Over the previous months, you’ve probably heard about new and disruptive trends like virtual assistants, smartphones, and automation technologies. Some of these IT solutions may even be placed on top of your business priority list. However, with floods, fires, and power outages just around the corner, disaster recovery and business continuity plans should always have a place on your annual budget.

Companies can pay a hefty sum if they ever experience any downtime. In fact, Delta Air Lines had a bad bout of severe downtime just last month. In just three days, the airline company cancelled 2300 scheduled flights and suffered $150 million in income loss.

When and if disaster strikes, is your business going to continue to operate and cater to customers despite a possible long-term hardware failure or a network disruption? If you answer no or are not even sure what to do, you are part of a majority of business owners who have not considered disaster preparedness and the crucial role it plays in business survival.

Even a single second of downtime at your business can cause a ripple effect that sees operations become unhinged. While most Business Continuity Plans (BCPs) take into account longer power outages, short ones can be just as dangerous to your company.