I know I talk about this a lot, but it’s only because I care :). I’ve said it 100 time and I’ll probably say it 100 more times…plan for a disaster BEFORE you have a disaster. Below are 5 tips for disaster planning. I could probably give you 20, but I just want to start off with 5.
5 Tips for Disaster Planning
- Have a written plan – Think it through, and write it down. Write it in a style of micromanagement. Think of every single detail that could go wrong. This about what could happen, how it could happen, who will handle it, who is their backup? Come up with every detail, and every tiny detail.
- Hire a professional to help you – You don’t have to do this on your own. There are people out there who are experts in putting together a sufficient, detailed disaster plan. You will have to do the work, but they can certainly guide you as to what you will need to have a good, solid plan.
- Network Documentation – I can’t express enough how having good network documentation is vital to any disaster plan. You need to know what you have, and how it is set up before you can fix it. You need to be able to communicate to other staff, insurance companies, and management. For you to do this, you need good, up to date, solid network documentation.
- Plan your Backups – Always, always, always test your backups, then test them again. You will find out you did not have a good backup when you need your backup! Test it as often as you can. Run extra backups and store them away. Make sure you have local copies, AND off-site copies. Backups are the key to any good disaster plan.
- Test your Plan – Once you have the plan in place, test it. Don’t just file it away. Remember all the fire drills when you were in school? Those were a great idea weren’t they? You don’t want to implement your escape during a real fire! Test it, and test it regularly.
I could really turn 5 tips for disaster planning into 25 tips for disaster planning! It is that important. Remember…micromanage your plan, and plan BEFORE a disaster.
