Business Continuity vs. Disaster Recovery

It was the early morning hours when the phone rang. A fire had broken out in the building where we had our business. We threw on our coats and raced to the location. All I saw were flames and smoke as the firefighters worked to gain control of the blaze. It wasn't a surprise when I was informed the structure was a total loss - and everything in it. Where do we go from here? 

This is a true story that happened to a couple of friends of mine, right here in Rochester, NY. Their company's building burned to the ground. Questions like, "How do we get back up and running and how much of our data do we need to do it?" and "How do we get all of our documents back up so we can get back into full swing?" began to fill their minds as the shock wore off. No one thinks this will happen to them, but it happens. That's why every business should have a Business Continuity Plan and a Disaster Recovery Plan. They are related, but not the same - yet both are vital to the survival of your organization. 

The time to readdress or put your plans together is now, and I’ll get to the reason why in a moment. But first, here is what you need to know about both plans.

BUSINESS CONTINUITY PLAN

Business Continuity addresses the bare necessities to get your business back up and running as effectively as possible, as soon as possible. A good plan establishes the following: 

• A timeline to get your business operational 
• Your temporary business location or hub 
• How you will notify employees 
• How you will notify your customers 
• What your insurance covers 
• What systems need to be intact 
• Where your business will receive deliveries 
• The critical systems your business needs at a minimum to function.  
  
  Photo by Puddle Jumper Photography

If you had a house fire, these would be food, shelter, and clothing. For a business, these are remote work capabilities, forwarding calls to remote workers, data backup, etc. This plan is immediate, but not ideal for sustainability.

DISASTER RECOVERY PLAN 

Once your Business Continuity Plan is in place, your Disaster Recovery Plan will kick in. This plan moves your business back into "business as usual" or better mode. Your Disaster Recovery Plan covers: 

• Who will be responsible for overseeing recovery tasks
• Data migration, collection, and backup 
• Equipment setup 
• Networking and IT infrastructure 
• Cutting over utility services from your temporary site to your permanent location 
• All other details necessary to navigate your organization from business continuity to normal mode.

Right now is the perfect time to create or update your Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery plans. COVID-19 found many of us learning how to suddenly keep our business up and running due to state mandates. How did your business handle the abrupt adjustment? In hindsight, what improvements would you make? While all of this information is still fresh, now is the time to adjust and document these plans. LMT is here to help with that. Call us today to get started.  

Whether it’s a fire, a raging storm, or a pandemic, we all need to be prepared for disaster to strike. your clients deserve it, your employees deserve it, you deserve it.