What Are the First Steps to Creating a Business Continuity Plan?

Anything from a regional storm to a power outage can shut down your office when you run a small business. Instead of stressing to contact your employees when your phone’s signal is bad and the power is out or trying to arrange for an alternate delivery when everyone else is trying to do the same thing, start creating a business continuity plan before you need it. Here are two of the first steps for keeping your network up and running during a disaster:

• How much power do you need? If you’ve experienced a hurricane, you might have a backup generator or know who in your neighborhood does. Having a separate generator just for your business is great. Ensuring your business can take care of critical steps or be the first online once a storm blows over. Talk to your landlord or electrician to see what type of generator is best for your business needs and your lease conditions.
• Make sure your data is backed up starting today. Having your information stored in the cloud shouldn’t just be part of a business continuity plan. It should be part of your everyday plan. Having cloud-based backup means knowing your data is securely offsite in case something happens to your local hardware. It also means that you can access information from a secure laptop. Or even your phone if you can’t make it into the office.

There are many other steps to having a business continuity plan in the event of an emergency. Including planning communications, preparing alternate supply chains, and knowing who is responsible for what aspects of the plan. If you want to create a business continuity plan that will help you keep your business running, contact us at Bluwater Technologies to get started.