If your office caught fire tomorrow, what’s the one thing you would save? This simple thought experiment has a very important lesson. Your biggest asset is your data, and the only way to keep that data safe is with a comprehensive disaster recovery plan.
It’s a horrible thought. But it does happen, so ask yourself this: if my office caught fire tomorrow and I could only save one thing, what would it be? What single item is so crucial to the survival of my business that I would do everything I could to get it out of a burning building?
This isn’t just a thought experiment. It’s actually a very helpful exercise. Let’s take a moment to go through it together.
Safety first
Of course, your absolute priority is to make sure that your people are safe. As these statistics from Fire and Safety Australia show, plenty of businesses are behind the curve when it comes to fire safety. So the first thing you want to do is make sure everyone in your team is trained in the proper procedures.
But let’s say that goes off smoothly. Everyone reacts just as they should and nobody’s going to be hurt. And you have just enough time, just that crucial split second, to grab what you need and get out. (Of course, you shouldn’t stop to take anything with you in a real fire. But this is an imaginary one, so that’s all right.) What do you grab?
The answer is obvious. The single most important thing for the survival of your business is data. Without that data, there wouldn’t even be a business to worry about.
Grab the data!
Think about how you store your data. Is it on a physical server? Electrical fires are a major hazard in the workplace, so there’s a real risk that your server is the first thing to go. If you’ve got paper files, those are likely to go up in smoke too, even if you could manage to carry them all out with you.
The best and most reliable way to save your data – the only way, really – is to have a reliable, up-to-date backup on a secure cloud server. If you’ve got that, then there’s no need to worry about your data. You can leave the building without looking back.
But the reality is that many people let backups slide. It’s one of those boring daily tasks that just don’t seem that important – until there’s an emergency, by which time it’s too late. So even if you do back up your data to the cloud, ask yourself: when was the last time it was backed up? When was it last checked, and the data verified? If the answer isn’t “today”, then the fire is likely to cost you some important data.
You never know when the worst might happen. The only way to stop a fire or natural disaster from causing you major data loss is to have a complete and fully implemented disaster recovery plan. And that’s where we come in.
At Perigon One, it’s our job to make sure your valuable data stays protected. If you’d like to talk over your disaster recovery plan – or get started on making one – just get in touch. We’d love to help!
