Ruth Fisk is worldwide managing director, Hyland SoftwareInsurance Solutions Group.

With storm season near, and the disastrous effects of SuperstormSandy still on the minds of many businesses, some wonder, 'Whatlies ahead?'

Organizations know the threat of disaster is always present. Andexperts are already posting dire predictions for the upcoming stormseason. ImpactWeather, a full-service weather monitoringorganization, has forecast a greater number of Category 3 or higher storms to hitin 2013.

So the question becomes, what are companies doing to prepare forthe next disaster?

Marianne Petillo, president and CEO of ROM Reinsurance (ROM),knows the importance of disaster planning all too well. In October2012, the Manhattan-based reinsurance service provider experiencedmajor disruptions to business after Superstorm Sandy devastated thebuilding's infrastructure, causing power outages and leavingemployees unable to access data and documents needed to completebusiness processes.

“After Sandy hit, our building had more than three feet of waterin our lobby. This caused power outages and made it impossible torun our business without access to our data,” Petillo says.

Business continuity plans are one of the most important buildingblocks an organization can create to ensure recovery processes willfacilitate business after a disaster hits. Many organizationsrealize this fact after it's too late, or don't have a second lineof defense in case their initial plan falls through.

Don't be one of those organizations. When setting businesscontinuity plans keep in mind these three tips to help yourorganization run as effectively and efficiently as possible in thewake of disaster.

1) GetRid of the Paper

Whether you're preparing for a natural disaster or an unforeseenfacility calamity (think broken water pipe), relying on paper tocarry your business's important data and customer information is anantiquated approach. Paper is your organization's worst risk andbiggest threat. Going paperless is the first step toward asuccessful business continuity plan.

Ten years ago ROM Reinsurance successfully completed its goal ofbecoming paperless by implementing an enterprise content management(ECM) solution. Using ECM, ROM was able to capture, index, andstore all customer data and information, helping it mitigate risk,evolve its business processes and deliver faster, better service toits customers.

“The superior imaging and workflow capabilities in our ECMsolution allowed us to eliminate all physical files from ourorganization, helping our employees to work more efficiently,”Petillo says.

2) Consider the Cloud

Becoming a paperless institution is a great first step, but itdoesn't solve every issue organizations may face. For thisreason, IT vendors are seeing an increased number of customersasking about cloud-based options.

The benefits of cloud solutions are swaying many organizationsaway from traditional on-premise options. The cost savings oncapital expenditure, better infrastructure options and ability toaccess information from anywhere are typical reasons adoption ofenterprise applications in the cloud have increased.

For ROM Reinsurance, choosing a flexible solution with bothon-premise and cloud-based deployment options was the main reasonthe reinsurer remained in business in the aftermath of thestorm.

“Our data and documents were located within our IT systems,which we were unable to access because of the power outages. Weweren't sure when the power would come back, so we reached out toour ECM provider to discuss the option of moving our data anddocuments to its cloud solution,” Petillo says.

ROM was able to transfer all its data into the cloud ECMsolution, regaining business functionality at the height of NewYork's disaster recovery efforts. Running at about 85 percentcompared to normal levels, ROM was able to use the cloud solutionto process claims in a timely manner, get payments out before yearend and complete other year-end closing processes on time.

3) Choosethe right Vendor

Selecting the right technology vendor is crucial. This decisionshould accomplish two things.

First, the solution should be robust, with a dedicated roadmapto ensure your organization is leveraging new capabilities and agreater return on investment years from now.

Second, you should feel comfortable with your vendor selection,knowing they will treat you as a partner, and work with you toensure your organization has the functionality and support you needto run efficiently and effectively, regardless of the situation youare in.

“The support we received during this stressful time wasoutstanding. Our support team stepped up to the plate on shortnotice and worked diligently to make sure we had access to our datato restart business,” says Petillo.

Disaster can strike at any time, putting your business and itsinformation at risk for total loss. Superstorm Sandy showedbusinesses that a natural disaster can often impact more than justthose businesses located in the storm's center, reminding everyorganization of the importance of disaster preparedness.

Being prepared for the worst will help enable businessfunctionality and provide consistent service despite anydisturbance, including power outages, snow closures, networkfailures or even superstorms.

Take the lesson learned from Petillo, who admits that withoutthe insights from above the future of ROM Reinsurance looked bleak.“If we hadn't taken on paperless initiatives and chosen the rightvendor, I'm certain that we wouldn't have been able to function asquickly after the superstorm, and I'm not sure what would havebecome of our business,” he says.

As the next storm season approaches is your organization ready?Tackling disaster planning initiatives with the suggested tipslisted above in mind, to eliminate paper, consider cloud-based ITsolutions and choose a vendor that will work with you to achieveyour business continuity plans, will help your organization avoidfreezes on business during chaotic times.