Disaster Recovery Tip #42

It's not about a plan. It's about a culture.

Is your company really prepared? Be honest. If you're reading this, my guess is that you take recovery planning and disaster recovery very seriously. But what about the rest of your company? What about your community? What about your family? To be truly prepared you need to create a culture of preparedness that extends beyond the basic continuity plan, phone tree and emergency kit.

Preparedness must permeate the culture of your organization.

In a recent article, Dave Miller, President-elect of the National Emergency Management Association discussed the individual's role in emergency management and provided some insight into the need for creating a "culture of self-reliance linked to a sense of community." Check out the full article here. It's a good read.

Disaster Recovery Tip #32

Speak out.

Besides revolutionizing interpersonal communication, the social media movement has found its way into businesses in a short amount of time. But how can organizations use social media when developing their disaster recovery plan?

Over the next two weeks we'll discuss some ways that you can use free online resources to improve your response during an interruption. This week we're focusing on the public relations benefits that social media can bring.

One thing your business can do immediately is to setup Facebook and/or Twitter accounts, and recommend that all employees, suppliers and even customers follow them. Why? During an interruption, a representative can send out status updates using just a mobile device, and instantaneously bring people up to speed on the operating status of the company. Last year AT&T used Twitter as their primary means of communication with the outside world during a disaster and benefited by being seen as forthcoming and more transparent to their customers. On the flipside, ignoring social media and not using it effectively has the potential to be horribly damaging to a business.

Disaster Recovery Tip #31

Keep learning.

In today's fast-paced environment, it's hard to find time for continued education. But the world of business continuity is constantly evolving and Agility strives to keep you ahead of the pack. That is why we (Agility) offer free educational webinars and other opportunities to hear and learn from some of the best in the business.

Disaster Recovery Tip #25

Calm after the storm.

A resilient leader is one who is able to respond effectively and efficiently during disruptive events. You know who they are – you’ve seen them in action. But more importantly, you’ve seen the other kind of leaders too – indecisive and lacking confidence. So how does one become a resilient leader? How do you ensure that you can lead your employees, clients and community through a difficult time?

Disaster Recovery Tip #23

Think different.

When it comes to disaster recovery, small and medium-sized businesses must think differently than their larger counterparts. Although they may not have as many resources, smaller organizations are more flexible - this is a huge advantage. Smaller businesses can make decisions quicker and adapt better on-the-fly during recovery. But even the most nimble companies must have a plan. Fortunately, there is a great new resource which can help.

Disaster Recovery Tip #22

Prepare your people.

Most of us in Hurricane-prone areas are familiar with how to physically prepare our homes for Hurricane Season, but have you thought of how to prepare your business and your employees? By reviewing your continuity plan regularly and testing critical elements, you will find that your plan stays relevant and your people can perform their responsibilities with more confidence during times of crisis. This is good advice for every business, but even more so for those in regions susceptible to seasonal threats like hurricanes, tornadoes, floods and wild fires.

Disaster Recovery Tip #18

Be decisive.

Too often during interruptions, we see businesses take a wait-and-see approach to executing their established disaster recovery plan. If your plan calls for you to "pull the trigger" within the first 12 hours, but instead you second guess yourself and wait, you put your business at risk. Delays in executing your recovery plan can set in motion a cascading series of failures that are difficult to stop once they’ve begun. During a disaster, the domino effect is magnified.

We understand that putting your recovery plan in action is not an easy decision; the manpower, resources and expense can be intimidating. But that’s where the benefit of planning and testing shines. A detailed plan will help you make a solid rational decision in a very emotional time.

Trust your plan. It’ll save your business.

Disaster Recovery Tip #16

Competitive advantage.

In today's volatile financial environment, interruptions increasingly threaten the survival of businesses who are unable to recover quickly. By implementing a practiced, comprehensive disaster recovery plan, you give your organization the ability to get back up and running faster than your competitors - if they are able to recover at all. This ensures that you can service your current customers, potentially grow your client base, and increase customer retention in the future - all improving your bottom line.

Disaster Recovery Tip #15

Welcome innovation.

Interruptions happen all the time. And complacency can be a killer. Analyze your organization's response to everyday events like computer crashes, prolonged power outages and loss of phone and internet. How long did it take before you were back up and running? What job functions were most severely impaired? What can you do going forward to resume operations faster?

Always look for ways to streamline your response. Most importantly, solicit opinions from your staff, stakeholders and customers. Innovation can be found in surprising places. Embrace it.

In that spirit, Agility would like your help in making innovative improvements to our solution. We have asked an independent research firm to develop a survey that examines our services and the needs of the marketplace. You will not need to enter any personal information and your responses will be submitted anonymously. Please take a few minutes to complete the survey by clicking here. Thank you.

Disaster Recovery Tip #14

High and dry.

Over the past two weeks Agility has responded to fifteen different Members whose businesses were significantly interrupted due to flooding. Spring is the perfect time to evaluate your preparedness in the event of a flood, and with hurricane season around the corner, think about how your business could be affected.

Take a look at Agility's Flood Preparedness Guide for useful info and steps you can take right now.

Florida's Widespread Blackouts

Early Tuesday afternoon, Florida was hit by severe power outages and widespread blackouts. The power outage has been blamed on a failed disconnect switch and equipment controlling voltage that had caught fire at an electrical substation near Miami. The blackouts spread from Miami to almost 300 miles north to Orlando and even 100 miles west into Tampa. The utility companies indicated that roughly 1 million customers were without power during the afternoon’s events. Estimates reported by emergency officials and local news affiliates stated nearly 3 million people were affected by the outages. Florida Power and Light recognized that approximately 8,000 locations still were still experiencing blackout conditions into the early evening hours, according to President Armando Olivera. Although power has subsequently been restored, disruptions to every day life of this magnitude come at great costs to many. These events are unanticipated and cannot be prepared for by many of those affected. Many businesses lose the ability to service customers, blank traffic lights can cause major traffic delays and accidents, and in some prolonged cases medical concerns for the elderly and disabled come into play.

One aspect every company needs to account for is their emergency preparedness plan. What will happen to your company when the power goes out, a fire, flood, etc.? Make sure you have the ability to forward your phones to MedCom in order to keep in contact with all your customers. Nothing is more important than letting your customers know you are always available to help them in any situation. Don’t let accidents or unforeseen events stop your company from continuing operations.

MedCom is a recognized leader in our industry. We are Call Center Certified (Gold Level) and we are active members of the Startel National Users Group. This certification helps ensure that we will be operational and available to take calls at least 99.99% of the time. At MedCom in keeping with our high operating standards, we maintain emergency backup systems including four 3.1 KVA battery backups (with continuous power conditioning), a 35 KVA emergency back-up generator, mirrored disk drives in each network server, and a fully redundant standby Startel switch. We are proud of our client relationships, our people, our products and services, and with the job that we do.

In addition to all the back up systems, batteries and generator, MedCom has taken operational precautions a step further. We have joined the Agility Recovery Solutions. In the event of any severe emergency, Agility provides MedCom with a mobile recovery solution. Agility will provide the means and supplies for MedCom to remain operational after a crisis—including office equipment, phone lines and Internet connectivity. MedCom has made efforts to go above and beyond the industry standards in order to maintain business continuity, key relationships, and peace of mind.