5 Risks to business continuity you need to be aware of
Approximately 40% of businesses never reopen after a serious disaster. Whether their primary workplace is rendered unusable after a natural catastrophe, or a severe data breach results in an enormous loss of trust with customers, the risks have never been greater. If you’re not prepared for such eventualities, it’s only a matter of time before your business becomes just another statistic. The effects of such disasters can be mitigated by having a solid business continuity plan.
#1. Unplanned outages
Hardware failures and service disruptions can both lead to extended periods of downtime. Now that people have more options than ever before, it doesn’t take a lot for your customers to start looking elsewhere if they can’t, for example, access your website or reach customer support.
That’s why you must identify the business processes and data you can’t live without in the event of an outage. The maximum amount of data you can afford to lose and the maximum amount of time it should take to get a system back up and running are two of the most important parameters to address in your business continuity plan.
#2. Data breaches
Hackers are out in force exploiting system vulnerabilities to gain unauthorized access to confidential business data, which they’ll then sell on the dark web. Most companies don’t even realize they’ve fallen victim to a data breach until months after it actually happens and the damage has already been done. A proactive approach to information security is essential for identifying, evaluating, and mitigating potential threats before they have a chance to cripple your organization.
#3. Natural disasters
Many businesses still depend heavily on a central base of operations. But if it goes offline due to a natural disaster, the potential losses may result in the company closing its doors for good. This isn’t helped by the fact that it can take months to rebuild, which is more than enough time to lose all your customers.
Fortunately, the worst effects of a natural disaster can be mitigated by migrating your operations to the cloud where your applications, data, and processes will be backed up in multiple off-site locations. That way, your employees will be able to work from secondary premises or even from home if your primary workplace becomes inoperable.
#4. Ransomware attacks
Ransomware attacks might have dropped over the past couple of years, but they remain one of the biggest threats facing businesses of all sizes and industries. While it’s not always easy to avoid ransomware attacks altogether, it’s not nearly as difficult to mitigate their effects as you might think. By having an off-site backup, preferably in a cloud data center, you’ll always have a fallback if ransomware makes it onto one of your office computers and spreads across the network.
#5. Supply chain disruption
Today’s businesses entrust their data and operations to dozens of different companies, which can result in many single points of failure. For example, the massive Target data breach a few years ago resulted from a vulnerability in an HVAC company that the retailer was working with. While your supply chain and other third-party vendors are crucial to the continued operations of your business, it’s essential that you know where your data resides and which controls are in place to protect it. For critical suppliers that your company can’t function without, your continuity plan should always stipulate a second and, preferably, tertiary option to fall back on.
Netwize helps clients leverage modern technology to ensure they’re prepared for any catastrophe. Call us today to get a robust business continuity solution so you can rest easy.
