Waving not drowning

A recent survey revealed that 31% of us in the UK have caused water damage to our mobile telephones at some stage in the past. Within that number 73% were male and 27% female. Tragically by far the top reason for water damage was dropping the phone in the toilet (47%) followed by contact with drink (21%) and dropping the phone in the bath or shower (12%).

Price comparison site Goodmobilephones.co.uk who conducted the survey suggest than when the evidence is reviewed, suddenly the need for insuring a mobile against damage makes sense. But what happens if the phone is needed for work? How do you protect against work disasters?

The stark fact is that 80% of businesses which experience a significant disruption will no longer be in business one year later. Whilst dropping a mobile telephone down a toilet might not count as a major disaster for the majority of businesses, being out of touch for any period of time can seriously affect a business. Drawing up a disaster recovery (or business continuity) plan will help you to ensure that that disruption is minimised.

Whilst every business is different, there are a few key elements to most plans, particularly when it comes to communications. From the ability to switch calls to an alternatephone number right through to the need to staff standby temporary premises, the quicker that you can get your business communicating the better.

When a disaster occurs, the first thing which you may wish to do is to pass certain information to employees, relatives or clients. Emergencyinformation numbers allow you to record and play updated information to callers. With the option of passcode access, clients can receive one message whilst employees can hear alternative messages.

Following on from emergency messages may come the need to switch phone lines to alternate numbers or sites. This switching is easily possible via a disaster recovery package or even as part of a normal virtualswitchboard. Allying the telephone divert facility to callrecording means that if decision makers are tied up in resolving the immediate crisis, messages can be stored and reviewed later.

Planning against disaster now could be the difference between business success and failure, between drowning and treading water whilst the business gets back on its feet. Telephone disaster management is an important aspect of this planning and one which should not be left until the flood hits.