Every business, no matter where it is located, is in the line of fire when it comes to things that can go wrong. In the printing industry, it can be a business killer if a disaster prevents execution of contracted customer work. If you are thinking that you have it all covered because you have a written plan, this is a good time to reassess your sense of confidence. Unless you are running a live recovery drill on a regular cadence, you may not realize what you don’t know.

Start with the infrastructure basics. Where is the software that you use? On a server in your shop? In the cloud? Some of both? If you lose access to the server for any reason (think flood, long term power outage, fire), do you know what is on the server, at what maintenance level, and with what license keys? If that information is recorded, where is it held? More than a few shops have it all on the same server. If that is you, this is a good time to ensure that the information is available offsite or in an accessible cloud. It is also a good idea to ensure that more than one person in the shop knows how to get access to both the software and its surrounding information in the event of an emergency. Your disaster recovery drills should include turning off the server to see if your recovery plans stand.

Remember that there is also software associated with most digital devices. If you must pick up your print work and move it to an alternative site, you will need to be able to duplicate your profiles, settings, and DFE firmware settings, all of which can all be material to executing a print job to your standards. If you cannot get access to the machines, will you be able to determine the correct settings?