STOP WORRYING, START PLANNING
The idea of that “What if…” moment is something that has entered all of our minds on more than one occasion. What if that next tornado hits my business or data center? What if that next data breach exposes my personal information? How do I make sure the information and data I’ve worked hard to build and protect is never put at risk?
The truth is we can’t. But, we can plan ahead for the best possible outcome.
That’s the idea behind Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery, often referred to as BCDR. It’s the strategic development of plans and procedures to help your business continue to operate, as close to full capacity as possible, while enduring and recovering from a major cyber security, natural, or man-made disaster.
With the latest threats and disasters seemingly increasing in size and destructive power almost daily, it’s vital to ensure that your mission critical data can be recovered as quickly as possible. The quicker your information can be recovered, the quicker your business can get back to work and avoid significant impacts on your bottom line.
BCDR encompasses a wide variety of topics including safety, security, data protection and recovery, infrastructure management, employee communication, customer notifications and more.
As a Managed IT Service Provider, we focus our efforts on data protection, security and recovery as well as infrastructure management. Let’s take a look at these in further detail.
STOP WORRYING, START PLANNING
The thought of that “What if…” moment is something that has entered all of our minds on more than one occasion. What if that next tornado hits my business or data center? What if that next data breach exposes my personal information? How do I make sure the information and data I’ve worked hard to build and protect is never put at risk?
The truth is we can’t. But, we can plan ahead for the best possible outcome.
That’s the idea behind Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery, often referred to as BCDR. It’s the strategic development of plans and procedures to help your business continue to operate, as close to full capacity as possible, while enduring and recovering from a major cyber security, natural, or man-made disaster.
With the latest threats and disasters seemingly increasing in size and destructive power almost daily, it’s vital to ensure that your mission critical data can be recovered as quickly as possible. The quicker your information can be recovered, the quicker your business can get back to work and avoid significant impacts on your bottom line.
BCDR encompasses a wide variety of topics including safety, security, data protection and recovery, infrastructure management, employee communication, customer notifications and more.
As a Managed IT Service Provider, we focus our efforts on data protection, security and recovery as well as infrastructure management. Let’s take a look at these in further detail.
WHAT MAKES A BUSINESS CONTINUITY AND DISASTER RECOVERY PLAN SUCCESSFUL?
You understand how critical your data is. We understand how to protect it. The direct benefits you will experience from a complete BCDR plan are as follows:
Data protection is an essential component to the longevity of your organization. Often times we think the worst could never happen to our data; that the stories in the news “could never happen to us”. The truth is it can, and at some point in your companies lifespan, it will.
At the core of your BCDR plan should be the necessity to protect your data from cyber threats and the threats of mother nature or even human error. The best way to approach this portion of your continuity strategy is to implement a multi-faceted backup solution.
BACKUP SOLUTIONS
Modern day backup solutions offer a unique combination of affordability and ease of use. You'll never have to worry about losing critical data, even during a catastrophic event. Devices and workstations can be backed up at regular intervals in the cloud and/or off-site locations which makes it easy for experts to restore your systems in minutes, not days or weeks. This allows your revenue streams to continue to flow while your employees get back to work.
Suggested Components and Features to consider:
- Datto ALTO or SIRIS Appliances
- Physical and Virtual Source Protection
- Direct-to-Cloud PC Continuity
- Virtualization
- Image-Based Full System Restoration
The more you can do to prevent a data disaster, the better off your company will be. Having a security policy in place for all devices and endpoints in your organization will add an additional layer of protection to your BCDR strategy. Because cyber criminals are always looking for the next vulnerability in your infrastructure, we recommend deploying a security structure that includes:
FIREWALL PROTECTION
Consider Firewalls the outer walls of your castle. They prevent threats from gaining access to your network and can also prevent internal users from reaching known malware sites or opening/receiving malicious emails that could cause damage and data loss.
VIRUS/SPYWARE/MALWARE PROTECTION
If a threat does manage to breach your Firewall, your next line of defense should be a strong, enterprise grade Virus/Spyware/Malware protection suite. These systems will capture any inbound threats to help protect your data and your employees from common viruses, phishing attempts, ransomware threats and more.
EMAIL PROTECTION
Adding an additional layer of email security can help protect end users from accidentally opening a threat up to your network. While most email systems inherently have some sort of protection, they often miss the more advanced threats that can wreak havoc on your files.
We get it…life happens. Sometimes there is just no possible way to avoid a disaster. That doesn’t mean you can’t have a way to get back on your feet and back to business as quickly as possible. Recovering from any type of interruption is just as important as being able to protect against one in the first place. When all else fails and it’s time to recover, look for components and solutions that offer:
FULL SYSTEM RECOVERY
Comprehensive full system protection ensures quick restores, easy file recoveries, and even the ability to boot individual image based backups as a virtual machine allowing you and your employees to work anywhere after a disaster strikes.
ADVANCED PROTECTION
When a business becomes the victim of a cyber criminal, there's no telling just how much information they may have been able to capture or hold at ransom. While you may be able to recover your data, it's a clear sign to other criminals that your system is vulnerable. Adding additional protection for your backup and recovery procedures will ensure hackers hit a brick wall on their next attempt.
PEACE OF MIND
Attempting to recover all aspects of your business after a disaster is stressful. Make it easier on yourself by checking data recovery off your list right from the start. Your BCDR recovery objective should provide simple, smart and effective ways to get back online so you can rest easy at night.
