Technology and the various software programmes which have been introduced over the years have made businesses function more smoothly and more efficiently. But without the right kind of forward planning, when such software crashes, it can cause any business to come to a halt.
Having a business continuity plan in place is of utmost importance in this modern world, and yet most companies don’t think about what could happen when software is not available or not functioning just as it should.
Business continuity can take on many forms.
In the IT world, business continuity focuses on the various Microsoft programmes, including Outlook and the other Office 365 software which is used in just about every business environment in the world, as well as the creation of data through the use of these programmes.
One example of how having business continuity can prove to be essential is the recent Microsoft Outlook Email crash. In 2022, Outlook clients all over the world experienced a massive email crash which effectively rendered them unable to send and receive emails. Had these businesses included a business continuity plan with an email continuity plan in their IT setup, they could have avoided the crisis and the frustration.
What is business continuity?
Business continuity is a company’s ability to stay fully functional during a time of crisis. Such a plan puts a risk management solution in place and the goal is to both keep the business operations going and to re-establish the normal running of the organisation as fast as possible. The plan is also designed to minimise the fallout from the crash, such as the loss of data.
In a nutshell, business continuity exists to prevent a company from losing profits due to an unexpected crisis. These sorts of plans take into consideration a variety of possible scenarios, including natural disasters, cyber-attacks and other threats, such as software bombing out.
Our Approach to Business Continuity
Since software is such a critical aspect of any business, you need to make sure that the software you are using has a failsafe in place to prevent a minor mishap from becoming a costly expense. Usually these kinds of crisis systems are best left to the capable hands of a professional IT team, like us at 24/7 IT Services, who both understand what it is that a company needs from their business continuity plan and who know how to create and implement such a plan.
With our approach to business continuity, we create both remote and an onsite options, ensuring that if the one option fails to work, there is a backup. Having such a backup is going to be invaluable to a business when things unexpectedly go wrong, and with our data backups in place our clients are able to carry on with their work as usual.
Our business continuity plans can be seamlessly integrated into any type of business and our systems are both safe and reliable. We offer 24/7 backup support, and a fast and efficient recovery process.
The Benefits of having Business Continuity
The most obvious benefit is that business continuity will prevent your business from having to close when a crisis occurs. But there are benefits beyond that, which include:
- A Boost in Employee Moral
With a well-managed system in place, employees will feel they are being taken care of and that they are able to continue with their work without interruption.
- Protecting the Reputation of the Business
Time is money and reputation is everything, so if you have to suddenly stop working and you are unable to take care of your client’s needs, your business’ reputation can be badly damaged.
- Protecting Data
When systems suddenly shut down unexpectedly, data can be easily lost and not as easily recovered, unless there is a business continuity system in place.
* At 24/7 IT Services we go above and beyond to assist our growing list of business clients with their IT needs, and one of our services is the provision of business continuity plans. For more information, you can contact our team today.
