Redundancy – The Feature that Sets DATAMATX’s Disaster Recovery Plan Apart

21 Sep Redundancy – The Feature that Sets DATAMATX’s Disaster Recovery Plan Apart

Hurricane season is an annual reminder of the crucial importance of a disaster recovery (DR) plan. Even though modern technology allows us to track the development and progress of a storm, it’s impossible to predict the exact impact such a catastrophe will have on your business, which is one of many reasons why redundancy is critical.

A unique feature of DATAMATX’s DR plan is that it allows for a seamless transfer of our operations to another of our owned facilities in the event of a crisis, a feature known as redundancy. Being called “redundant” may have negative connotations in some circumstances, but in the context of disaster preparedness it refers to having established and maintained backup systems, processes and technologies that keep operations running smoothly when disaster strikes.

DATAMATX’s fully redundant DR plan is reviewed and updated annually to ensure we’re able to uphold business continuity even in the most challenging of times. Here are a few other key benefits we offer our customers through the strength of our DR plan:

1. The unexpected is planned. From natural calamities to cyberattacks and server failures, not all disasters can be predicted or tracked. Choosing a third-party provider with backup systems, technologies and locations means you’re not left scrambling when the unexpected happens. At DATAMATX, our internal DR plan includes redundancy for computer operations, print/mail production equipment and key people, allowing us to prepare for the various types of disruptions that might affect our three facilities. Our Atlanta and Richmond facilities maintain identical capabilities, meaning each currently serves as a disaster recovery site for the other.

2. Downtime is minimized. Disasters don’t have to spell downtime for your business. At DATAMATX, we maintain communications (as well as your company’s revenue stream) through multiple internet connections that use diverse carriers and fiber routes. In addition, all three of our facilities are configured with compatible print production equipment that ensures we can process and distribute documents without interruption.

3. Valuable data is secured. Redundancy isn’t just about keeping communication lines open; it’s also about safeguarding your data. When you have backup systems in place, your critical information is less likely to be lost or corrupted during a crisis. At DATAMATX, we coordinate our backup software, hardware and media types, and our facilities perform uniform, comprehensive system backups with tapes and archives stored in an access-controlled facility. This allows us to securely recreate our entire data center from either set of backups.

4. Customer relationships remain strong. In this recent article for Digital Publishing Solutions, DATAMATX was quoted on the importance of maintaining Service Level Agreements (SLAs) even during a crisis—adding that failure to meet a deadline can have a high cost in terms of your reputation with customers. Redundancy, such as the kind DATAMATX maintains at our three facilities, ensures your critical documents, invoices and statements continue to be mailed on schedule, demonstrating to your customers that you can be relied upon during challenging times.

Critical decision-making is never more stressful—or more important—than during a disaster situation. As a third-party provider with a solid DR plan, we’ve thought through many of these decisions in advance, which leaves us room to make other vital decisions quickly and while under considerable pressure. At DATAMATX, we continually review, evaluate and improve our DR plan to ensure our customers have the tools not only to survive a crisis, but also to build trust with customers by providing uninterrupted service to customers in your service areas.