Businesses Planning for Disasters

Did you ever stop to think about what would happen if the computer that houses all of your bank account information were to be destroyed in a disaster? 

Well, before you get too worried about this, please feel confident to know that your bank probably has thought about that.  In fact, they are required to think about that.  And, they are required to have plans and solutions in place to ensure that your data can be recovered and be accessed in a timely fashion following a disaster – or any event that disrupts normal business practices. 

Your bank most likely not only has strategies in place to back up your account data in an off-site location, but they probably have alternate data centers with redundant technology to which they can restore that data and make it accessible to you before you are even aware they suffered an incident. 

There is a whole business practice centered on the mission of identifying risks and threats to business processes, data and technology and in planning for and practicing recovery strategies and contingencies for any type of business interruption event that can occur.  This is known in corporate America as Business Continuity Planning and/or Disaster Recovery Planning. 

And, this practice is not only limited to financial services company.  Any company that relies on data and technology to support their business practices probably has some sort of business continuity program in place.  These programs cover aspects of how to identify threats; how to respond to emergencies when they occur; how to manage through business crises; how to recover from business interruption events; how to quickly get critical business processes up and running in alternate locations; and, how to return to business as usual as quickly as possible. 

Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery planning is often thought of as “active insurance”.  Traditional insurance coverages can help companies recover financial losses following a disaster, but, in many cases, that coverage does not help the company stay in business.  Companies must have plans in place to ensure that their most critical business processes can continue to function while they recover from a disaster.  This is what business continuity planning is all about. 

If you work for a mid-size to large corporation, you should be aware of your company’s Business Continuity Plan.  You should know whether or not you are deemed a critical employee or an employee that supports a time sensitive business process.  You should know what is expected of you if the office you work out of were to be closed down for any reason. 

Although the details of business continuity and disaster recovery planning are not widely known about or understood by most people, this has been a common business practice since the late 1970’s.  Business Continuity Plans and solutions were critical in helping many companies survive recent events that had adverse impacts on business.  Companies impacted by events such as 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, Superstorm Sandy and other such events implemented their versions of business continuity and disaster recovery plans to help respond to and recover from these events. 

As is true with many things in life, the most successful implementation of these plans were from companies who had routinely practiced and exercised their plans over time.  Much like we often participate in fire drills and simulated evacuations, businesses routinely conduct Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery exercises to ensure they are ready to implement their plans when the situation arises. 

Gig Harbor is home to a consulting organization that helps other companies implement and/or practice their business continuity and disaster recovery programs.  Safe Harbor Consulting, LLC has been doing business out of Gig Harbor since 2008 and has clients throughout the United States and Internationally.  The CEO of Safe Harbor Consulting, Joe Flach, assisted a number of companies in their recovery from the tragic events on 9/11 after watching the events unfold from his New Jersey office just across from New York City.  Joe has helped many companies prepare for disaster and has facilitated hundreds of disaster recovery exercises throughout the 20+ years he has been in business continuity related positions.