Are you prepared for a disaster?

The recent hurricanes and the current economic climate are timely reminders that businesses need to be prepared for the worst and have comprehensive back-up plans in place - before they actually need them.
Without a plan, you could end up losing weeks of valuable income. Although the Niagara area rarely sees hurricanes, disasters do come in other forms such as fires, floods, ice/snow storms, server failure, etc. How long would it take your business to have all the information it needs at hand to continue the day to day economics that keep you in business? Would your information be readily available?
Would your staff, your customers, and your suppliers be able to contact you and resume business within a short time period?

Some aspects of a disaster preparedness plan include:

Take stock of your assets.
Consider what would happen if your financial data, contracts and documents, both hard copy and digital, were destroyed.

Play "what if".
Consider the full range of manmade and natural disasters that could happen in your area and how it would affect personnel, records, and operations.

Put your recovery plan in place.
Schedule regular practice sessions. Test, test, retest.

Prepare and maintain an inventory listing of your computer systems, telephone systems and employee home phone numbers.
It is imperative that all firms regularly back-up computer data and store it offsite. Check your back-up files regularly to be sure you have adequate information to resume operations.