The Top 5 Business Continuity Threats Facing Small Businesses Today
In today’s business world, the ability to bounce back from an unexpected event is more important than ever before. Having a plan in place to ensure your business can continue to operate in the event of an interruption is critical to your success.
But what are the biggest threats to business continuity for small businesses today?
Here are the top 5:
- Natural Disasters
- Cyber Attacks
- Employee Error
- Supply Chain Disruptions
- Pandemics
Natural Disasters
From hurricanes and earthquakes to wildfires and floods, natural disasters can strike at any time and often with little warning. And while you can’t control Mother Nature, you can control how prepared you are for her wrath.
Creating a comprehensive business continuity plan that takes into account the specific risks associated with natural disasters in your area is critical to ensuring your business can weather the storm.
Cyber Attacks
In today’s digital age, businesses of all sizes are increasingly vulnerable to cyber attacks. From ransomware and malware to phishing scams and Denial of Service (DoS) attacks, the threat landscape is constantly evolving.
As hackers become more sophisticated, so too must your defense mechanisms.
By investing in robust cybersecurity protection and training your employees on best practices, you can help defend your business against a potential cyber attack.
Employee Error
Believe it or not, one of the most common threats to business continuity is employee error. From accidentally deleting important files to losing laptop computers containing sensitive data, mistakes happen.
And while you can’t prevent them from happening altogether, you can minimize their impact by implementing proper security protocols and procedures – like data backup and disaster recovery – and by providing employees with adequate training on how to use them effectively.
Supply Chain Disruptions
In today’s global economy, supply chains are often complex and far-reaching – which means they’re also susceptible to disruptions.
Whether it’s a hurricane wreaking havoc on shipping operations or a supplier going out of business unexpectedly, supply chain disruptions can have a serious impact on your business continuity plan – not to mention your bottom line.
That’s why it’s important to have a plan in place for how you’ll maintain operations in the event of a disruption. This might include things like sourcing alternative suppliers or rerouting shipments through different channels.
Pandemics
In recent years, we’ve seen firsthand the devastating effect a pandemic can have on businesses of all sizes – from mom-and-pop shops forced to shutter their doors permanently to multinational corporations laying off thousands of employees worldwide.
While there’s no way to fully prepare for something like a pandemic, having a plan in place for how your business will continue to operate in the event of one can help reduce its impact on your bottom line.
This might include things like instituting remote work policies or cross-training employees so that essential functions can still be carried out even if key personnel are unavailable.
Let’s Build a Recovery Plan Together
Our solutions mean a quick return to “business as usual” after a crisis. Disaster recovery typically involves backing up data and processes to an off-site facility or cloud-based storage, ensuring business continuity as operations transfer to a second site or technology environment.
Prevention is the most important key to recovery; nonetheless, there is no such thing as perfect prevention. Anything can happen, be it accidental file deletion, security breaches, or even weather disasters.
We help identify and address potential technology risks, then build recovery plans that include considerations such as optimal backup solutions and climate-controlled facilities.
We’ll help you build these systems and tailor them to your industry’s and business’s specific needs.
