Disaster recovery is the ability of companies to prepare for and recover from events that adversely affect their business operations. These can be in the form of natural calamities, power outages, equipment failure, loss of Internet connectivity, sabotage, or cyber-security attacks. It encompasses strategies that organizations implement to re-gain control of their IT infrastructure in the aftermath of disasters. This ensures that the continuity of the corporations’ revenue-generating activities throughout the crisis remains.
IT Managed Services San Francisco – Necessity of a disaster recovery plan for small companies
Small companies need to have proper disaster recovery strategies in place for their businesses. These plans contain the guidelines on how entrepreneurs running these organizations should respond to potential disasters. They can then:
- Minimize the disruptions to their normal business operations,
- Limit the impact of the disruptions to their businesses,
- Reduce the losses resulting from the interruption to their business activities,
- Establish alternative ways to conduct their revenue-generating operations in advance,
- Train their managerial personnel and employees in how to execute the emergency procedures, and
- Ensure rapid restoration of their critical IT infrastructure services.
However, many small businesses do not have the necessary resources and expertise to implement contingency strategies on their own. Moreover, the cost of building an in-house secondary data center is beyond their budget. In this situation, they need to hire and work closely with reliable IT-managed service providers and experts.
Role IT managed service providers in disaster recovery
IT managed service providers are third-party corporations who are responsible for remoting managing their customers’ entire IT infrastructure and operations. The corporate vendors oversee the smooth working of network servers, data centers, operating systems, software solutions, databases, and desktop computers. These companies adopt a subscription-based pricing model to charge their customers for the services they provide.
The specialists of IT managed services San Francisco companies say these vendors perform the following functions when executing disaster recovery strategies for small corporations:
- Identify the potential vulnerabilities to their companies’ vital IT systems and processes,
- Document the likely financial impact of potential disasters on the IT systems,
- Estimate the probable recovery time for each system within the IT infrastructure,
- Rank and prioritize the IT systems on the basis of their importance via an audit,
- Outline and formulate a proper disaster recovery plan, and
- Test the recovery plan in under-stimulated disaster scenarios.
The benefits of hiring IT managed service providers for small companies to implement disaster recovery strategies are as follows:
- Results in cost savings,
- Reduces potential IT outages resulting from disasters,
- Ensure the quick adoption of the latest technologies,
- Boost business productivity despite the disasters, and
- Keeps vital business data secure in all eventualities,
The experts of IT managed services San Francisco companies conclude by saying the disaster recovery strategies IT managed vendors develop for small corporations ensure the continuity of their businesses faster than those companies that do not have such plans for disaster recovery. However, the entrepreneurs operating these enterprises need to know how to select the right service provider. The one they choose should have a good market reputation and adequate experience in the area of disaster recovery. Above all, the vendor should be able to cater to their specific needs round-the-clock.
