It’s not a matter of IF…. it’s just a matter of WHEN.
Whether it’s a flood, a hurricane, or a simple power outage, most businesses will experience some sort of emergency or disaster that will halt operations in the near future.
Can your business continue to function despite interruptions and emergencies?
According to DisasterSafety.org, 100% of small businesses are at risk for one or more extreme weather events….and that’s just weather! What about the all-too-common Incidents and accidents triggered by:
- fire
- flooding (weather and non-weather related)
- electric outages
- human error
- internet outages
- hardware and software malfunction
…..just to name a few. Any one of these events can send companies into a costly downward spiral.
Despite knowing the very clear and present danger of disaster… the majority of business do not have a disaster recovery plan. According a to a recent survey by Nationwide, only 23% of business owners have included emergency preparedness in their business strategy.
Sadly, an even smaller number have considered how to handle their communication system going down for any length of time– a very likely event.
How much revenue would your business lose if your phones and internet were unavailable for a month? A week? A day? How about just one hour?
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Can you afford to lose $100,000 an hour?
According to a study done in 2016, $100,000 is the average cost of one hour of downtime in an organization. The numbers below are from 2016, and nearly a decade of tracking indicates that these numbers are rising every year:
- 98% of organizations say a single hour of downtime costs over $100,000
- 81% of respondents indicated that 60 minutes of downtime costs their business over $300,000
- 33% of those enterprises reported that one hour of downtime costs their firms $1-5 million
Source: Information Technology Intelligence Consulting Research
While many shrewd enterprises have carefully analyzed ways to maintain business continuity by a variety of means, creating a a veritable suit of armor for their business. This could be a false sense of security, however, since most have neglected to incorporate business phone systems into these initiatives.
Dismissing your phone system when creating a backup plan will leave you exposed and vulnerable to the deadly dragon of revenue loss. This oversight will not only inhibit communication and operations during the emergency, but will threaten a company’s ability to regain its footing even after the crisis has passed.
But it doesn’t have to be that way.
A few simple steps could be all it takes to patch the hole in your armor, and keep your business running come what may.
There are cost-effective methods of automating all aspects of disaster recovery, for any size company and any type of communication system. A few general strategies could include:
- Add an equipment battery backup
- Connect to a data center backup
- Implement a cloud solution for disaster fail over
- Set up backup carrier solutions
Business continuity plans don’t have to be complicated, but they do need to be put in place and revisited periodically. Regularly testing, evaluating and updating disaster recovery strategies will ensure productivity at all times, especially after an emergency.
By planning ahead and implementing technology “safety nets”, you can improve your ability to compete and thrive, regardless of what uncontrollable circumstances come your way.
Talk to your experienced IT and Telecom solution consultant to see which safety nets can be implemented today.
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