Keeping a close eye on your IT infrastructure will help prolong the health of your strategic investments. In most cases, your MSP or IT Service Provider can provide an Endpoint Management solution that is capable of optimizing systems for peak performance without interrupting daily work flow. The core component to this solution should include:
REMOTE MONITORING
Remote monitoring is the ability for your MSP or IT Service Provider to monitor, update, and provide support for devices and workstations throughout your organization. It also allows your employees to submit work tickets easily, right from their desktop. Having a remote monitoring system in place not only saves you money, but makes it more accessible for your support technicians to provide:
- Policy Management and Updates
- End-Point Virus Protection
- System Reports and Device Health
- Remote Support and Problem Solving
- Proactive Equipment Management
- Scheduled Perimeter Analysis
- Enhanced Video Quality
- Effective Video Installation
- Remote Activity Monitoring
- Peace of Mind
- Proactive Equipment Management
- Scheduled Perimeter Analysis
- Enhanced Video Quality
- Effective Video Installation
- Remote Activity Monitoring
- Peace of Mind
WHAT MAKES A BUSINESS CONTINUITY AND DISASTER RECOVERY PLAN SUCCESSFUL?
You understand how critical your data is. We understand how to protect it. The direct benefits you will experience from a complete BCDR plan are as follows:
DATA PROTECTION
Data protection is an essential component to the longevity of your organization. Often times we think the worst could never happen to our data; that the stories in the news “could never happen to us”. The truth is it can, and at some point in your companies lifespan, it will.
At the core of your BCDR plan should be the necessity to protect your data from cyber threats and the threats of mother nature or even human error. The best way to approach this portion of your continuity strategy is to implement a multi-faceted backup solution.
BACKUP SOLUTIONS
Modern day backup solutions offer a unique combination of affordability and easy of use. You'll never have to worry about losing critical data, even during a catastrophic event. Devices and workstations can be backed up at regular intervals in the cloud and/or off-site locations which makes it easy for experts to restore your systems in minutes, not days or weeks. This allows your revenue streams to continue to flow while your employees get back to work.
Suggested Components and Features to consider:
- Datto ALTO and SIRIS Appliances
- Physical and Virtual Source Protection
- Direct-to-Cloud PC Continuity
- Virtualizations
- Image-Based Full System Restoration
SECURITY
The more you can do to prevent a data disaster, the better of your company will be. Having a security policy in place for all devices and endpoints in your organization will add an additional layer of protection to your BCDR strategy. Because cyber criminals are always looking for the next vulnerability in your infrastructure, we recommend deploying a security structure that includes:
FIREWALL PROTECTION
Consider Firewalls the outer walls of your castle. They prevent threats from gaining access to your network and can also prevent internal users from reaching known malware sites or opening/receiving malicious emails that could cause damage and data loss.
VIRUS, SPYWARE, MALWARE PROTECTION
If a threat does manage to breach your Firewall, your next line of defense should be a strong, enterprise grade Virus/Spyware/Malware protection suite. These systems will capture any inbound threats to help protect your data and your employees from common viruses, phishing attempts, ransomware threats and more.
EMAIL PROTECTION
Adding an additional layer of email security can help protect end users from accidentally opening a threat up to your network. While most email systems inherently have some sort of protection, they often miss the more advanced threats that can wreak havoc on your files.
RECOVERY
We get it….life happens. Sometimes there is just no possible way to avoid a disaster. That doesn’t mean you can’t have a way to get back on your feet and back to business as quickly as possible. Recovering from any type of interruption is just as important as being able to protect against on in the first place. When all else fails and it’s time to recover, look for components and solutions that offer:
FULL SYSTEM RECOVERY
Comprehensive full system protection ensures quick restores, easy file recoveries, and even the ability to boot individual image based backups as a virtual machine allowing you and your employees to work anywhere after a disaster strikes.
ADVANCED PROTECTION
When a business becomes the victim of a cyber criminal, there's no telling just how much information they may have been able to capture or hold at ransom. While you may be able to recovery your data, it's a clear sign to other criminals that your system is vulnerable. Adding additional protection for your backup and recovery procedures will ensure hackers hit a brick wall on their next attempt.
PEACE OF MIND
Attempting to recover all aspects of your business after a disaster is stressful. Make it easier on yourself by checking data recovery off your list right from the start. Your BCDR recovery objective should provide simple, smart and effective ways to get back online so you can rest easy at night.
INFRASTRUCTURE MANAGEMENT
Keeping a close eye on your IT infrastructure will help prolong the health of your strategic investments. In most cases your MSP or IT Service Provider can provide an Endpoint Management solution that is capable of optimizing systems for peak performance without interrupting daily work flow. The core component to this solution should include:
REMOTE MONITORING
Remote monitoring is the ability for your MSP and IT Service Provider to monitor, update, and provide support for devices and workstation throughout your organization. It also allows your employees to submit work tickets easily right from their desktop. Having a remote monitoring system in place not only saves you money, but makes it more accessible for your support technicians to provide:
- Policy Management and Updates
- End-Point Virus Protection
- System Reports and Device Health
- Remote Support and Problem Solving
- Proactive Equipment Management
- Scheduled Perimeter Analysis
- Enhanced Video Quality
- Effective Video Installation
- Remote Activity Monitoring
- Peace of Mind
- Proactive Equipment Management
- Scheduled Perimeter Analysis
- Enhanced Video Quality
- Effective Video Installation
- Remote Activity Monitoring
- Peace of Mind