Let me set the scene for you: it’s March 15th, 2020. It was just announced that students have been sent home, businesses are temporarily closing, and your business is part of the “nonessential” group that is identified as able to work remotely. You, as a business leader, have a few days to figure out how to transition your entire workforce to a WFH strategy for two weeks. You’re smart, so you turn to your Business Continuity Disaster Recovery (BCDR) plan. As you flip past building fires, cyber-attacks, executive departures, and other “normal” disasters, you realize your plan left out a global pandemic almost entirely shutting down the world. Now what are you supposed to do? What do you do when, after all your preparation and planning, you didn’t prepare for the right disaster?
Seriously, Don't Panic
I can feel you wanting to click off this blog but just stick with me for a minute. We all know that mistakes happen when we are rushed. Once the realization hits that whichever crisis your company is dealing with is not in the BCDR plan, it’s easy to spiral and feel overwhelmed. Don’t be alarmed, all that work for your plan was not in vain, and we’ll get into that in the next paragraph. Take a moment to acknowledge that disasters are stressful, and even the most prepared businesses are going to run into issues and tensions will be high. Okay so let’s all take a deep breath and continue!
Repurpose the BCDR Plan
Gone, but not forgotten. You put all that effort into your detailed BCDR plan, don’t let it go to waste now that you’re in a disaster! If you’re experiencing a data breach but only planned for a ransomware attack, maybe you could reuse some of the steps around identifying what files have been compromised, how to communicate with stakeholders, and identifying backups that may need an extra layer of security. Back to the pandemic example, maybe you can draw from a gas leak or building fire plan to decide next steps. Not all steps can be repurposed, but chances are you have a similar event in your preexisting plan.
Prioritize Accordingly
Chances are if you’re going into a disaster without a solid plan, you’ll have to make some concessions to get back to operational status. Maybe that means taking certain services offline so all resources can be redirected to critical applications or understanding the productivity concerns about WFH but not implementing processes quite yet. If it’s all hands on deck, you should focus on the greatest positive impact to the business.
Add to Your DR Plan
Once you’ve recovered and business is operating as normal, take the time directly after a disaster to analyze your BCDR plan. If you need help knowing where to start, read this comprehensive blog that highlights creation and testing. Having fresh eyes and disaster on your mind may help put you in the critical and creative mindset necessary to think of new scenarios to add to your plan. And, of course, don’t forget to add your current disaster to your updated DR plan!
When it comes to your data, you don’t want to take any chances. Our BCDR solutions offerings can be tailored to fit your business needs and ensure your data is protected when it is most vulnerable. Contact us today and we’ll get you in touch with the right person that can understand your organization’s business continuity needs.
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