You probably think it couldn't happen to you, but disastrous events occur more often than not. Perhaps not a hurricane or earthquake or malicious attack, but there are potential risks for every business, regardless of size.

According to Strategic Research Corp, a Santa Barbara, Calif.-based research firm, most disaster-recovery and business-continuity events are not full-blown natural disasters. Instead, hardware failure accounts for 44 percent of business discontinuity. Human error accounts for another 32 percent of disruptions. And natural disasters only count for about 3 percent. Given those statistics, experts advise preparedness above all else.