In our highly connected world, IT disasters can strike without even a moment’s notice. Whether through a cyber attack, a power outage that damages mission-critical equipment, or a natural disaster, such disruptions can bring operations to a standstill, potentially leading to substantial financial consequences and damage to customer relationships. As a Managed Service Provider, we frequently answer questions about IT risk mitigation, its implications, why it matters, and how businesses can prepare for unforeseen circumstances.
Many businesses only start to take risk mitigation in IT seriously after they’ve suffered a catastrophic event. Many people mistakenly believe that a single backup solution, or none at all if their organization stores most content in the cloud, is sufficient. But the reality is, an all-encompassing risk mitigation strategy in IT goes far beyond these basics or misguided assumptions. True preparedness requires proactive and forward-thinking measures. For example, it’s surprising how often we encounter clients who are reluctant to participate in even basic backup processes, such as cycling air-gapped external hard drives on an on-premise server that used as part of a comprehensive risk mitigation plan in IT.
Cyber Insurance has been increasingly of interest to business owners. As most organizations are required to carry many other lines of insurance, adding on cyber insurance seems easy. It’s just one more insurance, and we absolutely recommend having cyber insurance. The primary purpose of cyber insurance is to provide a financial safety net that is hopefully large enough to keep your business funded while recovering from a catastrophe.
A good risk mitigation strategy in IT could have you back up and running in a matter of hours. A lack of one could find you trying to re-create every digital asset your company has…by hand. Regardless of funding, we wouldn’t wish re-creating multiple years of transactions and re-creating intellectual property from memory on anyone. One silver lining for us is that the standards for obtaining cyber insurance coverage have become increasingly stringent each year. This makes it necessary for our clients to significantly enhance their cybersecurity measures. We’re, of course, excited to have those conversations.
A resilient risk mitigation strategy in IT comprises several components. At its heart, a diverse backup strategy incorporates a multi-approach solution. We typically recommend combining several strategies: use a backup appliance to protect all mission-critical equipment and cloud services (such as Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace). Then implement an “air-gapped” backup by saving data to removable storage media like external hard drives that can be taken fully offline. Additionally, we like to see a local to cloud solution. Each medium protects against different scenarios, such as ransomware, physical compromise, malicious employees, etc. Of course, having some level of documentation in an easily accessible off-network location is warranted.
To make sure you’re adequately prepared, here are some key questions you should ask to evaluate your organization’s readiness:
So, ask yourself – is your company truly ready for the unexpected? As you consider the potential risks, your current preparedness level and the impact of a disaster, you’ll realize the importance of proactive planning. Risk mitigation in IT is not just about managing potential threats; it is about ensuring your organization’s survival and continued success.
Ensure business continuity even in the face of unexpected IT disasters. Let us help you mitigate risks and safeguard your operations.
