The devastation of Hurricane Sandy that New Jersey experienced first hand this year demonstrates the importance for business to allocate an on-going investment in Data Protection. Now more than ever firms understand the key to survival is preparation. Here are a few tips to help identify qualifications for data protection facilities, and key information that should be instituted today.
RISK MANAGEMENT: It is never too late to invest in Risk Management. Equate this to life insurance for your firm. Data protection and off-site records management of your media and vital records is an investment in your firm and protects you client’s information and assets such as wills and trusts.
All Data and Vital Records Centers are Not Created Equal. Here are a Few Key Requirements that should be added to your evaluation checklist:
- A NARA 36 CFR part 1234 compliant or FEMA Complaint Facility
- Climate and Humidity Controls with High/Low Alarms. You may even request to receive automatic alerts should temperature deviate
- Historical tracking of climate controls (temperature and humidity levels) should your firm ever be audited
- 24/7/365 Central Monitoring
- Media fire suppression systems such as Fike Proinert or equivalent with VESDA early warning fire detection
- Vital Records require a pre-action sprinkler system with smoke detectors
- INDOOR vehicle loading and unloading
- 24/7/365 Access and Monitoring. Disasters don’t stop after 5 O’Clock.
DEVELOP AND TEST YOUR DISASTER RECOVERY PLANS: Every firm should not only create a Disaster Recovery plan, but TEST their disaster recovery plan. Simulating a disaster and recovering information, even utilizing your hot or cold site should you have one, uncovers any glitches, kinks or technical issues. This is also an excellent way to test the responsiveness of your vendor. This video from FEMA details the importance of a disaster recovery plan as well as the importance of testing this plan.
TAPE ROTATIONS: A systematic pick up or transfer of your system back up information should be incorporated into your disaster recover plan. Regardless of how your data delivered off-site, in physical form to a climate controlled facility or via automated back up stored in the cloud, backing up your system daily is a key to survival. Just ask yourself? ‘If our firm lost one week’s worth of data could we survive?’ Odds are one hour would even set a firm back. That said back up your information daily and then test your system restore.
Coopers and Lybrand reports that only 10% of businesses who experience a major disaster survive. Don’t let your firm become a statistic. Preparation is your best protection.
InfoStore Records Management
www.infostorerm.com
201-806-2380
InfoStore
is a NJSBA member benefit provider. This tip for members is being
shared as part of NJSBA Member Appreciation Month, March 2013.
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