How Business Continuity Can Save Your Company
93% of companies that lost their data center for 10 days or more due to a disaster, filed for bankruptcy within one year of disaster. What would you do if all of your business documents were suddenly gone? Think of the aftermath. How would you recover? Most organizations fail to have an acceptable recovery plan in place because they do not recognize the need for it. But having a disaster recovery strategy is critical to ensure business functions can continue despite an unfortunate incident.
Whether theft, fire, or natural disaster, everything can be destroyed in a matter of minutes. There is no insurance policy or filing cabinet that could bring back the data you may lose. But luckily, document management software can save it. Document management software provides a secure backup plan to ensure continuous data access and integrity. If you have a long-term business plan, you’ll need to protect it. Let’s explore how document management software keeps your business safe and secure.
Preparation: Having to tell your customers that all of your data has been lost in a fire is a company’s worst nightmare. This can be avoided completely if you are well prepared with a document management solution. With document management software a Test Server can be put in place, allowing administrators to confidently test all aspects of their document database outside of their production environment. This approach to disaster recovery is strongly recommended as added insurance for organizations that rely heavily on digital business. Additionally, paper-based businesses going digital with document management software gain a safe haven for records, that protects beyond fire, flood, or theft. Customers, partners and employees need to know that sensitive data such as salary ranges, medical history, pricing and contact information is secure from people they may not want seeing it. Once files are scanned into a document management system, user permissions can be set through password based security parameters, ensuring private information is accessible only to those who need it.
Recovery: Paper documents stored in filing cabinets are extremely vulnerable to being damaged, lost or destroyed. But even electronic documents are exposed to disaster. An essential tool in any business continuity plan is the ability to run an offsite location where data and documents are regularly updated and can be accessed quickly. With a document management Disaster Recovery License, administrators can maintain a licensed “hot site” for continuous access to your records, in a single location (one that does not include rent or utility expenses!) That way, if disaster strikes, the digital files have been easily backed up and can now be recovered within minutes.  In the event of a catastrophe, your documents are available through remote, VPN or web based access.
Compliance: Many businesses have to comply with strict government and legal requirements when it comes to the maintenance of their records. They need to be organized, secure, and accessible. Document management software presents a system for handling the policies and processes used by an organization to manage its information through every phase of existence – from creation through to destruction. Document management software enables organizations to establish regular and consistent guidelines in audit situations, demonstrating and providing assurance of compliance and practice standards. Document management software makes it easy to be compliant so that in an audit emergency, your business can prove it is abiding by the rules set in place.
Looking at the cost of going paperless compared to the consequence of losing all your files, or even your business, the price is extremely immaterial. Don’t be another statistic. Beat the odds and be prepared by investing in document management software today! Find out more at www.square-9.com.
