03 November 2021
Much like travel insurance, disaster recovery is one of these services that many sit on the fence about. To invest in it, or not to, this is a tough question for some businesses. If you never use it, is it really worth it? Let’s explore that.
Although we specialise in disaster recovery, we do appreciate that it’s one of those services that doesn’t always seem to hold value until you actually need it. And who knows if you will actually need it. All we do know is that you can’t really predict if or when a disaster will strike. Perhaps, pre-pandemic, businesses might have felt confident enough to take a gamble. Those businesses that did so, gambled against a network disaster recovery plan, were the ones scrambling when the pandemic hit the world, and their well-networked office became a no-go zone.
The benefit of a disaster recovery plan in good times is simply peace of mind. It doesn’t sound so business-critical when put like that, but the benefits in bad times are endless, and the focus of the conversation really should be about what’s at stake if you have no backup plan. Here’s what you could expect should the unexpected happen.
What if the internet goes down?
One of the most common situations that disaster recovery protects against is instances where the internet goes down. Whether a car took out a powerline outside or the network provider has a nationwide issue, internet downtime means significant losses. Both productivity losses, and for some, it can mean incomprehensible financial losses.
What if the office becomes uninhabitable?
Super high-speed networks at the office lose all value when the office becomes inhabitable. Maybe there is a flood, a fire or a power outage. These things usually only hold you up for a few days. But what if there was another lockdown, where everyone was ordered to work from home? The recent pandemic experience highlights how surprises can crop up with long-term impacts that you would never imagine you had to prepare for. Disconnected phones and the internet is not an option for more than a few hours, let alone months. Again, the losses are huge.
What if remote work is the forced new normal?
Every office just had the experience of switching to a work from home (WFH) set-up, so it’s fresh within all of our minds just how hectic this transition was. But as offices open back up, equipment is returned from home, and some go back to a 100% office-based workforce, there need to be precautions in place should this happen again. A repeat of the pandemic-style WFH transition may be smoother than the one just passed but one that is not properly planned for will, again, cripple productivity and significantly impact operations.
While businesses “return to normal”, telecommunications infrastructure disaster recovery should be one of the highest priorities to safeguard against any future surprises. While the best-case scenario is still that you never need to use it, the reality is that the unexpected can happen at any time and precautions to minimise downtime are the key to a quick recovery.
You need a network disaster recovery plan
Step one of a disaster recovery solution is a disaster recovery plan. Having phones and equipment ready to distribute is not enough to keep your business alive while moving through the unexpected. You need a plan, and Square One can help you to structure a plan that covers all of your potential needs to ensure no surprise can stop your business from moving forward.
We help design an overall disaster recovery plan that covers all bases of communication so that you can continue as normal.
Square One offers flexible telecom solutions tailor-made for your business. Contact us today to future proof your business productivity.
