The Value of Effective Disaster Recovery Planning

As business records accumulate, the obligation to manage and protect company information escalates. This has been underscored by recent events that have brought the world’s attention to the need for disaster recovery preparedness. Terrorist acts, hurricanes, floods, blackouts, mudslides, and fires have forced businesses to look at their records in a new light. Companies are realizing that although paper files are extremely vulnerable to loss or damage, computerized files are equally susceptible.

Virus and worm attacks, as well as unforeseen network shutdowns, all have the capacity to grind business processes to a halt. But what constitutes an emergency? Disaster recovery means different things to different companies. For some, disaster recovery means protection against the accidental deletion or loss of files. Others anticipate man-made or natural disasters. Without access to their records, businesses could potentially suffer catastrophic losses from which they might never recover.