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Are You Prepared for a Disaster?
 Although
it is rare for businesses to suffer a fire
or other disaster, the effects of such an
event could be devastating; yet half of
small businesses have no formal plans on how
to remain trading in the event of a
disaster.
A survey of 1000 small businesses by Bank of
Scotland Business Banking has also found
that larger SMEs are better prepared, 57%
have a recovery plan compared to only 37% of
sole traders.
One positive area was IT equipment, with
more than half of SMEs regularly backing up
data. However, there are still far too many
businesses without an adequate plan to cover
the rest of their computers and technology
in the event of a major incident.
Events such as a fire, an explosion, or a
flood can damage your computers, damage your
records and your business premises; leaving
you with great difficulty to deal with your
workload, if your business can even continue
at all.
Kevin Gillett, Head of Bank of Scotland
Business Banking, commented: "Although a
rare event, when small businesses do suffer
a major incident the impact can be
devastating. It is therefore alarming to see
how little thought and preparation is being
put into disaster planning by many
companies. Such planning need not be
burdensome or costly and, given that it
might prevent a business’s closure, I would
recommend that every owner-manager considers
the issues raised by these findings.”
Being prepared does not need to be
expensive, a relatively simple plan can help
you act quickly in the event of a disaster;
and could possibly even save your business
altogether.
Why not read our dedicated article on
Disaster Recovery, it features advice on
prevention strategies, disaster plans and
recovery strategies.
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