It is no secret that being prepared and available for customers is critical to a business during times of uncertainty. It is important to backup your data and have the proper infrastructure in place to keep your business running if an outage or disaster were to strike.
The two main areas on a well-developed recovery strategy should be Backup and Redundancy. Most companies don’t count on the necessary preparation in those areas, because they don’t understand their importance usually until it is too late.
Although the concepts of backups and redundancy may seem similar, there are a few important differentiators. Backups are specifically about creating copies of data in the event that your business experiences an incident where data loss occurs.
Redundancy, on the other hand, is much more than just data storage. Redundancy makes sure your business is able to provide continuity in its services no matter what happens. Redundancy ensures your data is stored in multiple geographically disparate locations.
You need to research the best ways to lower the risks of interruptions of your service when customers may need it most. Redundancy is a way to guarantee that your data will be secure and the systems will keep running if disaster occurs, but companies need to take a deeper look within their business to really cover all areas.
This engineering term means “duplication of critical components and functions in a system with the intention of increasing reliability”. As such, you should be thinking about redundancy in many relevant areas of your business.
The process of adding network devices and lines of communication to maintain availability and decrease the possibility of data loss is known as network redundancy. Colocation redundancy is the management of your geographical area to reduce incidents when a disaster or outage occurs.
What would happen to your servers if the power went out? Would they stay in line or be turned off. Power redundancy provides the capability to have a generator and a backup power supply to all equipment to guarantee the system will be online to keep the business running.
Geographic redundancy recommends that the backup servers are placed in a completely different location of your business office, this will allow you to recover faster if a disaster should occur. If your current location is inoperable you should already look for a solution and a fail-over location for your data, such as outsourcing options.
As we have been learning in backup and redundancy the term better be safe than sorry fits to perfection. Call and contact centers focus on these areas to help companies manage their business in case of emergency during rough times, but are a cost-effective way to be covered during better days.
Having a BPO partner as a contingency service contributes to your business running smoothly through any crisis. They make sure that if something fails, you are able to work regardless of the problem.
To create a functional disaster recovery plan you should pay close attention to every area of a company, focusing then on the important departments that need to stay active when a business is in trouble.
Business continuity is at stake if you haven’t planned and acted ahead, even when the disaster was unforeseeable. If a natural disaster or a major disruptive event occurs, having a BPO partner can continue to provide your service for you, even if only temporarily.
During physical events or threats, an offsite backup can be really helpful to get the business going with no downtime. If you are able to redirect calls to another office, that can be the plan. However, if no other location or site is available, nearshore or offshore BPOs are especially a safe option to keep in mind, as it is unlikely the same event with influence the two distant locations
Data loss and downtime can have a lasting effect on the bottom line for a business, so planning and investing ahead on a redundant backup contingency solution or partner is necessary for any business. When your disaster recovery plan is data focused you help mitigate damage caused to the organization, outsourced partners will minimize the effect on your organization in case of any disaster or emergency.
Keep in mind that it is necessary to have backups done often and stored in several locations to ensure the successful continuity of your business, as well as to be prepared for any legal or regulatory issues. It is impossible to know when an event will occur but with a well-planned and developed disaster recovery or business continuity service in place,, you can rest a bit more peacefully on your safety net.
