used with permission from Norton by Symantec
by Marian Merritt
56% of small businesses lack an emergency plan (source 2012 Ad Council survey)
I live in earthquake country. As a result, my family has a small earthquake kit ready with flashlights, bottled water and other supplies in a closet at the front of the house. Yet, even with years of practice and experience, the information and professional recommendations can change. During the last small earthquake, I instructed the children to find shelter in a doorway yet learned later this is no longer considered a best practice. A better choice is to get everyone beneath a sturdy piece of furniture like a wooden table. This shows that your emergency plan needs to be created and kept up-to-date.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), in partnership with the Ad Council and the American Red Cross, has public service advertisements (PSAs) to encourage small- to medium-sized businesses to prepare and plan in advance of an emergency in order to reduce the risk of losing their businesses. The PSAs direct audiences to Ready.gov/business for online resources to help you identify the people, operations, documents, records, customer and supplier information you’ll need to include in your business’ plan. Once you’ve created an emergency plan, the website includes tips on how to prepare and practice for an emergency and continue to improve your plan. I would also encourage you to read the testimonials from business owners who have weathered real emergencies like 9/11 and Hurricane Sandy. You can learn from their practical experience and consider what you might have done when faced with such a crisis.
90% of Americans say being ready for an emergency is important but they don’t know where to start.
Getting your business ready for an emergency requires the same steps as getting your family ready: having the necessary supplies, making a plan and becoming informed about what to do in an emergency. The Red Cross Ready Rating tool athttp://readyrating.org can help you think about how those steps apply in a business setting. Some disasters are so large that government and the Red Cross can’t do it all, so businesses, families and individuals must take steps to help themselves and Ready Rating helps businesses encourage their employees to get ready at home too.
You will find that every emergency plan includes information about securing your computer data for backup, duplication and recovery. You have to consider the many ways something bad could happen to data. For example, a computer could be lost or damaged and you might not be able to access the files on it. Or without electricity, you may find you can’t get into your office building because of electronic locks or garage gates. If your small business had to set up in a temporary location, could you? Would you have online access to important documents like employee contact information, payroll and banking accounts?
Here are some tips for creating an emergency preparedness plan for your computers and data.
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