In a tenuous economy, many small business owners are struggling to balance their need to invest in beneficial services with their obligation to stay in the black. As such, business owners may not be inclined to put additional stress on the company by allocating funds toward business continuity planning, despite the fact that this measure could help them recover when their operations are disrupted by a catastrophe

However, many businesses experience a significant disruption to business operations at least once every few years, and it would be shortsighted for employers not to be prepared for such.

In a recent article on disaster recovery sites in Storage Magazine, president and CEO of KETCHConsulting Ted Brown mentions that while most public and private sectors have suitable data recovery plans, "What they don't have are good work-area recovery plans for employees, contractors and other staff."

According to Brown, employers can benefit by factoring provisions into their continuity of operations planning that ensure employees are able to complete their job duties when their primary work space becomes unavailable.

For example, even if a company is equipped with reliable cloud-based recovery systems at a fully functional hot site, business owners must be sure that the alternative location is stationed at a suitable distance away from the primary site. By factoring in location, these workgroup centers are less likely to be affected by the same disaster conditions as a primary worksite while still being reasonably accessible for employees.

Due to the nature of small businesses, selecting the hot site may be yet another obligation that falls on the shoulders of its executive. As a result, it is in an employer's best interest to hire the consulting services of a certified third-party professional who can assist in the selection of this site and negotiate the best price possible with vendors. And while many such services exist, a firm that guarantees free consultation unless their services yield monetary savings could best keep a company out of the red while they navigate this essential planning process.