Why a disaster recovery plan is critical to protecting your business 

In a shocking statistic, the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) states that, after a disaster, “90% of smaller companies fail within a year unless they can resume operations within 5 days.”

While the disasters FEMA is referring to do include unexpected events such as fires and burst pipes, they also include technology-related disasters. These days, the biggest technology-related disasters that affect midsize businesses have to do with cybersecurity breaches.

The problem is that, according to the same FEMA statistics, “1 in 5 companies spend no time maintaining their plan.”

It is absolutely crucial to protect your midsize business with a comprehensive disaster recovery plan. This also means outfitting your plan with the top backup software available.

What’s the Right Disaster Recovery Plan for Your Business?

There are three core parts of any comprehensive disaster recovery plan.

1. Backup and Restore

Downtime from a security breach will be considerably reduced by proper backup software. Whether your data is deleted, corrupted, or stolen, a backup gives you back everything you lost. Proper backup is key, however. Simply having a duplicate version of your data onsite or in the cloud won’t cut it when dealing with sophisticated cybercriminals.

Don Baham, President of Nashville IT services company, Kraft Technology Group, LLC recommends Datto software. Additionally, Baham states that you want your backup and restore software to, “[allow] businesses to virtualize protected computers on the appliance or in the cloud for minimal downtime,” something that Datto also provides.

2. Ransomware Protection

Ransomware is one of the top security issues plaguing businesses of all sizes. At the same time, cybercriminals especially target small and midsize businesses who are often more likely to shirk having ransomware protection, data backup, and other cybersecurity protocols in place.

With a ransomware scam, malicious software is somehow installed on your system or network, and it shuts down your access to data and/or your system until you pay a ransom. Malware protection, including antivirus software and firewalls, are several key ways to protect against ransomware.

3. Employee Training

Lastly, it’s essential to invest in employee training.

Cameron Call from Las Vegas IT services company, Network Security Associates says “Educating your workers on how to recognize security threats — and what to do if and when they do encounter one — is critical to ensuring that you don’t have to ever use your data or system backup.” A large portion of ransomware scams and other security threats are instigated by employees who didn’t know any better and clicked on a corrupt link or downloaded or malicious file. Proper security training can prevent these issues.

How a Managed Service Provider Can Help

Organizations of small and mid-level size are often intimidated when it comes to technology. Indeed, compliance, cybersecurity, and keeping up-to-date with the latest software and hardware can feel like a full-time job. Moreover, it can add considerable costs to your already long list of expenses.

Still, all of these things are essential, and this is especially true for cybersecurity.

Something that can help you reduce costs while maintaining a strong handle on your business’s technology is hiring a managed service provider or MSP. An MSP will charge you a regular sum (monthly, annual, biannual, etc.) to manage your IT services. This includes cybersecurity.

If you would like to improve your cybersecurity and create a comprehensive disaster recovery plan with robust backup software, search for a quality MSP in your area.

Stuart Crawford serves as Managing Partner with Ulistic LP, a specialty MSP Marketing firm focused on information technology marketing and business development. He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience pertaining to how technology business owners and IT firms can use marketing as a vehicle to obtain success.