Does your business need a telecoms disaster recovery plan?

Can you imagine just one working week in your business without being able to make or take phone calls? The results could be catastrophic with a scary number of missed calls and potentially missed sales. Businesses of all sizes in all industries rely on their business phone systems to keep them in touch with their clients, potential clients and colleagues. What would you do if you suddenly didn’t have access to your desk phones or internet?

Whether your business premises are flooded (leaving you unable to access your office for weeks) or you lose simply a few hours due to a false fire alarm, whatever the scale of the disaster, you will be missing calls. This is why a telecoms disaster recovery plan is so important.

What is a disaster recovery plan?

Disasters happen – they’re unavoidable and often unexpected which is why having a disaster recovery plan in place is essential for all businesses. It is estimated that the majority of bigger organisations spend up to 4% of their telecoms budget on disaster recovery plans. This is because the losses in the event of disasters can be so big that the business cannot function due to the loss of telecoms infrastructure and data.

Losing your critical communication channels is damaging for any business. A disaster recovery plan describes the process and procedures for responding to a disaster in a way that means the loss of your telecoms will not devastate your operations.

Ultimately, a disaster recovery plan sets out what can be done to prevent a complete shutdown in the case of a disaster.

Why does a business need a disaster recovery plan?

Disasters may be unavoidable but being unprepared isn’t. If you experience a disaster and are unprepared, it can not only result in a loss of business at the time, but it can impact your future business as well. Surveys have shown that 80% of businesses go out of business after suffering a major disaster which just shows why a disaster recovery plan needs to be in place.

A disaster recovery plan means that your business will suffer a lot less in the event of a disaster than if there was no plan in place. Although it may be impossible to assess the reputational, operational and commercial damage caused by a disaster, it is fair to assume that having a disaster recovery plan in place would soften the damage.

Furthermore, a disaster recovery plan will help to elevate risk from your business, ensuring minimal downtime and ensuring you never lose the ability to communicate.

Example of what’s in a disaster recovery plan:

A disaster recovery plan will be specific to your business to ensure that it is right for you. However, there are a number of things that can be included as standard. We recommend including an inventory of your telecoms equipment and how it operates. In addition, we suggest identifying any business critical operations and potential incidents that may affect your organisation. You should also note the circumstances in which you would utilise the plan.

Disaster recovery from Enreach

Your telecoms provider should offer you a variety of options for your disaster recovery plan. The Enreach disaster recovery options include things such as:

• Re-route inbound calls to business mobiles or individual DDIs
• Utilise a second broadband line
• Invest in a dongle
• Twin backup or failover lines
• Utilise a UPS

Want to find out how our disaster recovery systems can help you keep your business secure? Or are you just looking for some friendly, impartial advice on the best tools to make communicating a breeze? We can help! Contact us today via our live chat, call 0333 3603 423, or email enquiries.uk@enreach.com.