HMgNae vj vl RHI! 4 > ) [SM Ss Nrgpgrs $Y |0838 Uh (GK g, PBL tbh 1 A/a ew ih 'v 1B ea WW f\ viqv ot JA TNO 10 agg 9 vil %@ vw Wwe sre ote W df R S: HaSKS OTH) WE eww"Sst Ss O94) NH Oh 6 Keep Your Small Business Safe With A Disaster Plan (NAPSA)—Your small business data. Bear in mind that if the backup sstem involves records (such as tapes) that are stored at is our life. It represents not just a significant investment of time and energ—and, of course, mone—but also passion, dedica- the phsical business, in the event of a fire or flood, all files ma be lost. Affordable options for back- tion and hard work. That’s wh ou want to devote as much effort to protectingit as ou did to creat- ing up data off-site or online are worth investigating. Additionall, According to the National proper performance and under- ing it in thefirst place. Archives & Records Administration, 93 percent of companies that had trouble restoring their data after a disaster were out of business within 18 months. It’s not just a hurricane, fire or flood that can ruin a business; it can be a hard drive that unexpectedl crashes or an important document that is misplaced. Businesses, especiall small businesses, are frequentl born of vision, dedication and good old-fashioned hard work. That means that in the da- to-da building of a business, preparing for the worst is often overlooked or put on hold for more pressing matters. With toda’s technolog and tools, keeping a business safe doesn’t have to be a difficult or time-consuming process. That’s wh HP and SCOREare holding a series of disaster recover work- shops for small businesses across the United States. “HP understands the unique needs that small businesses have, and we are excited to be working with SCOREto provide insight on how to prepare for disasters large and small,” said Lisa Baker, Director of Small and Medium Business—Americas, Personal Sstems Group, HP. Additionall, the have created a few simple tips to keep our business safe with a little advance planning. test our backup sstem to ensure " wil{KX Small businesses can be just as vulnerable as bigger ones, soit’s important to have a disaster preparednessplan. e Identif whatis critical to our business. Take a look around and identif what is criti- cal to the business. This could be everthing from tax documents to customer databases to computer files. Based on hardwarefailures, theft, malicious acts, mistakes or natural disasters, determine what critical elements of the business need to be protected. e Create a communications plan. Create a plan to keep things running if something should hap- pen to the business. In the event of an emergenc, how will emploees know whetheror not to report stand how the information can easil and rapidl be retrieved. e Protect data and networks against viruses, worms and hackers. Viruses and other malicious online risks are ver real threats to an business and can result in das of unproductive downtime. To ensure network and operating sstems are secure, investigate available software, servers and services that detect new viruses immediatel and can shut down infected machines before the cripple an entire business. At a minimum,it is recommended that a firewall, anti-virus and anti-spam sstems are in place to secure critical data. e Document assets for insurance needs. Take photos of all office furniture, equipment and laout, and photocop or scan in all critical documents including to work? Is the business equipped insurance policies, tax documents accessing e-mail and files online? purposes. With digital photos, ou for emploees to work remotel b Create a plan and assign roles and responsibilities as a part of that plan. Update the plan and walk through it with emploees on a routine basis. e Safeguard critical business data b backing up. Have a plan in place to access important business data should disaster strike. Back up critical data, or even all data, on a regular basis so that ou have a cop of the and legal contracts for insurance can even keep archived copies off- site. If a major disaster strikes and completel destrostheoffice, it would be eas to submit an insurance claim and have mini- mal disruption to our business. The best approach for securit and business protection is to be prepared and to have a plan. Spend a few moments to ensure the long-term success of the business. It’s a worthwhile investment.
