New Business Continuity Solution - Storagecraft

Ensure you have a plan
in the event of an emergency

Regular readers of this blog will be aware of the importance we place on business continuity and disaster recovery for our clients. We’ve already produced a number of articles on the topic, to find out more visit What is Disaster Planning & Business Continuity? and How to Help your Business Survive Disasters.

We’ve recently partnered with an additional provider of solutions called Storagecraft. The beauty of the Storagecraft product suite is that it can restore servers and workstations in minutes, rather than hours or days. If providing a seamless service is important for your business whilst you recover after a disaster, Storagecraft is worth looking at.

With all disaster recovery and business continuity systems, the secret lies in prior planning. You can’t implement these approaches after the disaster has struck, you need to have planned and arranged it in advance. Then, when you need it, the recovery can be activated. Systems such as those provided by Storagecraft mirror your existing equipment so that they can be switched on quickly and reduce your downtime.

They can’t replicate the data saved on your systems, but they can ensure that your business doesn’t cease whilst you wait on replacement equipment. You don’t have to wait until after purchase, delivery and installation before you get up and running again, you simply switch over to the mirrored system and carry on whilst you get replacement equipment.

You’ll still need to replace any data you’ve lost (which will have required a robust off-site back-up routine), but at least you can get moving quickly again. It has been suggested that 70-80% of businesses cease trading within 18-24 months of a major disaster incident, so it’s worth spending some time considering how you might deal with the situation.

For examples of how Storagecraft have helped businesses like you, read their Case Studies.

Employees in an IT Support Role

IT Support Services
for IT Employees

We wrote recently about Changes in the IT Maintenance and Computer Support Market. There is another trend we’re starting to see, but this time linked to organisations that have an employee providing in-house support.

Having someone knowledgeable within the organisation that can perform basic IT tasks is a great idea and something we discussed in Reducing your Maintenance Costs. The trouble happens when this role is extended and the employer gets the employee to take on more IT responsibility because they want to reduce the IT support costs.

The employee then has two roles, both of which are on a part-time basis, even though the individual may be employed full-time. Unfortunately the employer thinks they have decent IT support in place but the employee doesn’t really have the expertise and knowledge to do a thorough and professional job.

So as with pay-as-you-go arrangements, the quality of the system may start to deteriorate over time.

In addition, with a single employee doing two jobs, they’re not always in the position to provide the ‘quick fix’ help that an IT helpdesk often can. They can’t be in two places at once, whereas a professional IT support company can.

It all seems to be part of a general trend towards commoditisation.

When IT was new and novel, IT individuals were considered to be experts and were paid accordingly. Now salaries are starting to fall and companies are taking the support in-house or using sole-traders on a pay-as-you-go arrangement. We don’t have a problem with this, but unless you want your IT to continue to support your business, you have to ensure that your arrangements provide the time and attention your IT needs.

If in doubt, speak to a reputable IT support provider or read our guide to Types of Support Available or watch this video.