Despite warnings, most SMBs are still not prepared for disaster

FINDING 1:

Respondents were asked about their company's state of readiness to deal with an outage or disruption to their computer or technology resources. Only half (50 percent) responded that they already have a plan in place. That's up slightly from 47 percent last year. Fourteen percent do not have a plan, nor do they have any intention to create one.

There were some differences according to company size. Fifty-seven percent of small businesses don't have a plan, compared to 47 percent of medium businesses.

Of the respondents who do plan to implement a plan in the future, 16 percent plan to do so within 30 days, 34 percent plan to do so between one and three months, and 25 percent plan to do so between three and six months.

Even though only half of respondents have a plan, 81 percent of all respondents are somewhat/very satisfied with their plans to deal with outages or disruptions, whether formal or informal; indeed, 84 percent state that their computer systems are somewhat/completely protected.

When those who do not have a plan were asked why not, roughly half (52 percent) don't think computer systems are critical to the business. Forty-one percent said that it never occurred to them to put together a plan, and 40 percent said that disaster preparedness is not a priority.

FINDING 2:

SMBs are at risk

It is alarming that more SMBs do not have plans to help them deal with disasters and keep their computer systems up and running, especially when one considers that 65 percent of SMBs reside in regions that they consider susceptible to natural disasters.

In fact, SMBs experienced a median of 6 outages in the past year. The top three reasons for downtime include cyberattacks, power outages, employee errors, and upgrades, with each occurring a median of once per company in the last year.

The survey found that SMB information is not protected. Only half of companies surveyed back up at least 60 percent of their data, and less than half back up their data weekly or more frequently. Only 23 percent back up daily.

Key data is not always backed up, either. Of those surveyed, 31 percent do not back up email, 21 percent do not back up application data, and 17 percent do not back up customer data. Respondents also reported that a disaster would cause information loss. Forty-four percent of SMBs said they would lose at least 40 percent of their data in the event of a disaster.

FINDING 3:

SMBs do not act until it is too late

Of SMBs with a disaster preparedness plan, half (50 percent) implemented the plan due to either an outage or data loss. Fifty-two percent put together their plans within the last six months. However, only 28 percent have actually tested their recovery plans, which is a critical component of disaster preparedness.

Again, there were some differences according to company size. Thirty-six percent of small businesses with a disaster preparedness plan implemented their plan within the last six months, compared to 58 percent of medium businesses.

FINDING 4:

Not being prepared can have a negative impact

Disasters can have a significant financial impact on SMBs. Downtime costs SMBs a median of $12,500 per day. It costs small businesses a median of $3,000 per day and medium businesses a median of $23,000 per day.

Outages also have a considerable effect on SMB customers. SMB customers reported that SMB outages cost them $10,000 per day, and 29 percent said they lost "some" or "a lot of" data as a result of disasters impacting their SMB vendors.

Downtime also causes customers to leave with 54 percent of SMB customer respondents reporting they have switched SMB vendors due to unreliable computing systems, a 12 percent increase compared with last year's survey.

For many SMBs, disasters could also put them out of business. Forty-four percent of SMB customers stated that their SMB vendors have temporarily shut down due to a disaster.

OUR RECOMMENDATIONS

•

Don't wait until it's too late: It is critical for SMBs to not wait until after a disaster to think about what they should have done to protect their data. Not only is downtime costly from a financial perspective, but it could mean the complete demise of the business. SMBs can't wait until it is too late, and they need to begin mapping out a disaster preparedness plan today. A plan should include identification of key systems and data that is intrinsic to the running of the business. Basically, identify your critical resources.

•

Protect information completely: To reduce the risk of losing critical business information, SMBs must implement the appropriate security and backup solutions to archive important files, such as customer records and financial information for the long term. Natural disasters, theft and cyberattacks can all result in data and financial loss, so SMBs need to make sure important files are saved not only on an external hard drive and/or company network, but in a safe, off-site location.

•

Get employees involved: SMB employees play a key role in helping to prevent downtime and should be educated on computer security best practices and what to do if information is accidentally deleted or cannot easily be found in their files. Since SMBs have few resources, all employees should know how to retrieve the businesses' information in times of disaster.

•

Test frequently: After a disaster hits is the worst time to learn that critical files were not backed up as planned. Regular disaster recovery testing is invaluable. Test your plan anytime anything changes in your environment.

•

Review your plan: If frequent testing is not feasible due to resources and bandwidth, SMBs should at least review their disaster preparedness plan on a quarterly basis.

Small Business IT Solutions throughout the Seattle Area

Digital Seattle provides professional IT Consulting and Support for businesses in and around Seattle, Washington since 1996.  We strive to give our clients Enterprise-level services and solutions at prices that work for small businesses.  Our practices and workflow procedures were developed around a proactive philosophy designed to keep your focused on your business, not your technology.

Our Technology Professionals can become your outsourced IT department; responding to issues before you even know about them.  We cover everything from your servers and network infrastructure, to your computers, workstations and mobile devices, we provide end-to-end solutions for all of your technology needs.

With Digital Seattle as your Seattle IT partner, you will gain:

• Less Downtime - Faster resolution leads to more productivity
• Fewer Day-to-day Issues - Proactive maintenance prevents issues in general
• More Opportunities - And more time in the day to take advantage of them
• Flat-Rate IT Budget - Know your IT expenses ahead of time, your accounting department will thank you!
• Infrastructure Protection - Keep your network and devices safe and secure
• Business Continuity - Through backup and disaster recovery methods and best practices
• A Good Night's Sleep - Knowing your business is in good hands 24x7.

Not sure where to begin, or even if Digital Seattle is a good fit for your organization?  Contact us to learn more about how we can help move your business forward.

Digital Seattle is more than just another IT firm, We’re what an IT firm should be. With more than 16 years in this industry our Technology specialists are passionate about making your business run better.

Where IT firms maintain systems and keep the status quo, Digital Seattle optimizes them and makes them run more efficiently. Instead of just servicing our clients we partner with them.  From this partnership we become more aware of what is in the best interest of our clients and are better able to help them make decisions about technology, based on their business needs.

The operations of every business depend on three core elements: people, process and technology. It is the interaction of these elements that creates positives like efficiency, capacity and increased productivity.  These interactions can also create problems like lost time, double work and missed opportunities.  By understanding the business and its people and processes, Digital Seattle is able to insure that the technology is aligned to facilitate positive interactions.   

We help our clients assess their organizations and build short and long term IT strategies to get their people, process, and technology working together as efficiently as possible. We help them outsource the aspects of their technology that can tie up funds and resources from the business without adding any real value and help them focus on the areas that will. The results are valuable savings in time and money and the creation of new opportunities for growth.