Are you ready for an IT disaster?
Feb 21, 2011
Modern technology is great when it works, but for most of us, it can be exceptionally annoying when it goes wrong. For SMEs, IT failures can mean annoyance for employees and clients but ultimately, disruption to a business’s IT systems can lead to the total failure of the company.
IT is now an integral part of most people’s lives both at home and at work. Companies rely on IT for all parts of their business activities such as marketing, sales order processing, bookings and reservations, accounting, credit control and wage roll.
A recent survey of SMEs by Symantec has found 5%, around 240,000 UK firms are not taking any steps to backup data and are leaving themselves exposed to risks of data loss and downtime. The research also discovered that significant numbers did not have a disaster recovery plan in place.
Wilby Risk Management would recommend that all companies be prepared for potential disasters to the IT systems:-
- Have a rigidly enforced back-up process in place with the data stored in a suitable location off- site. Be aware what is being backed- up. Is it just data or is it the system programs? Are security passwords also stored off-site?
- Who knows how the back-up process works? Many companies have an individual who is in charge of the IT system and knows how the back up and recovery plans work. But what would happen if they were on holiday when the disaster occurred? Multi-skilling and cross training should be considered.
- An uninterruptible power supply (UPS) will allow a system to be closed down in an orderly manner avoiding the loss or corruption of date. However, the UPS must be connected to all critical parts of the IT system and should have adequate capacity.
- There should be a documented plan in place prioritising the restoration of the different parts of the system. The business should be aware of the time implications associated with the full restoration of the system – this could be many hours.
- The IT disaster recovery plan should be regularly tested for a range of scenarios from temporary power losses through to the complete loss of a server. Quarterly reviews of the plan should also be carried out to ensure it remains suitable for the business as it grows and changes.
Plans to prevent and recover from IT failures should form part of a company’s business continuity strategy. Without an IT risk assessment, well enforced plans and regular testing and reviews a business’s long term viability may be at risk.
