Disaster Recovery Plan
Hosted PBX disaster recovery solutions provide innumerable benefits to small and medium-sized businesses, including clear calls, flexible scaling and cost savings. However, one key benefit that can sometimes be overlooked is its disaster recovery and business continuity acumen.
As recent events from the last few weeks and months illustrate, no part of the country is immune from Mother Nature’s destructive forces. For example, approximately one year after a tornado caused mass destruction in Joplin, Mo., a number of twisters and severe thunderstorms leveled buildings in Oklahoma and nearby states. Reuters reported that one May tornado destroyed approximately 13,000 houses in one Oklahoma City suburb.
The potential destruction is not just limited to the middle of the country, as recent hurricanes such as Katrina, Irene and Sandy showed that any coastal area in the Eastern United States is vulnerable to these natural disasters. This risk is especially prevalent this year, as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted that there could be up to five more hurricanes and up to three more major hurricanes this year than the national annual average.
Although somewhat more rare than hurricanes or tornados, earthquakes are still a prevalent threat in many parts of the country, especially in California. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, close to 150 earthquakes with a magnitude of 6 or above occur every year, and 32 tremors with a magnitude of 5 or above were detected in the U.S. in 2012.
How Hosted PBX Aids Disaster Recovery
Regardless of the emergency situation a company is facing, business leaders need to do everything in their power to promote employee safety and keep operations running as smoothly as possible. This is often far easier said than done, but hosted virtual PBX phone systems can help facilitate these efforts in the aftermath of any major natural disaster.
Because most SMBs are particularly localized, they are at a competitive disadvantage in the event of a major calamity. Larger corporations with dispersed operations can shift their production toward other facilities while the cleanup effort begins in one locality. SMBs typically do not have this advantage, but a hosted virtual PBX phone system provides it to them. By having the core functionality of the communication system hosted in the cloud as opposed to on premise, companies have access to their telephone lines regardless of damage inflicted on the office space.
A hosted virtual PBX phone system from AccessDirect, since it is powered by the cloud, is an ideal way for a company to keep in contact with employees, clients and customers. Often, a business will need to reassure its clientele that it is still operational, and this kind of telephone system arrangement ensures that this communication can take place. In addition, hosted PBX enables companies to easily find out if employees are safe in the aftermath of a natural disaster and work to quickly get the business up and running again.
“We’ve all been there – an emergency situation takes place and we’re left scrambling to try and figure out what to do,” TMCnet contributing editor Susan Campbell wrote recently. “Maybe that emergency was nothing more than a power outage. Maybe that emergency was a tornado hitting too close to home. Or, maybe the emergency was a hurricane hitting land and wiping out everything in its path. Whatever the case, the virtual PBX is a valuable tool to have in the event of an emergency.”
Call AccessDirect and ask about our disaster recovery plan options today!
