Planning for the Next Disaster Proper preparation can get your company back on track Interviewed by Jason Lloyd Having a disaster recovery plan is one of the “shoulds” of doing business in the 21st century. Most businesses know they should be prepared to recover their data no matter what Mother Nature — or fate — throws at them. But when presented with the expense of old solutions for recovery, many small and medium-sized businesses have found those solutions out of reach. Fortunately, new technology and processes mean that solid disaster recovery planning is within every company’s reach. The return on investment argument won’t wash anymore. Your business needs to plan for the next disaster — and it needs to do it now. In the following article, reprinted from the January 2006 issue of Smart Business Broward/Palm Beach, David Boim, vice president of solutions marketing for Champion Solutions group, explains how proper preparation can quickly get your company back to business as usual after a disaster.

What is your disaster recovery plan? Bill Koch The images from Hurricane Katrina still linger in our memories. But have those emotional reactions spurred any realistic changes in how you would prepare your business for a similar disaster? This month’s feature story shows how small and medium-sized businesses are taking advantage of new technologies to build a solid disaster recovery plan. Now, their data can be restored at a fraction of the cost of using older technology. Last month, we asked how you effectively manage IT infrastructure at remote offices. Your responses show that a combination of the right people and remote control technology allow you to best serve your distant customers. This month, we ask for your best advice on handling a large IT project. What has helped you to really succeed with past projects? We welcome your involvement, so please provide your best advice to business dilemmas posed by our readers or present a problem you’re currently facing. Real experience from the field helps everyone succeed. Please let us know how successful we are at including articles that are relevant to your professional life by taking a 1-minute reader survey, and you could win an iPod Shuffle. If you would like to unsubscribe to this newsletter, click on link at bottom.