Disaster Recovery

Very few companies consider how they would survive in the event of a disaster or major interruption to their business. Business disaster recovery is much more than just keeping backups of computer data. Relying on insurance will not help in the critical first 48 hours. 90% of companies that have a major disaster and no disaster recovery plan eventually fail. Here is a typical scenario:

"It is 9:00 a.m. on a Monday morning. Many of the staff are already in the building. A fire breaks out. Inititally, people think it is a false alarm and are slow to respond. Soon they smell smoke. People move quickly outside. Smoke begins to pour from the windows. A few people panic and rush inside to recover belongings. Others run to their cars and try to get out of the car park. At the same time, some late comers are trying to drive in. Because there is only one way in and out, when the emergency services arrive they cannot get in because the driveway is blocked. Valuable time is lost manoeuvering cars. A couple of people emerge from the building and collapse from smoke inhalation. Someone thinks that at least one person is still inside. The local press soon arrive, having heard about the fire and are taking pictures and asking for a statement. You can hear telephones ringing inside the building as customers are trying to get through. The Fire Service Incident Commander denies you access to the building. It is now just 9:30 a.m. What do you do next?"

This is what the Incident Phase is like in real life. It's what you do in the first hour of a disaster that can determine the longer term outcome. How well prepared are you to manage a situation such as this? Our disaster recovery consultants can help you to be prepared.

It is not just the physical threats such as fire, flood and explosion that companies should be worried about. There are many more types of business risk that companies face every day, any one of which could precipitate a major crisis. And then it may not be you that has the crisis - a fire next door might prevent you from gaining access to your premises - or the failure of a key supplier could halt your production line!

Exposure to these risks has increased in recent years as companies have pursued relentless drives towards downsizing and streamlining operations. As performance and profitability increases so does the vulnerability to business disruption. See Business Continuity for more information.

Our business continuity consultants advise on the key issues that have to be addressed and can help companies to develop effective business continuity and disaster recovery plans.