The fall season is always a tough time when it comes to forces of nature, but the predicted resurgence of COVID-19 in the final months of 2020 threatens an exponential increase in seasonal disruption.
Epidemiologists foresee a rapid rise in coronavirus cases between now and year-end — and that means more employees sidelined and the possibility that certain mission-critical functions will be interrupted by staffing crises.
Meanwhile, of course, natural disasters such as hurricanes and wildfires continue unabated. This year, environmental and viral disasters can conspire to protract conditions that create disruption for organizations and IT professionals charged with keeping systems up and running when things go very wrong.
As their clients pursue seamless continuity of business operations, how can smart marketers support IT buyers?
To prepare for any sort of disaster, organizations need comprehensive recovery plans that include regular backups of mission-critical data as well as redundant systems that can spin up when a primary site goes offline. What’s more, plans need to include multiple specialists with the technological savvy to bring systems back online.
Here are three ways marketers can help IT buyers organize for the unexpected.
Help IT buyers create DR plans with best practices and how-tos. Even if it was something minor like a brief power failure, most organizations have experienced some sort of disruptive IT event.
That means your IT buyers are painfully aware of the need to ensure IT uptime in the face of disaster. Providing them information about the latest DR technologies — and doing it in a form they can share with the C-suite — can help IT buyers convey urgency to business stakeholders when proposing DR solutions.
Encourage buyers to test their DR plans. Most organizations have some sort of backup system in place, but not nearly so many actually test whether it can keep operations going and restore critical data.
IT buyers themselves may have put DR testing on the back burner as they solve more immediate problems. That’s risky business that could crash the company — and their careers.
Share information that lowers this barrier to entry, and make yourself a trusted partner as they tailor DR and business continuity plans to their specific needs.
Be a resource when business changes affect DR plans. In addition to unexpected technology events that put DR processes to the test, organizations are prone to their own seismic shifts. International expansion, outsourcing efforts, and mergers and acquisitions are among the changes that change the landscape for DR and business continuity.
In 2020, companies have seen dramatic changes to their workplaces and IT infrastructures — and IT buyers are more aware than ever of their crucial role in keeping the lights on and the data flowing. Disaster recovery and business continuity are vital topics right now, and your ability to support them can open new doors with your customers.
