OurAgility

In the last few years Agility has rescued over 300 businesses across North America. These recoveries have run the gamut of disasters from server failures and burst pipes to floods, ice storms and hurricanes. We have helped turn on the lights, melt the ice, restore the networks and keep the home fires burning, so to speak.

Along the way we have learned a few things and are constantly refining the recovery process in an effort to make it a smoother, quicker and more efficient experience for our members. We have also seen a lot of very hard lessons learned by our members, the people out there facing potential disasters every day.

So, what’s the single biggest lesson learned? Be prepared! Never allow yourself to get lulled into a false sense of security when it comes to disaster recovery planning. Just because you don’t get hurricanes or wild fires ‘round your way’ doesn’t mean you are immune to a weather related disaster.

For example, last year in Iowa no one was expecting the floods to be as bad as they were. And this year in the mid-west no one thought the predicted ice storm would be any different than previous storms. But they were caught off guard and as a result we saw numerous businesses flooded or without power in the freezing cold conditions. On the flip side, earlier this year in North Dakota the citizens of Fargo looked for the absolute worst case scenario, and planned accordingly. They realized that if the river crested above a certain level they would be in serious trouble and so they planned for a truly historic, almost Biblical amount of water. In doing so, they ensured they could cope with slightly lower than feared water levels.

So here’s my point; don’t hold back on planning. Take into consideration as many different scenarios as possible, ask all the “what if” questions you can think of and always prepare for the worst case. After the historic ice storm in January you can be sure many businesses in Kentucky now have a contingency for dealing with a long term power outage in their disaster recovery plan. And, after the flooding last year I would be willing to bet my grandmother that an awful lot of companies in Iowa now have a much more comprehensive flood response plan.

The truth of the matter is that it shouldn’t take going through a disaster to make people prepare for one. All potential disasters should be planned for in advance so your business, your livelihood, and your employees are protected. So don’t hold back, think outside the box, and learn from the experiences of others. I don’t care even if you are in Texas, go ahead and plan for a blizzard.

For more lessons learned, register for our upcoming webinar “Lessons Learned from Real World Recoveries” on Wednesday, August 19 at 2:00 p.m.

Visit Agility Recovery for more information or call 866.364.9696. We are always more than happy to share experiences, ideas and disaster recovery planning tips.

Ben Pritchard

Agility Recovery

http://www.agilityrecovery.com

http://www.ouragility.com

http://twitter.com/AgilityRecovery

I will admit it, I am a compulsive planner. I work in disaster recovery, so what do you expect? I am a complete detail freak and it frequently drives my family and co-workers to distraction. It is with this personal obsession in mind (and perhaps because of) that I have been struck recently by the huge difference in interpretations of what the term “workplace preparedness” actually means to people.

With the Atlantic Hurricane season looming large on the horizon, we at Agility we have been reaching out to our members across the southeast and gulf coast regions to reinforce the need for preparedness. The difference in responses has been staggering. Some companies have incredibly detailed and well-rehearsed DR plans focusing on their whole business (beyond just technology); whilst others are taking the “let’s keep our fingers crossed” approach in hopes that the next big hurricane passes them by. Let’s face it, even a Category 1 storm can result in power outages, structural damage and flooding, any of which can have a devastating effect on the unprepared finger-crossers amongst us.

At the end of the day, the longevity of your business as well as the livelihoods and safety of you and your employees isn’t something to be left to chance. And so, with that in mind, I urge everyone out there, irrespective of geographic location, to re-evaluate their DR plans, and then re-evaluate them some more for good measure. Take a “devil is in the detail” approach and make sure you leave as little to chance as possible.

For anyone who wants to get a little bit further into the nitty-gritty and make sure they really are as prepared as they think they are, we have a free webinar addressing preparedness coming up on May 27th. Visit http://www2.agilityrecovery.com/resources/events/2/Webinars for more information. Detail freaks like me are sure to love it.

Does anyone have lessons learned on using the Agility mobile unit or offerings that others should consider in their planning? What surprises or additions were needed that were not expected; and what items really helped?