Preparing Your Business for Disaster With Support From Peak 10 on Nashville Medical News

Preparing Your Business for Disaster With Support From Peak 10

By: Drew Fassett,Vice President & General Manager,Peak 10 Nashville

It's no secret that the healthcare companies of Middle Tennessee are transitioning to more electronic methods to streamline business. Companies who rely upon the availability of their mission-critical data, applications or IT operations know they have to be prepared for hardware failure or loss of access to equipment. This dependence on fail-proof data has created a need for partners that can provide customers with assistance in disaster preparedness and recovery. Peak 10 Nashville, with its world-class data centers and expert support team, can be used in conjunction with business' own IT facilities to provide a more complete business continuity solution.

Why Should You Have a Plan?

The question to ask regarding disasters is not "if" one will occur, but "when." It is vital to be prepared for these adverse situations. A University of Texas study revealed that half of the companies that lose their data through disaster never re-open, and of those, 90 percent will be forced out of business within two years. A Disaster Recovery (DR) plan offers a proactive solution for times of instability. All businesses should have a plan in place to effectively coordinate people and resources in an effort to mitigate downtime and business disruptions.

Having a DR plan creates flexibility within an organization as it requires identifying alternatives for resources, strategies and solutions. A good plan is one that has been tested over and over to ensure effectiveness. Its success depends on high levels of collaboration, initiative and ingenuity.

Peak 10's expert team can help you determine your business' level of disaster preparedness and identify potential areas for improvement. We can design a plan that will reduce your vulnerability to unexpected events and interruptions, minimize downtime and reduce the loss of critical data.

Important Components to Consider

Below are questions we often ask companies when assessing their DR plans:

Technology

Is your DR plan written, current and tested?
Do you have a designated recovery site for data?
Are hardware, software, facilities and service vendors part of your plan?

People

Do your employees and business partners know their role in the plan and how to execute it?
Does your staff have access to documentation online and offline?
Do you have a designated recovery site for people?

Data Center

Are your critical data and applications located in a secure data center that is routinely monitored?
Do you have access to a second data center that is networked to the primary facility?
Does your data center provide redundant power with UPS and generator?

Network

Do you have multiple connections to a network service provider and multiple Internet Service Providers (ISPs)?
Is your network failover integrated to the network topography?

Data Protection and Support

Is your data backed up daily at a secure, off-site location?
Do you have a comprehensive security strategy with policies and procedures in place?
Do you employ or have access to live engineers 24x7x365?

Proven Peak 10 Solutions & Support

Peak 10 offers a unique suite of DR services supported by the resources at each of Peak 10's 18 world-class data centers. These facilities are interconnected by a high-performance, fully-redundant private network that ensures the security, integrity and availability of our customers' business applications and technology infrastructure. Data may be backed up at any one of these locations in the form of a hot or cold site.

In the event that your office is compromised by disaster our workspace recovery service offers ample room and a secure setting in which to conduct your everyday business needs, thus allowing you to keep your company up and running and avoid costly downtime.

Through our partnership with Agility Recovery Solutions we offer the QuickShip program, which stocks computers and other IT equipment pre-configured to your needs for emergency express shipment.

At Peak 10, our goal is to provide you with the resources and technical expertise to help implement the best solution for avoiding business interruption caused by disaster and to recover as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Additional Resources

For additional information on how Peak 10 can help healthcare companies with their disaster recovery needs, please contact Peak 10 Nashville at (615) 254-8324.

Drew Fassett is the vice president and general manager for the overall operations of Peak 10 Nashville, the leading independent data center operator and managed services provider. Peak 10 is a managed services company with world-class data centers. It delivers scalable, economical and reliable solutions for hosting and managing complex information technology infrastructure. For more information, please visit www.peak10.com/nashville.

Nashville 1
7100 Commerce Way • Suite 25 • Brentwood, TN 37027

Nashville 2
425 Duke Drive • Suite 400 • Franklin, TN 37067

Phone: (615) 254-8324 • Fax: (615) 254-8320

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