Businesses of all sizes should take the time to implement business continuity plans if they want their business to survive a potential disaster. In order to do this, you need technology to support your plans. Even businesses with plans in place need to replace their technology eventually. The issue is how you know when to do this. To help, here are five tips that can signify when new technology is needed.
1. New technology and systems offer increased resilience
When it comes to continuity and the systems supporting it, businesses need to ensure that they are resilient. This means implementing hardened systems that will remain working in adverse environments; systems like UPS (uninterruptible power supplies), etc., so that should a disaster occur services will still be available.
Beyond this, it is a good idea to implement systems that can be switched from one location to another quickly and easily. A good example of this is implementing cloud storage and backup which can be recovered to other systems with minimal fuss.
Technology that increases the resilience of your systems and continuity plans is worth implementing.
2. Enhanced data protection and availability
During and after a disaster, it is vital that businesses have access to their data. If your data is not protected in an efficient manner, or easily accessible once it has been backed up, you could see a decrease in business effectiveness and delays in fully recovering.
Technology or systems that enhance data protection and availability over your existing systems are worth including in an upgrade, so that you can benefit from data being available when you need it most.
3. Systems offering increased communication
Communication during and after a disaster is crucially important if your business is to survive and recover full operations. When a company faces disaster, communication networks need to be strong and available at any time. So, if you can find systems that enhance the ease and effectiveness of your communications then these could be worthwhile upgrading to.
4. New technology is available to simplify plan development and auditing
If you have developed a continuity plan in the past, you know that it can be a time consuming task. While essential, many business owners do not have the necessary time to commit to this. This is where systems and technology can help.
A system that makes the auditing and development of plans easier may be worth including in an update.
5. Technology that decreases costs
With businesses operating on narrower margins, many business owners want systems to keep costs low or at the very least ensure costs don’t rise. If the systems you are looking at have been proven to reduce operating costs, then it may be a good idea to consider them.
It is important however to not integrate technology simply to save money. You should aim for solutions that are affordable, but that will also offer these worthwhile benefits and more.
We recommend talking to us to find out how we can help you find the services and technology your business needs to ensure your business continuity is not only working but will also deliver when you need it.
Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org.
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