Record Protection Businesses Must Plan Ahead, Utilize Backups
By Teri J. Mark, CRM, CPM
Disasters regularly strike our communities. At minimum, they are minor disruptions; at worst, a business is destroyed. According to the Institute for Business and Home Safety, of the businesses that close because of a disaster, at least 25% fail to reopen.
This past year, with hurricanes brewing in the Southeast, wildfires burning up the West, floods waters rising in the East and South, and tornados whipping up the Midwest, an impending disaster can be just around the corner.
Not all disasters are major events. Just as devastating, but with greater likelihood, are the small, localized disasters such as:
• Computer viruses, hardware failures, disk drive crashes
• Human error, sabotage
• Theft, vandalism, riots
• Broken water pipes
• Toxic mold
• Power outages, spikes and brownouts
• Insect, rodent infestation
• Coffee, soft drinks or food spilling onto documents or into computers
Small businesses are particularly vulnerable to disasters. When the business is young, building the business is the primary task – a successful day is making ends meet. As the business grows, the day-to-day maintenance of the business is primary. However, you can’t wait for a disaster to happen. Once it happens, it’s too late to protect your information.
Being prepared
Your first instinct may be to protect everything. You will quickly find that doing so is unreasonable and quite costly. Not all records require special protection. Only around 5% of your business information is identified as vital.
When disaster strikes, you should have certain information available. This information is outlined in your business continuity plan. If you don’t have a plan in place, now is the time to act. A plan will ensure you are prepared for the worst situation. Online resources on how to write a plan are available at Ready Business (www.Ready.gov). This site explains how to identify essential functions that will keep a business functioning.
Your business continuity plan identifies which records to protect and how to protect them. These records are related to your essential business functions and generally will include:
• Business license
• Business plans
• Current accounting and tax records, current personnel/payroll records, account histories, inventory and shipping records
• Active contracts, proof of ownership
• Insurance polices
• Vehicle titles
• Current client files
• Software licenses
• Software encryption keys
Practical methods
Programs can be put into practice to protect your vital records. One of the easiest methods is duplication. For example, your disaster kit should include USB flash drives, with data encryption to ensure the flash drives’ data is secure. The flash drives may contain a copy of the business continuity plan, work product that you need for remote work and/or digital images of essential documents.
In addition, you must employ routine backups of your scanned images and data. The purpose of backup is to ensure that the most recent copy of the computer data is available for recovery in the event of a system failure, accidental file deletion or a major disaster. A backup is a "snapshot" of current data.
The back-up media must be stored in a secure place, preferably a location that is separate and away from your primary place of business. Good storage locations are branch offices, commercial records centers or safe-deposit boxes. If you have a home office, you can arrange with another home-based business to exchange backups.
The use of insulated fire-resistant file cabinets may be a practical protection method for small businesses. Most of these cabinets are designed to protect paper under severe temperature conditions. If you store other media, such as magnetic tapes or disks, be sure to check the manufacturers’ specifications to ensure that the equipment will adequately protect the media in a fire.
Although using fire-resistant cabinets may be an easy protection method to implement, it is not always the best. Its use is based on the assumption that you can get access to the file cabinet after a disaster. In some instances, the building may not be stable enough to allow entrance.
Telling yourself that a disaster can't happen in your business will serve no useful purpose. Current events have proven otherwise. You need to be prepared. Know exactly what your business needs to do in a time of crisis. Know where the vital records are stored and whom to call for help. The welfare of your business may depend upon these preparations.
Resources: Teri J. Mark, a member of ARMA International, has more than 20 years experience in records and information management. As a consultant and small business owner, she spends considerable time on implementation of total records management programs. She has been a certified records manager since 1985.
ARMA International is the leading professional organization for persons in the records and information management profession. More information can be found at www.arma.org.
The Indiana Chamber has several publications focused on recordkeeping, including the new book, Disaster Planning and Homeland Security for Indiana Business. Go to www.indianachamber.com/publications to learn more about the regulatory compliance guides or call (800) 824-6885 to order.
Record Protection