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New White Paper from Gibson and Data Realty Addresses How Businesses Can Mitigate Risk from Power Outages
[October 30, 2014]

New White Paper from Gibson and Data Realty Addresses How Businesses Can Mitigate Risk from Power Outages


SOUTH BEND, Ind. --(Business Wire)--

Gibson, a regional insurance broker and risk management services firm, and Data Realty, a data center and data management firm, together, have released a white paper outlining best practices for businesses in order to prepare for a power outage. The paper, titled "Disaster Preparedness & Business Continuity: A Shared Responsibility between the C-Suite and the IT-Suite" discusses how businesses can plan for and work through one of the most common causes of business interruption - the power outage.

The white paper is available for download at http://www.info.gibsonins.com/disaster-preparedness-business-continuity-whitepaper.

Executive Summary

Businesses must approach disaster planning as a probable scenario. Approaching it as a possible scenario is not enough. There are several points of impact resulting from a disruption in power, from (the obvious) loss of connectivity, to (the physical) damaged equipment, or (the elusive) reputation damage. Businesses lose more than just power when an outage occurs. Disaster preparedness involves a planning process resulting in both external and internal communications that help a business continue operating as usual, no matter the situation. To facilitate the planning process, ten steps are discussed, beginning with the "Analysis Of Potential Threats," and concluding with the ever-important "Recovery Phase."



The most prepared businesses have engaged industry experts to aid in the Disaster Preparedness and Business Continuity planning process. Being proactive is the most cost-effective way to manage risk. While insurance is a very important tool, it is often the most expensive and least proactive solution. Gibson has developed the Gibson Protection System (GPS) specifically to help business leaders identify, assess, and address their specific risks. Another proactive approach is to mitigate physical infrastructure and equipment failure risks. Data Realty specifically designed and built a data center in Northern Indiana to mitigate IT infrastructure risks for businesses. Essentially, there is a plan B for everything (sometimes a plan C), and there is no single point of failure.

The experts at Gibson divide disaster risk management into three main phases: (1) disaster readiness; (2) disaster response; and (3) business continuity. The first phase includes risk management considerations for instances of equipment breakdown or utility service interruption. The second phase involves creating a plan to respond effectively to a disaster. The final phase of establishing a Business Continuity Plan is specific and unique to each organization.


At the end of the day, a disaster preparedness and business continuity plan is a shared responsibility across all decision makers of an organization. The two key areas of focus are risk management (the C-Suite) and data management (the IT-Suite). Working with third-party experts to establish and execute a disaster preparedness plan allows executives to continue focusing on their own business goals and profitability.

About Gibson

Gibson is a 100% employee-owned, regional insurance broker and risk management services firm with offices in South Bend, Plymouth, Indianapolis, and Fort Wayne, Indiana. Visit www.gibsonins.com for more information.

About Data Realty

Data Realty's analytics-ready data centers are designed to enable computation on data sets housed within their secure environment. Through the Hadoop Data Hub and partnership business model, Data Realty delivers mid-sized organizations unprecedented access to the advanced computing infrastructure, collaborative intellectual environment, and highly skilled technical talent that is normally reserved for large competitors. For more information and to connect, tweet and follow the team, visit Data Realty online at www.data-realty.com.


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