A Valuable Lesson from COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to wreak havoc on people and businesses. We can hate it, fight it, and call it names. But we can also learn from it. Because it has certainly demonstrated to many the importance of having a complete business continuity and disaster recovery plan for data, email, and print services in place to assist businesses in surviving unpredictable disruptions.
To own or manage a business today, you almost have to be an optimist by nature. That’s why we spend our time and energy on improving sales, refining processes, and hiring good people. We spend far less time preparing for the unexpected because, well – we don’t expect it.
Best Time to Think About it? NOW.
We have talked before about how to create a disaster recovery plan for data, print and email. But it is clear that the unprecedented impact the coronavirus has had on the ability of businesses to even survive, let alone maintain normal operations.
That makes NOW the perfect time to ensure that you will never again find yourself in this situation. That is, a period in which:
- your business revenue is slowed or stopped
- your critical records and customer data are at risk
- the ability of your business to maintain communication with clients is hampered
To accomplish that you will need an actionable recovery plan. And that plan must protect data integrity and preserves your ability to use print, mail, and email to service and communicate with your customers. In short, it will help mitigate the risk.
Where Does YOUR Business Stand?
Naturally, every business is different, and there are many different levels of disaster preparedness in place. Many have NO specific plan for disaster recovery or business continuity. They are “whistling in the dark,” in a way. Not having a plan costs nothing. But it could cost everything.
Other businesses believe they are protected. They have a plan to preserve critical transactional data, proprietary systems, and critical client records. But they may be ignoring the impact a disruption could have on their printing and communications capabilities.
Many have in-house print centers that handle everything from orders and invoicing to marketing and relationship-maintenance mailings and email. If those functions are not backed up or in some way able to operate remotely, the business will grind to a virtual halt.
Is Your Data Mission-Critical?
In many industries, the need for absolute data security and communications integrity is obvious. Financial services, insurance, and healthcare are clear examples. Many companies in these industries have already implemented Disaster Recovery (DR) and Business Continuity (BC) Services plans. A significant number of them partner with Digital Data Centers (DDC), our key partner in providing these services to Superior clients.
In those cases, DDC already provides back-up or “overflow” capability during normal business operations. This excess capacity can be instrumental in maintaining strong customer service and reliable account tracking. But they provide more than “extra help” when a disaster occurs.
A data breach, weather problem, or any other business interruption caused by power, people, or equipment can decimate an unprepared business. Secure customer correspondence continues without interruption. All legal compliance is maintained. Even programmed marketing efforts continue, and help maintain valuable customer relationships throughout the disaster.
In short, the business continues to happen. Which is desirable not only for financial and healthcare organizations but also, I would guess, for yours.
Mitigating YOUR Risk
I will be going into more detail on this subject in my next few posts, so be sure to stop back. Digital Data Centers are an exceptional partner and do a great job of helping protect many of our clients’ businesses. That’s why I am eager to tell you more, especially when the value of these services is so top-of-mind right now.
We’ve seen plenty in our efforts to help businesses for nearly 100 years now. And our ability to help, even in times like these, is proven. We’ve earned four consecutive Best of Print and Digital awards. And it was our ISO certification, in part, which helped us refine our processes and procedures in order to achieve it. If you’ve seen our ability to pivot to provide PPE supplies, you understand that we do what it takes.
Check back on Thursday for more on this subject. But don’t risk missing it. Think back to January. Had you ever heard of the coronavirus? Contact Superior or reach out to your Superior sales rep today to learn more about our Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity Services.
