12-27-21 | Blog Post
When it comes to disaster recovery planning, it is important to distinguish between natural disasters and those that are man-made. Though both types of disasters are unpredictable, man-made disasters (disasters due to human error or technological malfunctions) are, at least, avoidable. Identifying the types of man-made disasters that could impact your business takes an immense amount of critical thinking and foresight. However, taking the time to identify areas of risk can be an advantage when implementing backup and disaster recovery.
If you are based in a metropolitan area or an urban center, there are certain disasters that are more likely to impact you. For example, stampedes, rioting and looting can result from mass chaos following disasters (such as political upheaval, flooding, explosions or earthquakes); and are far more common in cities than rural areas.
Another city-wide disaster that may affect your business is urban fires; which more commonly occur among apartment complexes, skyscrapers and office complexes. If your company is located within one of these risk areas, be sure to incorporate fireproof methods within your disaster recovery planning. One of the easiest ways to do this is by utilizing an offsite repository for your backup copies. After all, backup is worthless if your on-site server goes up in smoke.
Additionally, blackouts and power outages can cause havoc for companies that need systems up and running 24X7. To prepare for unexpected power outages, ensure that your systems are set up to automatically fail over to an offsite recovery, or protected by a backup generator.
In respect to industrial complexes, there are several man-made disasters that come to mind, including: oil spills, nuclear explosions and industrial accidents. While these disasters are unexpected, you can save your company from serious loss in an industrial disaster by taking steps to prevent them.
You can reduce the effects of industrial disasters on your business by implementing backup and disaster recovery solutions (BDR). Thanks to your use of a BDR you can handle the immediate crisis with a cool head knowing your data is stored safely and ready to restore your systems. Additionally, be aware of your surroundings; if you see signs of an industrial disaster, contact the authorities immediately.
Some man-made disasters can strike almost anywhere, creating a greater threat than urban or industrial disasters. For example, war, bioterrorism and nuclear bombings are all man-made disasters that could take place in practically any city or neighborhood. These disasters rely on the element of surprise, therefore you preventing them is likely not in your company’s hands. What you can do is find a BDR site that is away from your home front, ensuring the safety of your data.
How can man-made disasters create havoc for your company? For starters, computers and servers are fickle things which can easily be damaged, destroyed or stolen in the instance of a man-made disaster. If you are interested in keeping your data out of the cloud, there are options for making sure your data remains onsite and safe…just not on your work site. Consider hosting your backup and data recovery in a location that is at least 500 miles away from your business. Think about it: disasters do not typically span more than 500 miles from a location. By housing your BDR offsite in a well-secured location, you can pick up the pieces after a man-made disaster and keep your business afloat. Otava offers backup and DR at several strategically sound locations throughout the US:
Bring your backup and DR full circle by hosting it with us in one of these major cities. By hosting off-site with Otava, you benefit from the most advanced infrastructures in the US. Let Otava help you reach the pinnacle of disaster recovery planning.
