Business Continuity

Prepare your business for the unexpected

Business continuity requirements are changing. In the past, Disaster Recovery was primarily focused on the process of a business to resuming operations after a disruptive event. The event might be something huge-like a Hurricane or the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center-or something small, like a server failure caused by a computer virus.

In today’s business environment continuity is focused on the prevention of interruptions rather than the cure. Business Continuity managers are in the business of disaster prevention, not disaster recovery. Driven by the demands of a global 24 hour high tech environment, business must be prepared to overcome regional and worldwide disruptions to ensure continuous survivability.

SharpComm is not in the business of providing a total Business Continuity plan but can provide technology solutions that will insure your business can survive many types of service disruptions. From a severe traffic jam that delays critical workers to inclement weather to a fire or catastrophic event, SharpComm can provide products that will keep your business operational during this critical period.

One of the simplest and least expensive solutions to insure Business Continuity is Teleworking. Providing employees the capability to conduct business from any location insures that even if the office is inaccessible or closed your business will continue to operate. According to the CDW 2007 telework report 74% of the teleworkers in the private sector would be able to continue working in the event of a disaster. For those employees who do not have a telework option only 28% could make the same claim. Using a suite of products and IP technology SharpComm can offer Teleworkers the same functionality as if they were sitting in the office. Providing a secure connection with the existing voice and data networks coupled with features such as unified messaging, presence, collaboration and IM, teleworkers can stay connected to the office and effectively communicate with other employees and customers even when the office is closed.

In addition to Teleworking SharpComm can also provide several other areas of support for Business Continuity. Communications systems can be made redundant to reduce the probability that a single point of failure that can cause a system failure. Systems can be geographically redundant which not only reduces single point of failure but also location failure or closure. Remote sites can be established to stand alone or provide backup support for workers if the main site is not functioning. If a site must close, then calls can be rerouted to the redundant different location. Systems can be backed up and tapes stored off site so when a failure occurs database information on users, voice mails, etc will not be lost and can be restored on new or alternative equipment. These solutions are more oriented to a cure but can help in the prevention of lost business downtime.

At SharpComm we realize the importance of sustaining your business operations.

In addition to establishing remote workers, SharpComm can assist in providing redundant communication systems, provide backup capability for software and features, and establish a back up communication system in a remote office.

Rest assured when diverse conditions strike and your business needs to stay in operation, SharpComm is the company for you. From traffic jams to weather problems to catastrophic events SharpComm has a solution that enables your employees to work from home. Providing a teleworkers policy not only can protect your business but also secure your work force and open up new areas of recruitment. A teleworking program can be a very effective tool to allow employs to be more effective.