Lifeline IT Disaster Recovery Feature

Lifeline IT has been advising on disaster recovery to businesses with the influential MZA Horeca network.

Lifeline IT’s Daniel Mitchell was outlining how companies can help mitigate damage from malicious attacks or disaster scenarios in the network’s monthly newsletter. We have reproduced the article below.

Plan ahead to avoid a technical disaster

It’s every company’s nightmare. A disaster that leaves you unable to trade, which has serious financial consequences and causes dismay among staff and customers.

Whether it concerns a physical disaster such as a leak or fire, or an online cyber attack. Your IT systems can be at the heart of the disaster. Knowing what to do and when is vital to limiting the damage and getting you back up and running as quickly as possible.

Lifeline IT’s IT and disaster recovery specialists are experts in their field and have helped many companies plan for major disruptions or resolve major issues.

Lifeline IT founder and cybersecurity expert Daniel Mitchell shares the key steps of effective disaster recovery:

“The first thing we do at Lifeline IT is assess the situation. Find out the size and scope of the problem so that the appropriate response can be coordinated. Once this assessment has taken place there are two routes depending on whether you are already a Lifeline IT customer or whether you have called us in an emergency situation”

Existing customer

We already have a ‘Disaster Recovery Plan’ ready for our regular existing customers, which we can implement immediately as soon as we have identified the damage. This plan is a comprehensive document that covers everything. From the right contacts, replacing damaged hardware, moving and setting up a new location to backup. One of the most important aspects of any disaster recovery: having quick access to your data is essential. At Lifeline IT we cannot emphasize enough how important it is to be prepared and have a Disaster Recovery Plan. It will save you a lot of time, stress and money if the worst ever happens.

New customer

In an ideal world, you would already have a Disaster Recovery Plan that can be implemented immediately. But we understand that some companies do not have this and therefore need an ad hoc IT specialist who can get everything up and running again as quickly as possible.

In this situation, the first step is an assessment of where things stand and the extent of the problem. This is done in a very calm and measured manner so as not to make the problem worse. For example, if there has been water damage (firefighting water or broken pipes), electrical cables must be handled carefully to prevent possible electrocution! The same goes for cyber attacks. Here it must also first be determined which follow-up actions should be included, because incorrect actions can spread viruses or play into the hands of cyber criminals.

We’ll then work with you to create an action plan, prioritizing business-critical systems and getting the most important parts of your business up and running first. This may include the following:

– Setting up a short-term workplace. Whether that means installing IT equipment in a temporary office, organizing working from home or setting up a server in the cloud so that files and data are accessible.

– Organizing new hardware. If equipment is damaged, laptops, monitors and servers may need to be rented or replaced.

– Organizing legal reports. If a cyber attack or data breach has occurred, companies are legally obliged to report this to the relevant authorities/organizations. Lifeline IT knows how to do this and will handle it for you. We have offices throughout Europe and know the different procedures for the individual countries.

– Maintaining a comprehensive log of all repair activities and expenses for insurance purposes. Most companies will make claims on their insurance, so thorough record keeping is vital.

– Returning it to your business premises. This means returning to the original (or new office) once the damage has been repaired.