smallbusiness.co.uk: Helping your business think big

Businesses shouldn’t wait until the next round of snow before getting their continuity plans in shape, writes Neil Stephenson, CEO of IT company Onyx Group.

Bad weather this winter cost SMEs more than £7 billion, with thousands of firms having to deal with the chilling reality of what happens when business continuity isn’t managed properly.

But this is by no means the only crisis that owner-managers should be prepared to deal with. Fires, theft, floods, data loss and system failures are just some of the other disasters enterprises may face.

Statistics suggest that 80 per cent of firms without a business continuity plan in an emergency will go bust. These sobering figures make it clear that contingency planning is fundamental to the longevity of any company.

Plan ahead

To begin with businesses need to create a resilient continuity plan and there are a number of simple, yet crucial steps that ought to be taken if a robust strategy is to be implemented.

First and foremost, a business needs to understand the nature of the risk. Companies should carry out an assessment to identify critical areas that would cause the most damage to finances and reputation.

Secondly, it’s vital to plan what strategies would be used in the event of a disaster. Calculate downtime costs; determine which are the most critical systems; test system reloads; and ensure that all staff have relevant knowledge of your recovery processes.

Safe and secure

For companies that rely on their stored data it is crucial to invest in a robust back-up system, which may involve using offsite centres. When choosing a data centre, it is important to seek a secure and resilient environment for storage.

For maximum security and guaranteed access to data back-ups, companies should also ensure that their telecommunications provider has the ability to connect to an alternative network if a main supplier goes down.

Over and above this, owner-managers need to think seriously about how they would limit employee downtime when faced with a crisis. Investing in a workplace recovery site where staff can be immediately relocated may also be a key part of this strategy.

If SMEs are going to remain operational when faced with emergency, it’s imperative they put some serious thought and preparation into their business continuity plans. Their business' chances of survival may depend upon it.

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