IT Backup - Is Your Company Safe?

A few weeks ago I was attending an early pre-lunch call at one of my customers. As I pulled onto the car park my eyes were drawn to blue flashing lights on the nearby industrial estate. Not being nosey you recognize, I thought I would just have a look to see what was going on.

No Smoke Without Fire?

Although it was still fairly dark and difficult to see there was a high point of activity by the fire crew and a fairly large group of observers were standing around. However, I could not see any smoke and guessed that whatever had brought the fire engines out had been dealt with earlier and they were winding down.

As I entered the main office door of the client I had come to see, I saw lying on the mat a leaflet which I duly picked up to hand to the MD.

Fire Affects Local Business

The leaflet turned out to be from West Midlands Fire Service. The main part of the leaflet read as follows:

"The West Midlands Fire Service has recently attended a serious fire in this area.

How Safe Is Your Business?

Due to the nature of the incident a Fire Safety Officer may visit you to ensure your amenabilities with the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.

You may need to produce the subsequent items to show compliance with the Fire Safety Order: 

·         A copy of the emergency action plan for the premises;

·         Evidence of staff training and fire drills;

·         The most recent Service Certificate for the fire alarm system"

Backup IT Business Plan

Here are some of the things we think should be in your plan of action:

1.     If the main server is lost, stolen or damaged by fire, how long would it take to replace it?

1.     Do you know the specification of the server you would need?

2.     Do you have the driver disks?

3.     Do you know what programmes and versions are installed?

4.     Do you have the licence keys?

5.     What happens if the model of server lost is no longer available?