When we think of "technology," it's easy to think about computers, phones and other hardware/software solutions in our 21st century agencies. But an easily overlooked IT responsibility is disaster preparedness and business continuity. Disaster preparedness is the state in which an agency has prepared its assets, technologies, staff and data for disaster. It involves a plan for avoiding and recovering from a disaster. Business continuity is a progression of disaster recovery, aimed at allowing an organization to continue functioning after–and ideally, during–a disaster to ensure that critical business functions will be available to customers, carriers and other business partners. Over the next three months, I'll be looking at specific ways to create and implement a simple yet effective plan for surviving disasters. This month, however, let's first clearly understand the need, scope and importance of disaster preparedness and business continuity. Statistics How you prepare for a disaster can make the difference between your agency surviving and going out of business. When a major disaster strikes a community, it often changes the community and the agency forever. The U.S. Dept. of Labor estimates more than 40 percent of businesses never reopen following a disaster. Of the remaining companies, at least 25 percent will close within 2 years. More than 60 percent of businesses confronted by a major disaster close by 2 years, according to the Assn. of Records Managers and Administrators. The Gartner Group provides fact-based consulting services that help our clients use and manage IT to enable business performance. A study found that 60 percent of businesses that experienced a data disaster ceased operations within two years. "What if?" Disaster is no game. It is a real-life exercise in survivability. But to make the point, let's consider some "what if?" questions. Question 1: What if … a tornado hit your agency? If you are relying on paper, do you know it is impossible to back up paper? And do you realize that not securing the protection of customer information in paper form can actually place an agency in violation of federal privacy laws?

Question 2: What if … a widespread disaster devastated everything within a 10-mile radius of your agency? If you are relying on back-up tapes, would they be within the 10-mile area affected by the disaster? And can you ensure their safety and recoverability? Question 3: What if … your agency was inaccessible for a week or more following a disaster? How would you provide protection to your clients who are not able to reach you and your staff? Question 4: What if … you lost access to electricity, water or Internet for an extended period of time? How would you restore critical business services? Question 5: What if … your fire sprinkler system malfunctioned and flooded your agency? How long would it take you to restore critical operations and protect customer and agency data? While customers might be sympathetic and understanding for a while, how long would it take before concern for their lives and family became demands on your agency? A disaster preparedness or business continuity plan does not have to be complicated, but it is essential that you prepare your agency to protect your customers, regardless what unplanned disaster comes. The human factor Damage and disruption to property, technology, data and services are only one part of a disaster's impact. Your entire community, including staff, customers and business partners, can be affected by post-traumatic stress disorder. At a time when flexibility and clear decision-making is essential, people are likely to shut down as the result of confusion and disorientation. According to author Thomas Powell in "Shaken But Alive: Organizational Behavior in the Wake of Catastrophic Events," this "psychological trauma of key decision-makers leads to company inflexibility to deal with the change required to move forward." Post-traumatic stress disorder can cripple your decision-making ability. The most effective way to minimize the psychological effects of a disaster is to plan well ahead of the event. The data factor Data is the lifeblood of your agency. Lose a little and your agency can easily go into shock. Lose a lot and your agency could die. According to studies, about 2 percent of data is lost in natural disasters. However, according to a survey by Ontrack Data Recovery, more than half of all data is lost because of hardware or computer system problems. Another 9 percent is unrecoverable due to software corruption or programming, and an additional 26 percent is lost due as a result of human error. It never ceases to amaze me that in an industry that makes its living emphasizing the importance of managing risk, so many agency owners fail to take the necessary steps to minimize their own risk when it comes to vital customer and agency data. Every owner I talk with will quickly agree on the importance of data. Then, in the next breath, the owner explains why he has not taken steps to protect this critical business resource. According to a survey by data recovery company AmeriVault Corp., almost 70 percent of small companies ask employees to take their backup tapes home. It is just as common for agencies to "forget" to remove them from the premises at all. This means that data is vulnerable to natural disasters and security breaches. The communication factor The first casualty of a disaster is communication. Whether it is a state of confusion or the unavailability of technology, communications are the arteries pumping life into your disaster preparedness and business continuity plan. There are three basic components of essential communication: electronic, verbal and paper. It is likely that electronic communication will be the first level of communication to break down. This happens because the service providers have been affected by the disaster or because the agency has lost access to its service provider. Either way, it is important not to rely on electronic communication during a disaster. The second type of communication affected by a disaster is verbal. In many ways, this can be just as unreliable as electronic communication. It's well known how information can change significantly as it verbally passes from one person to another. While verbal lines of communication are important, they should not be relied on during the chaos of a disaster. The final form of communication is paper. In many ways, this can be the most reliable way to communicate during a disaster. The key is distribution of the paper information prior to the disaster. All employees should have a written copy of the disaster preparedness and business continuity plan at their desks and at home. Some agencies print a brochure that contains information on the chain of command once a disaster is declared, responsibilities, contact information and detailed disaster procedures. This information can be communicated either verbally or electronically as available and needed. Because information is in printed form, everyone understands exactly what to do in any type of disaster. Although it may seem a bit imposing, disaster planning can actually be simple. The sooner you get started, the simpler it will be. After all, the time to learn how to swim is not when you are drowning. Next month, we will look at specific ways to create, maintain and implement your disaster plan. Tom Baker is the solutions coach for Advanced Automation's Solutions agencies. For the past 17 years, Advanced Automation has offered agency consulting services to address a variety of management and agency development issues. Baker can be reached at [email protected].