7 Best Practices to Ensure Data Recovery & Business Continuity with SonicWall Solutions

As we have entered the digital world, along with cyberattacks, business continuity is also hindered with natural disasters, device theft, vandalism, network tampering etc. Every organization should be prepared for threats of any form with a refined data recovery and business continuity plan.

With a rightly structured plan paired with SonicWall security solutions and appliances, disruptions caused due to cyberattacks, device theft, vandalism, natural disasters, and more can be eliminated.

SonicWall is a company that provides internet appliances that are responsible for network security and managing access to content. SonicWall security solutions include firewalls, anti-spam for emails, Virtual Private Networks (VPN), cloud security, threat management, and more. These solutions aim at offering best in class defense against cyberattacks, data loss, physical destruction, etc.

Many small and medium businesses (SMB) do not invest in proper security solutions or data recovery plans. This results in a negative impact on the organizations. It is important for companies to be prepared for disasters like earthquakes, floodings, fire, hurricanes etc. and cyber threats like ransomware, viruses, data breaches etc. SMBs can opt for SonicWall protection to safeguard their data and continue their business operations smoothly.

Implementation of the perfect data recovery and business continuity plan is not an easy task. The preparedness level required is extremely high which sometimes results in procrastination or “we will manage when the situation arises” attitude. SonicWall solutions can help SMBs to kickstart their business continuity plans and SonicWall security can help build their data recovery schemes.

Best Practices to Ensure Data Recovery & Business Continuity

Here we explore some practices and methods that organizations must follow to have the right plan in place in case of any disruptions in regular business operations. These techniques can be blended with corresponding SonicWall solutions to result in a top-notch disaster recovery scheme.

• Business Continuity Plan (BCP)

This seems obvious enough, however, it is an extremely crucial step to have a BCP in place. BCP or Business Continuity Plan highlights the instructions and procedures that an organization must adopt before and after a catastrophe.

The business should train their employees according to that plan and it should be followed step by step in case of an uninvited attack. It is also an important step because in extreme conditions, humans tend to panic and not have a clear-thinking process. A detailed outline of Do’s and Don’ts would help with informed decision making and cool-headed steps.

• Data Accessibility

Accessibility is critical to maintain. In some cases, after the disaster, the network becomes inaccessible. Data recovery would fail miserably if the whole plan were on some kind of network drive which becomes inaccessible. In such cases all hardened efforts become useless as the data and the business continuity plan become unreachable.

If a company maintains an on-premises type of deployment of data and services, communications become handicapped. This is an extremely common possibility in the case of email servers. There is a solution with SonicWall email security. SonicWall Hosted Email Security is an advanced email security service hosted over cloud and protects network vulnerabilities.

Sometimes the connectivity to the primary server is down but the secondary server is available to system administrators. However, the problem arises when the way to reach it is unknown. For this SonicWall Secure Mobile Access (SMA) appliance is the right fit.

It is the perfect device which enables transparency in remote access and automatically sets up a VPN or Virtual Private Network to the online site closest to the accessing computer and reroutes access as needed.

• Effective Communication

Building communication with the team, customers, company leaders, partners, and vendors is crucial to data recovery. How fast a company comes back online after a disaster has direct correlations with how much communication the workforce builds up. Proper communication eliminates the spread of any wrong information and fosters trust among fellow employees and customers.

Email is the primary form of communication but in times of crisis it is usually not available. In such cases, the better solution is to resort to social media applications like WhatsApp, Microsoft Teams, Slack etc. These backup social media apps are good for coordinating effort. The company can resort to twitter for major public announcements.

• Cyberattack Awareness

Cybercriminals are always seeking out opportunities to get their hands on confidential data or to stop business operations for monetary benefits. At the time of natural disasters, the company needs to be extra cautious as hackers take advantage of the situation and target attacks in hopes that the company’s guard will be down.

In such cases, it becomes critical for non-profit organizations like Red Cross, FCC, FEMA, etc. to issue warnings about scams.

Cyberattacks can be prevented with SonicWall protection. Use of SonicWall network security appliances shields the network from any malicious attacks from Hackers.

Some basic practices also include enabling Multifactor Authentication (MFA), having antivirus and firewall like SonicWall TZ Series and SonicWall Capture Client installed in the servers and computers, making the employees aware about password protection, and more.

SonicWall has a range of firewalls that provide advanced threat protection like the NSp series, SonicWave series, NSa series, etc.

• Greater Scalability

Post COVID-19 pandemic, most organizations have opted for work from home due to health concerns and cost savings. This has led to an increase in remote access to servers and organizations lack enough VPN (Virtual Private Network) licenses to accommodate the increased number of users.

This results in either employees not having access to company servers or unprotected means to access the servers, both of which obstruct business operations.

This gives a major reason as to why organizations should maintain scalability. There are a few SonicWall solutions for this purpose. The SonicWall NSv series helps incorporate an influx of multiple users.

• Migration to Cloud

Using cloud for data storage has become the new normal in the digital era. Organizations feel that having their data on cloud saves them from heavy costs of hardware. Along with this cloud also keeps the data safe in times of natural disasters.

The accessibility factor also becomes the concern of cloud providers. Other benefits of cloud include greater agility, easy deployment, and maximum uptime. It is also a great solution for remote organizations that believe in working from home. Migrating the data to cloud also ensures higher data protection.

• Early Preparations

A well prepared BCP should not be put off because any disruptions or disasters would be more damaging than the cost of sound cybersecurity measures and failover controls. Investment in these will make an organization proactive and prevent major damage to it.

Conclusion

Keeping business data and operations safe and making sure things run smoothly, even during unexpected events, is really important. Using SonicWall solutions is a great way to make this happen.

Appliances like SonicWall TZ Series, SonicWall network security appliance and SonicWall Capture Client and solutions like SonicWall email security help keep your business safe by stopping problems before they become bigger disasters.

By practicing the techniques laid out in this article and using SonicWall protection methods, a business can be ready to bounce back quickly if an attack strikes. This helps organizations keep their customers happy and stay ahead in business.

In a world where digital threats are on the rise, leveraging SonicWall solutions corresponding with these practices equips companies with the tools needed to ensure data protection, uphold business continuity, maintain regular data backups, ensure smooth remote work security, and accelerate enterprise towards success.