You get only one chance to respond to a weather catastrophe. According to Al Berman, senior vice president and leader of the national business continuity management practice at Marsh, IT organizations of every size should test their disaster recovery strategies regularly. He offers the following tips.1. Back up all critical data at least daily, including data to redundant servers, network drives, and tape or optical drives. Backups should be performed more frequently for data that cannot be reconstructed from any other source.2. Back up laptops and ensure that critical data is not stored on C drives but is stored to network servers that are backed up and stored offsite. Many businesses fail to realize the importance of data stored locally on laptops. Due to their mobile nature, they can easily be lost or damaged.3. Maintain copies of all backups offsite. This is especially important if an entire server is damaged or destroyed. SmartSync Software, Sun Microsystems and Veritas Software provide software that automatically backs up data to an offsite server daily. 4. Schedule regular reviews of computer security to help prevent unauthorized access, modification or deletion of data.5. Create a disaster recovery plan as part of a comprehensive business continuity plan. Related content brandpost Sponsored by SAP When natural disasters strike Japan, Ōita University’s EDiSON is ready to act With the technology and assistance of SAP and Zynas Corporation, Ōita University built an emergency-response collaboration tool named EDiSON that helps the Japanese island of Kyushu detect and mitigate natural disasters. By Michael Kure, SAP Contributor Dec 07, 2023 5 mins Digital Transformation brandpost Sponsored by BMC BMC on BMC: How the company enables IT observability with BMC Helix and AIOps The goals: transform an ocean of data and ultimately provide a stellar user experience and maximum value. By Jeff Miller Dec 07, 2023 3 mins IT Leadership brandpost Sponsored by BMC The data deluge: The need for IT Operations observability and strategies for achieving it BMC Helix brings thousands of data points together to create a holistic view of the health of a service. By Jeff Miller Dec 07, 2023 4 mins IT Leadership how-to How to create an effective business continuity plan A business continuity plan outlines procedures and instructions an organization must follow in the face of disaster, whether fire, flood, or cyberattack. Here’s how to create a plan that gives your business the best chance of surviving such an By Mary K. Pratt, Ed Tittel, Kim Lindros Dec 07, 2023 11 mins Small and Medium Business IT Skills Backup and Recovery Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe