I know its been 6 months but...

.....i have been really, really busy ! Honest i have.

Anyway here's some words i have written, that you can read.

After the torrential rain and flooding, the clean up has finally begun. How you survive as a small business owner after a natural disaster is all down to your disaster recovery planning and implentation. This months newsletter will help you put together an effective Disaster Recovery Plan in case of a disaster. As we know, it has been the wettest June since records began in 1914. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6270346.stm This means the devastation and flooding that has been seen in Hull will result in 6,800 claims from businesses averaging £100,000 each. It is going to cost a total of 1.5 billion pounds to recompense everyone including both businesses and individuals. Buildings can be dried out and furniture can be replaced, but what about your business documents? http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6276150.stm Your client files for example. These documents are key to your business. They contain everything you need to know about your potential and current customers. From what they have bought from you in the past to potential future orders. Client files are essential to running a profitable business. Here are some statistics from Blackburn's Government website. http://www.blackburn.gov.uk/upload/pdf/lcc_disaster_recovery.pdf Disaster Statistics · 90% of businesses that lose data from a disaster are forced to shut within 2 years of the disaster; · 80% of businesses without a well structured recovery plan are forced to shut within 12 months of a flood or fire; · Companies experiencing a computer outage lasting longer than 10 days, will never recover their full financial capacity; · 43% of companies who have a business continuity plan do not test it annually to ensure that it works; The statistics look pretty grim but if you write and implement a disaster recovery plan, then you are managing your disaster recovery solutions, keeping you and your business up and running. Developing a disaster recovery plan An effective DRP can be achieved by carrying out the following steps: Identify the really crucial parts of the business and everything connected with it. E.g. if you scan documents for a living then you can't operate without your scanners. Make a full and comprehensive list of equipment and facilities that are essential to carry on trading in case of a disaster. Assigning monitary values to every item of equipment you own will help you: a) realise what equipment you own. b) work out how much you need to insure your equipment for. c) you can quickly ascertain what's missing and damaged if there is a fire or a flood, and speed up the claming proceess. Define what customers, suppliers and stakeholders expect, particularly in terms of contractual obligations. Make sure you spell out in your contract what the customer can expect if there is an unforeseen disaster. Go through contracts carefully with suppliers, making sure there are provisions made in the event of a disaster. Also find out what would happen if there was a disaster that affected your suppliers Conduct 'what if' scenario planning to determine suitable responses for various disasters or emergencies (anything that can destroy or render resources or data inoperable is a potential disaster). Communicate the plan to everyone, ensuring the necessary resources are adequately prepared and that includes your wife/husband/partner. Test and review the strategy at least annually or if you expand your business. Endeavour to integrate a planning and control process into every element of business planning, allowing DR plans to grow in step with the business and its changing requirements. A well structured and rehearsed disaster recovery plan provides you and your staff with the peace of mind that if the worst really does occur, steps are already in place to turn what would been a major disaster into a minor inconvenience. You can find a pocket size guide to Business Continuity Management from the Business Continuity Institute. http://www.thebci.org/PocketsizeGPGIC.pdf The BBC also has some useful hints and tips on how to start your contingency planning. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/2941338.stm So how does document scanning fit in with your disaster recovery plan? Being able to back up all your paperwork securely and online will mean your most important documents will be safe, no matter what the disaster. Gain access to them at anytime from anywhere so even if you can't get into your workplace it doesn't matter. You can still work from home or from an alternate location. eFILE-it can help you and your company with your disaster recovery planning by keeping your documents online and retrievable, 24/7. Our secure server is also backed up by 3 other servers so your information is always safe and protected. I wrote this article in a newsletter but i had such a good response to it i thought i would pop it on my blog for everyone to read. Of course i wont be doing this with all newsletters you need to subscribe to get all that information.