The Need for Disaster Recovery Solutions

The Need for Disaster Recovery Solutions

Businesses of all types need to understand the importance of disaster recovery solutions.  Even call centers are at risk for down time and if a system for recovery is not in place, it could be the end of the business.  Unforeseen events happen, whether manmade or natural and when they do, the entire business operation can be disrupted.  For every minute a call center’s computer and phone systems are down, they are not only losing a lot of money but also potential patients/customers.

Simply put, every call center should have a disaster recovery plan, which is a detailed plan on how the different disaster recovery solutions would be implemented in case of trouble.  Disasters can be the result of sabotage, break-in, cyber attack, utility outages, earthquake, flood, tornado, hurricane, fire, and even terrorism.  These are serious problems, which can bring an entire company down.

One of the reasons disaster recovery solutions are so vital has to do with the amount of money being lost when systems and components are down.  To a call center, an answering service company or any company for that matter, a disaster could permanently cripple operations.  For instance, studies show for companies that have experienced a major loss of documents and records maintained on a computer system hit with a disaster, only 43% of those companies ever reopened for business.

Interestingly, the companies that realized the value of disaster recovery solutions prior to the terrorism attack on the New York Trade Centers, those businesses were completely functional within less than one week.  Any business needs to have a number of plans in place and knowing the plan needed associated with disaster recovery solutions is by far one of the most critical.  Today, both inshore and offshore call centers are implementing plans that include more seating space to handle overload such as:

* Site Level Disaster Recovery Solutions – This means additional seating within a facility was increased by 50% should disaster strike
* State Level Disaster Solutions – More seats were reserved within the same city or state of the call center
* National Level Solutions – Again, additional seats were reserved in a different city or stat

Coming up with all the necessary disaster recovery solutions is complex, which is why companies hire professionals in the field to devise appropriate recovery plans.  Not only do these plans focus on computer and phone systems, they also look at insurance coverage, businesses processes, backup and recovery for customer support, administration, documentation, information, essential equipment, and the premises.  Protecting the call center is a primary focus and understanding different disaster recovery solutions so a plan can be developed is the key to success.