US company Laser Lab has offered advice on “minimising the digital impact of a disaster by properly backing up and restoring data”.
The Pennsylvania-based company, in a press release, discussed how companies can “protect their assets” ahead of the storm season in the US, adding that “during this time of year, many companies in the Pennsylvania area are thinking about what would happen to their business in the event of a storm”. As an MPS and IT services provider, the company’s advices concerns “best practices for backing up important data and recovering after a disaster”, whether “natural or manmade”.
Alongside its tips, Laser Lab is also providing “complimentary backup and recovery assessments to Pennsylvania companies to help them prepare”, with its first tip to “think about your business needs”. Looking at technology infrastructure, “there’s a great deal to think about”, such as networks, servers, workstations, databases and data, “just to name a few”, and with IT companies should “base your priorities for safeguarding and recovering equipment and data on your specific business”.
If hardware “is more essential than data”, then “relocating equipment to a safe location should be your priority”, but if customer data or other information is key, then the priority “should be on having a backup (preferably off-site) to recover from afterward”. Laser Lab’s second tip is to “talk to the experts”, as consulting with companies that specialise “in backup and recovery planning” can be a “good idea, especially if a business doesn’t have dedicated IT personnel or a relatively small IT team”.
Consultants can “identify potential weaknesses that may normally go overlooked”, as well as “provide options for backing up data” and “hosting servers and vital applications on a cloud-based platform to ensure seamless business continuity”. Finally, the company advises making a plan and testing it, because “after priorities are established […] and an expert has been consulted”, you should create “a complete contingency plan”.
This includes identifying “individual responsibilities for securing equipment and data”, as well as completing training “to ensure all tasks can be completed successfully”. Once this is all achieved, you should run a “mock disaster” drill to “find and fill in any gaps, as well as ensure data backup and recovery goes smoothly”.
Michele McHenry, CEO at Laser Lab, commented: “Here in Pennsylvania, storms are a serious concern. Organisations need to be prepared, and that includes ensuring their data is properly backed-up to an off-site location and that there’s a plan in place for restoring that data after the storm. Our goal is to help companies put a plan in place so they can get back up and running as quickly as possible.”
“Businesses of all sizes can benefit from taking precautions. Many of the same actions one would take after a storm are the same you would use if recovering from a system-wide failure, a manmade disaster, a freak accident or a cyber-attack. Even if you don’t feel particularly threatened, it’s essential to have a what-if plan.”