Contingency Planning and Disaster Recovery: A Small Business Guide - Tapa dura

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DONNA R. CHILDS is the founder, President, and CEO of Childs Capital, LLC, a global financial institution dedicated to alleviating poverty through economic development. She has also been a director of Swiss Reinsurance, an investment banker for Goldman Sachs, and a research associate for Harvard Business School. STEFAN DIETRICH was most recently the COO and Executive Vice President of E-Vantage Solutions, an Internet start-up in the wireless transactions and m-commerce field. Prior to joining E-Vantage, he was a director with Reuters.

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Among the countless tragic lessons of September 11th, 2001, an overlooked but important discovery was the lack of preparation among small and midsize businesses for responding to disaster. While most of the media attention was naturally devoted to the performance of major international corporations, the very existence of thousands of small businesses was determined by whether or not they had adequate insurance, sufficient technological support, and viable disaster contingency plans. The Wall Street office of Donna Childs sustained minimal financial losses because her company had demonstrated the foresight to prepare for a catastrophe with the assistance of IT consultant Stefan Dietrich. Now, these authors draw upon their sobering experience to offer your small business an essential, must-have guide, Contingency Planning and Disaster Recovery: A Small Business Guide.

Divided into four main sections?Preparation, Response, Recovery, and Sample IT Solutions?Contingency Planning and Disaster Recovery begins by addressing what needs to be done before a disaster occurs, such as insuring property and creating off-site backups of confidential data files. The book then outlines procedures to undertake during a catastrophe and how to execute a successful recovery. The authors focus on six pertinent types of disaster:

• Human errors
• Equipment failures
• Third-party failures
• Environmental hazards
• Fires and other structural catastrophes
• Terrorism and sabotage

In each case, real-world examples are provided to illustrate how the authors? recommendations can be put into action. Childs and Dietrich also debunk the myth that contingency plans are unreasonably expensive. Of course they require an investment of time and money; however, sound contingency plans can successfully combat daily "small" disasters, such as mistakenly deleting computer files, while also improving the overall efficiency of business processes regardless of whether a disaster occurs.

A portion of the author royalties from Contingency Planning and Disaster Recovery will be assigned to a charity that assists fundraising for nonprofit organizations, such as those dealing with disaster relief. The smooth operation of business in a time of disaster benefits not only the small business community but also the national and even the global economy. By following the authors? guidance, your small business can alleviate its risks and recover quickly when disaster strikes.