Relocate? No, Colocate Instead
During the Florida hurricane season, and tornado season in the midwest, disaster preparedness is in your bones. You fill up the bathtub with water to help you flush later. Cranking flashlights, battery powered radios, and candles all come out of the drawer. When I was eight years old, I remember hiding in the basement, not only making sure my dog was safe, but I took my piggybank and my picture book, too, just in case. I justified that if the house blew over, I would at least have some money in the bank to buy some food. Of course, I wasn’t Oliver Twist. I did have parents, and that may have seemed precocious, but I suppose I was thinking a little farther ahead. Yes, I am the type nowadays to grab a flashdrive if weather should strike.
With so many applications on the internet these days, it is easy to pick up and leave, and just log in at another computer. However, I am well aware that major companies can’t always do that. There are server after server of client information. After witnessing many offices flood irretrievably during Hurricane Katrina, and seeing papers fly like snowflakes on 9/11, the concept of colocation as a stopgap for disaster prevention is being more widely considered. Your data and server would be hosted remotely. Sure, there may be people who think it is redundant, but the first time you have an IT emergency, you will have wished you did.
If there should be weather related damage at your business, or another IT emergency, your websites and servers can still be up and running with no interruption. It may take a few hours or days for your people to regroup, but to the public, you will be “business as usual.” Someone may go to a website once and if it is down, they will check back later. However, if they do this two or three times, they may never return. It is so important to maintain trust. If you can handle your own business in an emergency, a potential customer will know you can handle theirs.
As for a nonprofit, it is even more important. Of course, it is important for the sites to be running during a disaster, as you hope to still generate donations. However, you will probably also have much sensitive information on donors and more. You would not want to lose this and have to start from scratch. Data loss is not always caused by physical damage. It can also be caused by a volunteer leaving or not having the time, and the person who once hosted everything decides they cannot. Then, what do you do? At least you have your server hosted remotely so you can easily salvage.
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