Many companies pay close attention to recovering business data, but they do not spend the time addressing the logistics of getting critical functions up and running in a timely manner if there is a business disaster.

Maybe business people do not want to invest the time to develop a business continuity plan or they lack appreciation of the importance of having a business continuity plan. Maybe they do not want to incur the cost of preparing for interruptions. On the other hand, maybe the push by technology people to ensure data is backed up has given business people a false sense of security.

Whatever the reason, the result is many companies can recover their data, but they are not prepared to get their business up and running if they experiencea problem.

A few things to think about:

If your facility was destroyed or you were prevented from entering your facility for a few days or a few weeks, do you have a place for your employees to work? Possible solutions are to develop a working relationship with another company or to look into some of the backup facilities that are available.

Do you know what are your critical hardware and software requirements? If you are unable to enter your facility for a period, you want to be able to at least recover and start critical functions so that you can operate your business and satisfy your customers. If you need to establish a completely new facility, you need to know what hardware and software you need to resume normal operations. Periodically take an inventory of your hardware and software to ensure you know what IT assets are required to recover as well as resume normal operations.

Do you have manual processes that can be implemented if you do not have computer systems to process the data? Chances are that even if you have computer systems, your access will be limited. Decide what manual processes you can implement so that you can keep the business running. Also, decide what processes and work can wait until you have resumed normal operations and are not necessary during a recovery period.

Do you have adequate Insurance? More than one business no longer exists today because they had no insurance or the insurance was not adequate for their business. It is best to review your insurance on a periodic basis with your insurance carrier.

It is important to remember that data is not the only thing you need to run your business. If you do not know what is needed to get the business up and running and you do not have a place for your employees to work, you might not recover from a disaster.