According to the IT experts at Guidance Consulting, one of the most often overlooked – and important – aspects of disaster recovery planning is making sure a company is protected against physical damages to the hardware and other IT equipment. Most small businesses today know how important it is to include some sort of network protection against invaders like viruses, hackers, and other malware sources. However, some of the biggest disaster expenses come from hardware issues.
According to the National Federation of Independent Business, roughly 40 percent of all small businesses can expect to experience a physical disaster within their lifespan. These disasters can range anywhere from bad foundations in the office building to flooding caused by natural elements. In either case, the possibility of damages to more than just the carpet or the office furniture is a real and potentially business-closing threat.
“We’ve all grown so accustomed to our IT environments that we really forget how fragile hardware can be,” says Guidance Consulting senior consultant Daniel Gottilla. “But all it takes is one accident, and a business can lose every last bit of its information. That’s the sort of loss that ruins businesses for good.”
Small businesses are notoriously bad at making sure disaster planning efforts are in place. Thanks to a lower operating budget overall, it can be difficult for small business owners to justify the expense of offshore data storage or a workforce continuity recovery plan. Gottilla and his team are seeking to challenge this idea by offering affordable alternatives in disaster recovery planning.
“It’s a lot like buying insurance,” says Gottilla of the services they provide to small businesses. “You don’t operate the company van without insurance, even if the likelihood of an accident is really small. In the same way, you shouldn’t keep your information and network in one place and without recourse in the event of an accident. There’s only a small possibility of anything happening, but it’s best to be prepared for it just the same.”
Like insurance, Guidance Consulting offers the kinds of competitive rates that make disaster recovery planning worth the investment. “We’re not talking about thousands of dollars a month in charges,” Gottilla adds. “We have options to suit businesses of all sizes and budgets.”
