Prepare for the Worst, Plan for the Best: Disaster Preparedness and Recovery for Small Businesses

Chapter 10. IT Strategy

If you followed the advice in the earlier chapters of this book, and developed a disaster strategy for your business, your IT infrastructure should be in good shape and allow quick and effective response to the events unfolding. You have routine contingency issues caused by human error and equipment or third-party failure, events that over 90% of all small businesses will ever experience. Only a very small percentage of us will have to deal with more serious disasters.

Imagine that a disaster just struck. It was unexpected and quick. You will soon face demands from different parties. Everyone will want some assurance, to feel cared for, and to be recognized. Sometimes this need presents itself in difficult ways: Everyone wants their particular issue addressed right here and now, and each action taken will be scrutinized. When the disaster struck, everyone was occupied with the ongoing events. In the immediate aftermath, as you are trying to implement an organized response, it may seem as though everyone has forgotten the earlier agreements on priorities and timeframes. Instead of recognizing the damages that were limited, employees may focus their attention on the inconveniences of the disruption (assuming that you were so fortunate as to avoid the more serious consequences of a disaster, such as loss of human life).

Expectations may become unrealistic; employees may fail to appreciate that downtime has been minimized relative to what could have happened had ...