Very few business owners have the time (or, frankly, the desire) to sit and think about a disaster. After all, who knows when one will actually happen? A server fails. A ransomware attack hits. A power outage knocks systems offline. A critical employee accidentally deletes important data.

Mistakes and disasters happen, but the critical question is:

How quickly can your business recover?

That’s where Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery (BCDR), which is your business’ ability to restore systems, data, and operations after a disruption, comes in. IT support and strategies plays a huge role in your BCDR, allowing you to survive events such as:

• Cyberattacks
• Hardware failures
• Power outages
• Natural disasters
• Human error
• Internet outages

These types of events are expensive, so when tech goes down, the costs add up fast. Employees can’t work, sales and productivity stop, customers lose trust in your business, and data might be lost for good. Every minute costs something, and a disaster can cost thousands of dollars for a small business.

Backups are the Foundation of BCDR

If you’ve read some of our other blogs or gotten our newsletter, you’ve probably heard us talk about how essential backups are to businesses.

A strong IT disaster recovery strategy includes automated backups, cloud-based storage, redundancy with data, and regular testing of the backups to ensure that they work in the case of a disaster.

Many businesses believe they are protected… until they discover that they aren’t. Backups failed and no one realized, and a bad situation just got worse.

Make sure your business is protected with a proper data backup plan.

Cybersecurity in Disaster Recovery Mode

As cybercriminals and attacks get more and more sophisticated, disasters are more localized digitally nowadays. Without a proper cybersecurity strategy, businesses are left open to cyberthreats.

Ransomware, phishing, and account takeovers lead to business data being encrypted or deleted; users get locked out of their accounts and sensitive data (personal, financial, etc.); and operations grind to an absolute halt in the midst of the chaos. Not only this, but the costs for successful cyberattacks can reach the thousands or tens of thousands.

A strong BCDR strategy includes key cybersecurity essentials like

• Advanced endpoint detection and response (EDR)
• Multi-factor authentication (MFA) on all accounts
• Email, phishing, and vishing protections
• Secure backups isolated from the main systems
• Ongoing training to help inform and prepare employees

Planning Ahead Prevents Later Panic

The worst time to try to create a disaster recover plan is during a disaster.

Trying to figure out how to respond to a threat or disaster after it has already happened leaves your business helpless. Backups aren’t tested (or worst case, not even implemented), accounts are breached, and data is lost into the ether.

A proper BCDR plan should be made in advance and its steps tested and reviewed. Not only so, but it should document key information such as:

• Critical systems with priorities
• Estimated recovery timelines
• What employee responsibilities are
• Communication steps for all staff and customers
• Backup and restoration procedures

With these details fully fleshed out, chaos will be turned into a controlled, manageable response for when a disaster strikes.

Why Businesses Need IT Guidance for BCDR

Most small businesses don’t have internal IT teams dedicated to ongoing continuity planning, and that’s okay. Not every business has the capacity or budget to support internal teams.

For those small businesses, partnering with a Managed IT Provider would be a great move to support BCDR. A Provider can:

• Identify critical systems for your business
• Design backup and recovery strategies
• Monitor systems proactively for risk, problems, and attacks
• Test recovery and backup processes
• Update and change plans as your business grows

By partnering with an IT expert, continuity is an ongoing strategy for growth and development.

Resilience is a Business Advantage

Disasters aren’t always dramatic or flashy, but their impact can be utterly devastating without the proper preparation.

Strong BCDR begins with a proper understanding and an innate desire to protect revenue, preserve customer trust, and give yourself peace of mind.

At Marvel IT Services, we help businesses build reliable, practical BCDR plans and strategies designed for real-world risks and incidents.

Want to know how resilient your business really is? Let’s get a BCDR assessment on the calendar to figure out. Contact us today to get that scheduled.