In 2020, the world came to a screeching halt due to the COVID-19 outbreak, and businesses across the globe shut down for extended periods. In 2021, the unpredictability and new variants of COVID-19 emerged, along with extreme weather events and supply chain disruptions. Is your business ready for whatever’s going to happen in 2022?
As a business continuity service provider, InnoTek Computer Consulting has seen firsthand what it’s like when a small business like yours in Scranton or Wilkes-Barre, PA, has adequately planned for crises and when they have not. Many of the firms that shut down due to COVID-19 never reopened due partly to their lack of business continuity planning (BCP). You’ve worked too hard to build your business. Don’t let it become another statistic and victim of the next global or local crisis.
We can help reduce your stress and not worry about your essential business data should the unthinkable happen. With robust data backups and easy steps to recover your data after a tragedy, our cost-effective business continuity services will have your business back up and running in no time! Learn five reasons why you need continuity planning in 2022, then contact us to ensure your data remains protected, no matter what’s happening in the world or locally.
1. Your Disaster Recovery Plan Needs Regular Updates
Suppose you’re wondering what business continuity planning is and why you need it. In that case, it’s simply an emergency management plan for when things out of your control happen—global pandemics, natural disasters, or cyberattacks, for example.
If you already have a disaster recovery plan, you are already one step ahead of your competition which doesn’t have one. But when was the last time you updated it? You should update your plan at least every six months, or if something changes in your business—new vendors, ownership changes, operational policies, recent technology updates, employment changes. Failing to update your business continuity plan could spell disaster for your business.
You’ll need to update things and review like:
- chain of command during the crisis management situation
- recovery time objectives (RTO)
- recovery point objectives (RPO)
- key business information
- recovery strategies
- vendors and their contact information
A business continuity service provider can help you ensure the information about your network, IT infrastructure, and business structure is up to date. Partnering with the right service provider, like InnoTek, can make all the difference in your data backup and recovery time.
2. Old Threats Evolve & New Threats Emerge Every Day
A second reason to contact a qualified business continuity service provider is that new threats emerge every day, and old threats evolve.
Think about COVID-19. First, we had a delta variant, then the omicron. Will the new variant be the one that shuts your business doors forever? Not if you can continue operating according to the disaster recovery solution you have in place for such situations!
Since COVID-19 happened, many businesses have allowed their employees to work remotely. As businesses reopened, some of those workplaces remained remote, and others adopted a hybrid strategy—working in the office for a few days and working from home the others. You need to be sure you have proper cybersecurity protocols and that your employees know their responsibility in keeping your business safe online.
Cybercriminals are becoming more sophisticated every day and are more likely to attack a small business like yours because you don’t have the same robust security measures as large corporations. You need a managed service provider, like InnoTek, to help protect your business from these threats.
Other risks that could threaten your business’s resilience are continued supply chain disruptions, odd weather patterns, and even the conflict between Ukraine and Russia. We’re only a few months into the year, and we’ve already seen many threats that could take down more businesses. That’s why it’s essential to ensure your business data is protected through the business continuity planning process.
3. Continuity Planning Protects Your Business
With all these changing circumstances, it’s more critical in 2022 than ever to ensure you partner with a business continuity service provider who can protect your company. The right partner will update your recovery strategies and remove items from your BCP that are no longer relevant or applicable to your company.
They can help with risk management by exposing areas where you’re vulnerable and helping you respond to those threats. If something does happen to your business, an updated plan and a cloud-based data backup and recovery partner can help quicken recovery.
4. When Disaster Strikes, You Can Keep Operating
Suppose something does happen to your business this year—a fire, a cyberattack, or a new global pandemic. Without a business continuity and disaster recovery plan, you won’t be able to continue selling or shipping products. You may even lose your critical business data entirely, which could cause you to close your doors forever.
However, when you contact a business continuity service provider, we protect your proprietary and confidential business data, allowing you to return to a minimally accepted level until you can fully restore your operations. Plus, if you’ve already set up the proper security protocols for remote work, and something happens to your building, you’ll still be able to operate. Continuing to provide services and products during a crisis sends a message of stability to both your clients and your employees.
5. Business Continuity Management Gives You a Competitive Advantage
Now that you know what is business continuity planning and have four good reasons to have a reliable IT partner, you know that you need to update or create your disaster recovery plan. Call a business continuity service provider to handle your data protection so that if a disaster does strike, you can keep operating.
But what if your competitors haven’t read this article and are blissfully ignorant of their risks? If something happens that affects multiple businesses in Northeastern PA, like a flood or coal mining fire, you have the competitive advantage against your business rivals. You can keep operating according to your plan, and your competition may lose their data, hindering their ability to continue to provide services.
Plus, your risk assessments as part of your BCP will identify critical business functions in peril and allow you to mitigate that risk ahead of time.
Ready to Get Started with a Business Continuity Service Provider?
When preparing for threats that could dismantle your business operations, it’s critical to have an updated disaster recovery plan. As part of that plan, your business continuity service provider will ensure that your crucial business data is secured, backed up, and recovered quickly when needed. InnoTek is the number one choice of small- to mid-size businesses in the Wilkes-Barre, Scranton, Hazleton, and Bloomsburg areas.
If a disaster strikes, all you have to do is follow the steps in your business continuity plan, and we’ll restore your data in mere minutes. With automated, redundant backups, you can rest assured that your files and software are safely in the cloud, and not stuck on tapes or disks at your location that could get ruined or fail without your knowledge. Get in touch with us today to start your disaster recovery plan.
