No matter the size or scale of your business, a powerful enough storm or talented enough hacker can come along and devastate your servers. While this may seem grim, understanding that protecting your data needs to be a top priority can save your business in the long run. So, how can organizations protect themselves from losing critical information or suffering extensive downtime?
Business continuity offers a solution by creating a strategic plan to protect and preserve the integrity of your data and ensure your operations run smoothly, even in the face of disaster. But what exactly is business continuity, and how does it work? Much like we have gone over in the past with strategies such as network monitoring and management, in this article we will explore the ins and outs of business continuity and why it’s crucial for every organization.
But first, we need to answer this simple question…
What is Business Continuity?
Business continuity refers to an organization’s ability to maintain essential functions during and after a disaster. Whether it’s a hurricane, a cyberattack, or any other unforeseen event, the goal of business continuity is to keep critical business operations running while minimizing downtime. Take, for example, natural disasters like hurricanes Helene and Milton, which caused widespread destruction and disrupted businesses across multiple regions. There is only so much you can do to protect the location of your physical servers. Some storms are so severe that damage will occur no matter the amount of doors fortified or sandbags placed.
A business continuity plan involves risk management strategies and procedures that help prevent interruptions to mission-critical services. These strategies can involve general cybersecurity best practices, or specific guardrails that your business follows from the employee to executive level. At its core, business continuity ensures your operations remain functional when disaster strikes and that recovery happens swiftly.
Why is Business Continuity Important?
As mentioned before, a business continuity plan is a proactive framework designed to mitigate risks from unpredictable, yet surprisingly common real-world events like fires, pandemics, supply chain disruptions, and cyberattacks. The primary goal is to restore day-to-day operations as quickly and smoothly as possible. As we are reaching the end of hurricane season, now is an ideal time to invest in a solid business continuity plan for next year.
However, while severe storms might only come only during certain months in certain areas, cyberattacks can happen anytime, anywhere. Consider a real-world example: in May 2021, Langs Building Supplies, an Australian materials company, faced a ransomware attack. Thanks to their MFA-protected backups, they secured their data without paying the ransom. They had learned from a similar attack five years prior and were prepared with policies that enabled them to recover swiftly, further demonstrating the value of business continuity planning.
These events can happen to any business. It doesn’t matter the size, the scale, location, or specialization. A business continuity and disaster recovery (BCDR) plan prepares you for whatever life throws your way.
SWK’s Backup and Business Continuity
SWK’s Business Assurance solution provides businesses with a reliable backup and recovery service to ensure ongoing operations and data protection. Our cloud-based system eliminates the need for outdated manual backups or external drives, which can also be lost or damaged if not taken proper care of. With data stored both onsite and in the cloud, monitored 24/7, your business is better protected from data loss and network downtime.
43% of companies that experience significant data loss cannot recover, with 51% closing within two years, and only 6% managing to survive a catastrophic breach or disaster. Should a disaster occur, SWK can deploy a new Business Assurance device pre-loaded with your data and applications, allowing you to continue operations at an alternate location. Additionally, the built-in virtualization technology within SWK’s backup device can take over the role of a failed server, ensuring your business stays operational during repairs or replacements.
SWK’s comprehensive business continuity, managed IT, and network services provide peace of mind by keeping your operations running smoothly after a cyber incident or other disruptions.
Contact SWK Today
Having a well-structured business continuity plan is crucial, but finding the right partner to help implement and maintain that plan is just as important. SWK offers a team of experts committed to protecting your data, allowing you to focus on what truly matters—running your business. Do not wait until disaster strikes. Contact SWK today to schedule a call with our award-winning team. Protecting your data now could be the difference between continuing operations as usual, or suspending them indefinitely.