anyone that data is safer when kept in several locations rather than just one.

Make hard and soft copies of important materials. Keep these in a few different locations.

5.  Choose the right failover procedure

The failover procedure is the method by which you go from a regular database to a backup or standby database.

This ties in with your objectives, as outlined above. The approach you take will likely be closely connected with your needs in terms of speed.

So, Do You Know What You’re Doing to Prepare for a Technical Failure?

Business continuity and disaster recovery can be a scary thing to consider. Nobody wants to consider the consequences of a major technical breach for their business.

However, with the right systems in place, an IT failure need not be catastrophic.

Do you want to learn more about IT security? Follow our blog today!