How can you keep your database and IT systems safe from disasters? This is a key question to ponder if you are the owner of a business. Never allow a cyber-attack or anything similar to ruin everything you have toiled for. No matter whatever business you own, you must ensure all its sensitive data and information are safe.
Database Recovery Plan
There are some rare cases where you cannot prevent disasters from occurring in your business. However, there are some precautions you can take when it comes to protecting the well-being of your business, customer data, and all IT technologies associated with it.
Be safe over sorry
Some business owners are fully aware of potential disasters that might happen to their business. However, they are not sure where to begin and whom to consult. Some small business owners believe they are safe, and they do not need one.
They believe they can manage them on their own. However, this often proves wrong when the actual disaster occurs and brings a deep blow to the business. It is prudent to be safe than sorry, so always assign importance to a database disaster recovery plan to ensure your business stays safe from any potential threats that are likely to arise in the future.
Where should you start?
Though the thought of creating the right plan might seem daunting to new business owners, the task is not an impossible one. This simple guide will walk you through the key points to include in your database and IT disaster plan so that you can reduce the after-effects of the blow in case it happens. Read till the end of this post so that you can get one in place now. Before getting into the key points of a database disaster recovery plan for your business, you first should understand what it means?
What is a disaster recovery plan for your database?
The disaster recovery plan for any business database is generally in writing. It is a document with a guide and set of instructions the team follows when it comes to handling unprecedented events that could completely shut down your company's operations. These rare incidents hinder IT systems in the organization, and you could lose sensitive and important data in the process.
This disaster recovery plan must be created in such a way as to get the business up and operating as usual at the earliest. Such incidents might include a breach of data or a natural disaster like a hurricane or storm. When your company has designed an effective plan, it reduces the chances of losing out on business profits due to the event.
Moreover, in the case of cyber attacks or a data breach, you can even prevent sensitive information from falling into the hands of hackers or people with malicious intent to harm your business. Information like credit card data or social security information can be stolen if you do not have a secure plan in place.
Some of the key database disasters that can potentially harm your business and shut it down completely are as follows-
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Cyberattacks
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Terrorist attacks
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Floods
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Hurricanes
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Tornadoes
The above disasters have the ability to throw your business off track for good. Adding that extra layer of security will curb disasters irrespective of their cause.
Key points to include in the database disaster recovery plan for your business
Experienced experts from leading database management company,Decipher Zone recommend the following key points that should exist in your database disaster recovery plan-
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The plan should have precautions to reduce the impact of disasters. Here, a layered security technique and approach must be adapted to help your operations function smoothly with a small downtime duration.
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In case your business operates from over one location, all the employees maintaining databases should be aware of what they should do when disaster strikes. The rest of the employees should be aware of whom to contact when disaster strikes- you or the IT system authority.
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The plan should have the most salient aspects of your company written down clearly. It should be extensive and simple to access when an emergency strikes.
Besides the above key points, keep in mind the following components to ensure your business disaster recovery plan is more solid and stronger-
Ascertain the amount of downtime and data loss you can afford-
Your database disaster plan should begin with this question. The reason for different businesses is different. Begin your plan by asking yourself how much downtime and data loss can you afford? For instance, if you run an eCommerce store, you cannot have your site down for a long time; however, if you are an electrical company, you can afford a longer downtime as you do not depend on many technologies. You should also list the business apps you have under this point that your company cannot do without.
Analyze potential threats and their probable effects-
Make a list of the possible threats that will harm your business. Create a specific plan for each one of them to handle them better. For instance, how can you tackle cyber-attacks, how can you secure hardware; encrypt data, etc., in case a tsunami strikes. One of the best ways to tackle cyber-attacks is to educate yourself on the latest techniques hackers use to steal information from the company. In this way, you can ward away malware infections and phishing.
Customers and employees-
Do not solely focus on technology when creating a disaster recovery plan for your database. Keep your customers and employees in mind- they are responsible for running your business. Make sure to assign roles clearly so that employees know who will do what when a disaster strikes. Ensure you have a list of email addresses, home, and cellphone numbers accessible to all concerned in the company. When a disaster strikes, inform your customers via an automated message or social media to let them know what the developments are.
Finally, ensure you periodically update your disaster recovery plan for your database and IT systems. Always take the help of qualified IT managed services if you do not have an experienced in-house IT management team of your own for the task.