Information technology and disaster recovery go hand in hand. When Hurricane Ivan struck in 2004, just west of Montgomery, Ala., clients of Leading Edge Alliance firm affiliate, Wilson Price Information Technology, began focusing their attention on disaster planning.

"They may not have been receptive prior to experiencing the real threat," says Jeff Bohman, vice president of Wilson Price Information Technology.

The frequently posed question? "What do we do?"

Imminent questions regarding IT include how can the business protect its systems? How long can the company sustain a power outage? Can it afford to be offline a week or two?

The answers lead to the creation of a tailored plan to address IT solutions.

Small businesses with small servers can shut them down and take the servers with them. "It's a viable short-term solution," Bohman says.

He adds that larger companies should ensure that data—and applications—are available at multiple sites, at least the most critical applications so contingency plans can be built.

Bohman suggests that companies work with their application vendors in advance; ship them the databases on a regular basis, for example.

"You're not going to find solutions a day before," Bohman says. "At that point just protect as best you can against spikes, water damage, power outages or tornadoes incurred from a hurricane."

Clients who store data away from their sites will find it easier to get up and running. "We can put your network back together in a few weeks," Bohman says.

He also says a well-maintained system is another plus to successful restoration after a disaster. This includes testing the back-up process periodically, at least monthly if possible. "A lot of companies want to restore and then find holes in their continuity plan. They learn and apply more reliable back-up methods," Bohman says.

One component that far too many companies do not address is the IT budget to handle potential expenses and the equipment required to run operations. For example, a five-server network takes more energy and expense to perform day-to-day backup. The more critical the component, the greater expense it may warrant to ensure backup.

IT experts recommend that companies have both off-site and on-site backups to prepare for a multitude of disasters.

Of course, selecting those sites is important. Postlethewaite & Netterville's Lonnie Stockwell says a local bank lost both its back-up IT sites because they, too, were hit by the hurricanes.

Bohman points out that resolving or thwarting Y2K IT problems more than six years ago was considered a capital expense, but as businesses got beyond 2000 they didn't see a need to keep IT safeguards as part of their capital expense budgets.

Expenses don't have to run too high. A small business could spend as little as $400 on two servers that would enable it to continue worldwide operations even if disaster strikes at home, Bohman says.

Battery back-up, generators and natural gas are options to consider to run core operations. But, Bohman says, try to anticipate all that's necessary. He knows one company that was above water level after a hurricane and could operate. However, it did not have sufficient fuel to run the generators.

"Too often a lot is assumed in day-to-day operations and safeguarding these assets," Bohman says. "Executives take for granted (safeguarding) is being accomplished."

He says an annual review or audit by an independent party enables a company to feel more secure in its operations. These reviews can identify structural, capacity and safeguarding weaknesses.

Drum Associates' Brian Drum says the Internet is a great, inexpensive resource from which to operate, allowing employees to telecommute and move data back and forth.

Stockwell says the Internet also can be a great avenue to send bills and collect payments when the mail service, like it is in the Gulf Coast region, is severely disrupted.

Businesses considering using the Internet as well as its own servers for a telecommuting back-up plan should look carefully at the option, Wold says. How successful an everyone-work-from-home plan would be hinges on several factors. "It depends on access to company systems. Home PCs normally are not up to date with spyware and virus protection," Wold says. "If a home system is the back-up, there is a high chance you could introduce a virus or other problem, creating a second disaster.

Instead, access from home could be permitted only to those who have a company personal computer—and only key people would have one.

"There's no perfect answer," Wold says. "The perfect answer is unaffordable—you have to come up with the practical answer." e