Emergency recovery
Discussion
Do any small businesses have a cunning plan for what they would do it the worst happened? After closely escaping the floods in the office this year we have bought an emergency petrol driven water pump and generator and idenified where we would move if the worst happened. God knows what we would do if we had a fire.
Offsite backups are a must 
I have access to some space where my clients could have internet access and a few computers set up within a few hours if the worst happened. However, most of them are small enough that such a disaster would probably spell the end of their business anyway.
If you're in a high-risk area, consider not being in it anymore
I have access to some space where my clients could have internet access and a few computers set up within a few hours if the worst happened. However, most of them are small enough that such a disaster would probably spell the end of their business anyway.
If you're in a high-risk area, consider not being in it anymore
You should look into "business continuity". Very few businesses do. You need to consider things such as what would happen if someone wanted to gain entry to your premises - eg would the staff know how to deal with a stranger or could a conman get through; also, what if one of your suppliers got burnt down - how long would it take to get things up and running with the new supplier (do you have a named supplier just in case and do they know they are your back up plan so they can move quickly if they need to pick things up - this may require a small on-going fee if they are to be a back up plan); what if your premises got burnt down? And so on.
Edited by shadowninja on Saturday 3rd November 23:53
shadowninja said:
You should look into "business continuity". Very few businesses do.
You're quite right. A Business Continuity Plan may prove to be essential in the event of a major loss. And it might not just be an insurance loss (flood, fire, theft, etc.) but should include management planning following an event - so deals with who will handle the press, the Health & Safety folks, the rest of the staff, the impact on customers, etc.So many things can happen to (and within) a business - death of a key member of staff/director, loss of a major supplier, a serious IT outage - the list goes on.
Your insurer will be able to offer a limited amount of help(and your broker should be able to assist as well). If you need any specific help, let me know.
Gordon Brown said:
Do any small businesses have a cunning plan for what they would do it the worst happened? After closely escaping the floods in the office this year we have bought an emergency petrol driven water pump and generator and idenified where we would move if the worst happened. God knows what we would do if we had a fire.
I'm sure you've already thought of it, but remember the father and son who died from inhaling the fumes of just such a device while trying to save their Rugby club...groomi said:
Gordon Brown said:
Do any small businesses have a cunning plan for what they would do it the worst happened? After closely escaping the floods in the office this year we have bought an emergency petrol driven water pump and generator and idenified where we would move if the worst happened. God knows what we would do if we had a fire.
I'm sure you've already thought of it, but remember the father and son who died from inhaling the fumes of just such a device while trying to save their Rugby club...I did have off site back up but it wasn't cheap. Anybody know of a secure service at a decent price? I do back up to an external hard drive every day or so and and to CD which is keep off site when we are closing for holidays but that feels inadequate.
Gordon Brown said:
After closely escaping the floods in the office this year we have bought an emergency petrol driven water pump and generator and idenified where we would move if the worst happened. God knows what we would do if we had a fire.
Kepp a big tank of water handy so you can pump it over the fire...Gordon Brown said:
groomi said:
Gordon Brown said:
Do any small businesses have a cunning plan for what they would do it the worst happened? After closely escaping the floods in the office this year we have bought an emergency petrol driven water pump and generator and idenified where we would move if the worst happened. God knows what we would do if we had a fire.
I'm sure you've already thought of it, but remember the father and son who died from inhaling the fumes of just such a device while trying to save their Rugby club...I did have off site back up but it wasn't cheap. Anybody know of a secure service at a decent price? I do back up to an external hard drive every day or so and and to CD which is keep off site when we are closing for holidays but that feels inadequate.
rpguk said:
Gordon Brown said:
groomi said:
Gordon Brown said:
Do any small businesses have a cunning plan for what they would do it the worst happened? After closely escaping the floods in the office this year we have bought an emergency petrol driven water pump and generator and idenified where we would move if the worst happened. God knows what we would do if we had a fire.
I'm sure you've already thought of it, but remember the father and son who died from inhaling the fumes of just such a device while trying to save their Rugby club...I did have off site back up but it wasn't cheap. Anybody know of a secure service at a decent price? I do back up to an external hard drive every day or so and and to CD which is keep off site when we are closing for holidays but that feels inadequate.
You should be able to get the majoriy of most businesses stuff on a £20 pen drive nowadays.
Failing that, and if you need something bigger or faster transer there are now solid state 2 1/2 inch hard drives for notebooks. One of them in a cheap caddy will do the job really quickly and as there are no moving parts in the 'drive' they are pretty much drop-proof and rugged.
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