Disaster plan: how to protect your information assets.

Power outages, hardware failures and everyday problems an play havoc with your company's operations. For mall businesses dependent on Internet presence, anything that damages data or information systems is a disaster. Here's how to ensure continued access to your information assets:

Devise a smart backup strategy--Be sure your backup schedule matches your business requirements--never create more unsecured data than you can afford to lose. If you back up your files daily, for instance, and a serious problem occurs just before your backup begins, you might lose a full day's work. If you can't afford this, you need a better back-up plan.

Protect data offsite--Just as a safety deposit box protects important documents, an offsite backup arrangement protects data from problems that affect your building, allowing speedy recovery from data center disasters.

Ensure Information continuity--Increasingly, businesses can't afford to be cut off from the information superhighway. For e-commerce, the nightmare is a server glitch that prevents customers from placing orders. Ensure your server uptime and integrity through remote hosting, mirrored systems, hot spares and an attentive staff.

Consider a managed service provider--Keeping information technology (IT) equipment and staff up to date is often formidably expensive. A growing number of companies get more technology for less by reducing or dismantling in-house IT capabilities, relying on a managed service provider (MSP) to provide IT services from a secure network operations center. Once available only to Fortune 500 organizations, MSPs are now affordable for small to midsized businesses. They manage an organization's critical business applications and systems. Businesses replace labor and capital costs with a predictable service expense, gaining an expert virtual staff.

Web services

These services are available to Detroit Regional Chamber members at special discounted rates through the Chamber's E-Bundle Solutions package:

* Ideal Technology Solutions US Inc. offers DSL Internet access, ANX services, Website hosting and customized Website design.

* Zland.com provides Website design and development with outstanding customer service and user-friendly access. Design packages assist in identifying customer needs by determining what you want your Website to do.

For more information, call 1-866-E-BUNDLE toll free.

Chamber members can also take advantage of the Chamber's new partnerships with Microsoft and Verio:

* Shop.Microsott.com, Microsoft's online store for software, hardware and Microsoft Press titles, offers members and their employees access to detailed product information as well as special offers and promotions.

* Verio, a division of NIT, the world's largest telecommunications company, offers three programs that can save members 15 to 40 percent on Internet access and hosting programs.

For more information, call Christian Moskal at [phone] or e-mail: [e-mail]

Mark Glover is president and CEO of Enterprise Computing Services in Livonia.