The IT succession plan: of capital importance for SMEs

After reading this article you will better understand:

• What is IT succession planning?
• The importance of having a succession plan
• How to develop your succession plan

It's a Tuesday morning on a weekday. You're alone in the elevator on your way to your workstation, and since you have nothing to do, you're observing the building's emergency plan.

The question comes to mind: "Will I ever really need one?" The answer is: probably not, at least we don't hope so. However, every building has one and displays it, because it's the law.

There is a similar solution in IT, which is called an IT recovery plan, or business resumption plan or disaster recovery plan in English. While this type of plan won't save lives—at least it hasn't happened to us yet—and isn't required by law, unfortunately, it might just save your business.

This article will therefore present to you the advantages of the IT succession plan as well as some avenues of thought on how to create your own.

The IT succession plan: definition

The Quebec government defines the IT succession plan as follows:

"Off-site recovery plan implemented when the deterioration or destruction of IT resources following a disaster requires the transfer of operations to a backup center, and which describes the procedures aimed at ensuring, under conditions of continuity adapted to the survival criteria of the organization, the rapid and orderly provision of backup resources as well as the possible resumption of normal operations after repair or replacement of the destroyed or damaged resources."

In short, by keeping a copy of your data in an external site, the IT disaster recovery plan allows you to quickly get back on your feet after an event that affects the normal operation of your IT infrastructure.

This is a way to limit associated costs, but also to safeguard your data and maintain the continuity of your operations.

The IT succession plan: alarming statistics

According to Phoenix Nap , an infrastructure provider, 93% of businesses that don't have an IT disaster recovery plan go bankrupt after suffering a major data incident.

Even more alarming is the fact that, according to the American insurance company Nationwide , more than two-thirds of American companies did not have an IT disaster recovery plan in 2017. This is an extremely high number of companies that are putting themselves and their customers at risk.

Don't think that IT disaster recovery planning is only for natural disasters—quite the opposite. It also helps you get back on your feet after a cyberattack .

Besides,American SME executives are now more wary of cyberattacks and online hackers than fire, floods, and strikes.

How to design your IT succession plan?

This section will offer you some ideas to help you design your own IT succession plan.

1. Design your IT master plan

A good IT succession plan begins with a well-developed IT master plan . This exercise will allow you to take inventory of your IT assets and strategically plan the direction you should take for the coming years.

Our detailed article on the subject will allow you to create your own and offers you a template for writing it.

2. Define your risk tolerance level

Businesses have different realities, and some can afford more downtime than others. For example, if your server is in the cloud and your teams can work from home, you'll be more flexible than a manufacturing company whose production relies heavily on its IT systems. Of course, the more guaranteed activity you want, the higher the price will be.

3. Identify the risks

The first step usually allows you to easily answer this question. You need to know what risks potentially exist and how to protect yourself. Don't forget to also consider internal risks, such as your staff and existing equipment.

4. Decide what data will be transferred to the cloud

Target your most important data. Unfortunately, you won't be able to recover everything, depending on the situation. That's why you need to identify the type of data that will end up in the backup system.

5. Adopt the right technology

There are a number of solutions available to you. Several IT service providers , such as Nexxo Informatique, offer disaster recovery as a service (DRaaS) to their clients. You need to choose a reliable infrastructure, since this is where your data will end up.

6. Respect the 3-2-1 rule

A basic foundation in data backup is the 3-2-1 rule. This means you must have at least three copies of your data, stored on two different media. One of these copies must be located offsite. This is why backup solutions with an external hard drive that you transport from the office to your home are not a suitable method.

Nexxo can help you develop your IT succession plan

This article has explained the importance of having an IT succession plan for SMEs. If you have any additional questions, you can contact us at any time, even if you are not a client. We will discuss with you how we can be of service and fully leverage our IT expertise to support your business's growth.