On a regular basis, businesses have to handle and respond to several different types of disaster. Fire, hurricane, tornado, earthquake and flood are the most commonly recognized disasters. Other less commonly considered disasters (but no less disruptive) are inclement weather, cable cuts, disgruntled or careless employees and power outages.
When a business is struck by one or more of these disasters, the effects can be wide ranging. If the business can not respond to their needs, customers seek out other solutions including competitors. Employee productivity is reduced when they cannot get to work. Revenues suffer with lost customers and reduced employee productivity. Further, the business may be physically displaced and key business resources such as the telecommunications systems, data networks and vendors may be unavailable.
Although proper disaster planning involves many aspects of the business, one primary component is the communications system. Staying in contact with employees, customers and the general public can help mitigate the damage caused by the disaster. A key strategy for a robust, disaster resistant communications system is the use of a Hosted PBX system. Hosted PBX services (also commonly referred as Hosted VoIP services and Virtual PBXs) house the equivalent of the telephone system central equipment and call processing at the VoIP Provider