Natural disasters and emergencies seem to be occurring all the time. Think about this year alone:
- Drought
- Wildfires
- Severe weather events of every description, from hurricanes to tornadoes and everything in between
Power outages are a frequent result of this type of event. In our world of information technology, when significant disruption or data loss occurs due to loss of power, especially to large organisations – government or private sector – it will sometimes even make the evening news.
The risk of data loss, however, is real for any sized company. As a managed service provider (MSP), or technical IT rep, it’s the last thing your clients should have to go through. But the potential always exists. What any size firm needs is effective business continuity and disaster recovery plan, in advance of any such unfortunate circumstance.
At Alert Centric, we take our stuff seriously. Here’s a look at some elements for you to consider when designing such a plan for your important IT clients
Power Outages and IT – a Real Disaster in the Making
They don’t have to be nationwide or even city-wide. Even localized power outages can result in serious issues for any business and its information systems. Any BCDR plan should keep this at the top of the list of precautionary priorities. Making sure IT systems stay powered, through backup power supplies, spare power supplies, and outlets helps ensure the systems stay running, and that data is protected.
Backup – the Backbone of a BCDR Plan
There are three main types of backup that should figure into any BCDR plan:
Backup Power Resources
As mentioned above. A sudden loss to your regular source of power should trigger backup power to kick in. It will help keep systems running, until the time the problems have been addressed, and regular power is restored.
Backup Communications
In the event of loss of landline phone service or internet connectivity, a contingency protocol should be in place; mobile phones for voice communication, and cloud-based email service in lieu of on-premise servers. Keeping your clients’ lines of communication open, in the event of a disastrous situation, is critical.
Data Backups
it’s like wearing suspenders and a belt. Despite the best intentions of a Managed IT Services outfit, taking any and all necessary precautions to keep their client’s systems up and running, circumstances can occur where data is compromised or lost.
More on Data Backups
Over and above BCDR planning for extreme circumstances, which is an excellent idea and highly recommended, proper data backups – copying data from a primary to a secondary location – should be an integral part of any Managed IT firm’s service offering. No company or organization, large or small, should risk going without a secure archive of its important data. Data corruption, power issues, natural disasters – all manner of occurrences can negatively impact an organisation’s IT systems, making it necessary to reach for a stored record.
Full, differential, and incremental
Backups can be executed in various ways. All of them take time and expertise to do properly, so they are current and usable, should the need arise. The whole concept and process of creating proper backups have evolved over time, as both the need and sheer quantities of data have risen. With all the increased complexity, organizations and MSPs alike are turning to Professional Services Automation (PSA), to assist in backup management, along with all other IT processes.
How Alert Centric Fits into the Backup Process
We’ve mentioned that, as Managed IT Services have evolved, so has the management of backups. Organizations now commonly have multiple systems and processes in place for their backups, spanning across departments, offices, and locations. Applications such as Alert Centric allow MSPs to seamlessly manage any diverse range of backup systems. Users can instantly gain visibility into their clients’ environments. Issues can be addressed with solutions more efficiently than ever before. Monitoring can also be automated, versus old-school manual backup checking, and its related drawbacks, including:
- Inefficient use of time
- Human error
- Vague status reporting
Alert Centric addresses all of these, at the same time integrating with all backup vendors – a serious improvement in this critical area of IT management.
Backups are Increasingly Important, More So than Ever
We mentioned off the top how vital BCDR plans are in today’s business and data management environment. The world relies on stability and reliability when it comes to computer systems of all types, and sizes. Backups frequently play the role of lifesaver, when emergencies arise, that involve data loss or breach. The more complex the data processing environment, the more reliable and sophisticated backup, and their associated management systems have to be. That’s why Alert Centric has developed a reliable, user-friendly tool – to ensure that backup systems of all types stay monitored and up-to-date, should the time come when they are needed. It makes sense to include such a service in place, for any effective Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery plan.
We would be happy to share more information with you or provide a demo, to see how Alert Centric might fit with your organisation. Contact us here.