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IT Redundancy in the Modern Enterprise
While planning for disasters, data breaches, and catastrophic system failures is a wise idea, a wide range of problems that are substantially more likely to occur are also lurking. Small businesses often aren’t proactive in addressing preventable failures, choosing instead to invest in disaster recovery solutions — or not invest in IT infrastructure at all.
From communications to mission critical applications, preventing minor business interruptions can be just as important to your continued success as any other disaster planning that you do. Thankfully, a number of very real threats to your IT operations can be easily and inexpensively managed by implementing redundant system and network administration solutions into different parts of your IT infrastructure.
How to Implement IT Redundancy
At Mosaic NetworX, we can offer you several areas to implement IT redundancy into system and network administration to ensure your company won’t suffer business interruption.
Internet Connectivity
Having a secondary internet connection at your location(s) is a great addition to your IT infrastructure. You can implement it easily and without substantial cost. While your main internet circuit is likely a commercial broadband connection, having a secondary backup as simple as a satellite broadband wifi card or inexpensive DSL connection can allow your business to continue operating on those occasional days when your primary provider is having issues. Think of all the parts of your business that rely on internet connectivity, and you’ll quickly realize that a backup or secondary connection is vital to proper system and network administration.
If your organization is running an in-house mail server without external redundancy, then you are playing with fire. Having your email service interrupted for even a few seconds in today’s business environment can mean missed messages, bids, proposals, and orders. With the number of low-cost, geo-redundant cloud email providers available, there are very few reasons to ever suffer a lack of email continuity.
If your in-house IT department is holding fast to their in-house mail server, you would do well to ask why. Outside of uncommon and rare compliance regulations like ITAR or HIPPA, the cost and maintenance of in-house mail servers make absolutely no sense for your IT infrastructure.
Database and Server
Backing up data to multiple locations is a key component of a disaster recovery solution. Most IT staff that work in system and network administration realize that off-site backups and geo-redundant data centers are the best way to ensure that data is safe and sound.
But what about real-time access to data?
Do you have your data and applications available from multiple locations?
One of the primary benefits of cloud servers instead of in-house hardware is uptime reliability. If your employees are entering or accessing important data or running specific applications during their workday, having external redundancy across systems means they can continue working without interruption.
Payment processing
If your business accepts credit cards or processes point of sale payments, is your system and network administration prepared for the day that your payment processor isn’t working correctly? From manual processing via a web portal to a backup solution like Square, you absolutely must be in a position to collect revenue when your customers are trying to give it to you.
Delaying payment receipt for a day or two while your processor fixes their breakdown may not seem like a big deal, but that delay sets a bad precedent for your business. The payments you receive today are crucial for tomorrow’s payroll, tomorrow’s check run, and tomorrow’s growth.
Voice Communications
If you are utilizing VOIP technology, do you have a feature that forwards all calls to an employee cell phone or backup landline in the event your provider has a service interruption? While VOIP solutions are cost effective and feature rich, they are subject to the continuous functionality of your internet connection, your phone provider, and other components. Make sure that your clients and customers have a way to reach you by phone any time your business is supposed to be open.
Electricity
Battery backups won’t hold you over for long if the power goes out, but they certainly can help keep your organization operational for a little while in the event the electricity to your building is interrupted. Your system and network administration should be prepared to power mission critical technology —like servers and workstations — with backup batteries. These should always take priority over less important devices like printers.
Better System and Network Administration with Mosaic NetworX
In today’s business world of hyper connectivity, it is no longer acceptable to tell clients “the server is rebooting” or “we’re having trouble with our phone system.” While a security breach or widespread hardware failure may keep you up at night, you are significantly more likely to experience business interruption from something small — and preventable.
Appropriate redundancy throughout your IT infrastructure can help safeguard against small business interruptions that can result in huge problems. Click here to learn how Mosaic NetworX can help with your IT redundancy solutions, regardless of your company’s size!
