Disaster Recovery

As you know, interruption to your business due to a disaster, natural disaster, or terrorism can have a real financial impact on your business in terms of lost income, real estate and productivity. Imagine the impact of having to close your business for a persiod of time because your office has been damaged or destroyed. What is your next step?
Allow the Disaster Recovery specialists at Outsource Offices to do a risk assessment to figure out what constitutes a disaster and which risks a specific company is susceptible to, including:

• Natural Disasters


• Fire


• Power Failure


• Terrorist Attacks


• Organized or deliberate disruptions


• System and/or equipment failures


• Human Error


• Computer Viruses


• Legal issues


• Worker strikes

The Plan
A good plan takes into account many different factors. The most important are:

• Telephone Tree – to notify all key personnel of the problem and assign them tasks focused toward the recovery plan.


• Recall backups – If backup tapes are taken offsite, these need to be recalled. If using remote backup services, a network connection to the remote backup location (or the Internet) will be required.


• Customers – notifying clients about the problem minimizes panic.


• Facilities – having backup hot sites or cold sites for larger companies. Mobile recovery facilities are also available from many suppliers.


• Knowledge Workers – during a disaster, employees are required to work longer, more stressful hours, and a support system should be in place to alleviate some of the stress.


• Business Information – backups should be stored in a completely separate location from the company (Cummings, Haag & McCubbrey 2005.). Security and reliability of that data is key.

1. Guaranteed Office Space – Place your displaced employees in a Business Center (allowing them to be up and running as quickly as overnight).


2. Resources Address / IT Support – Use a Business Center for dedicated direct dial telephone numbers for each of your employees. Telephone answering in your company name along with call forwarding, patching and voice mail. Use the Business Center address as your own – this allows proper and efficient mail handling. IT support is available and is as easy as plug and play. Have your faxes handled and forwarded.


3. Support Services – Staffing at business centers serves and an extension of your company. The staff represents a complete business resource creating a comfort zone of high quality services and reliability. Core services offered for disaster recovery include word processing, dictation, faxing, filing, photocopying, desktop publishing, graphic design, catering, reception and concierge services.