In last month’s blog, we discussed the importance of developing a data recovery plan, and this month, we’re addressing the additional steps required for establishing a more comprehensive disaster recovery plan.
Companies can often be laser-focused on day-to-day business operations as well as delivering their product or service to their customers. This alone is enough to keep business owners busy – keeping clients happy, troubleshooting typical issues, planning to reach sales goals and the like.
But what happens in the event of a disaster or catastrophe? Are companies usually prepared for such events? If not, what risks are being overlooked rather than addressed? More importantly, what consequences or adverse impacts would organizations be tasked with overcoming in order to restore normal business operations? You don’t want to be figuring out your disaster recovery plan during the disaster. Adrenaline = bad decisions. Automatic reactions don’t make long-term good decisions. Be prepared.
Reasons for Disaster Recovery Plans
One of many issues that the COVID-19 global pandemic has revealed is that businesses cannot risk not having a plan in place to prevent disruptions to their normal operations. Whether it be fire, flood, theft, ransomware, or other resulting issues, the risks associated with businesses being offline must be minimized. For these reasons, it is essential for companies to have a disaster recovery plan (DR Plan), a documented process that is intended to support an organization in implementing recovery processes in response to a disaster. As a result, IT business infrastructure is protected, and recovery is encouraged. A business whose operations are halted due to a disaster could face costly losses, such as complete or partial loss of data, damaged reputation, loss of clients and business failure.
Defining Data Recovery vs. Disaster Recovery Plans
The terms “data recovery plan” and “disaster recovery plan” are often used interchangeably. However, they are two distinctive sets of procedures. Data recovery plans consist of measures that are put in place to recover from occurrences that lead to interruptions to data access, software, or systems. Disaster recovery plans, on the other hand, are more comprehensive in that its procedures are designed to protect a company’s business infrastructure (the systems and processes that are the foundation for a company’s operations). It’s just as important to protect the company’s physical property, such as “office space” or facilities.
Components of an Effective Disaster Recovery Plan
Putting a data recovery plan in place is the first step in implementing a disaster recovery plan. Here is a list of some other components that should be included to further ensure its effectiveness:
1) Review Schedule: Ensure that the disaster recovery plan is up-to-date and periodically distributed to employees. Set up a schedule and plan to review it at regular intervals.
2) Location: Determine a back-up worksite. Include an alternate physical location or the ability to work remotely during an event in the plan.
3) Communication Plan: Create a list of employees, contact information, roles, and a process for informing customers when an event occurs, as well as a plan to keep them informed during and after the event. Be sure to also include an external organization list such as insurance companies, power and internet companies, and other important contacts to keep updated throughout the situation. In instances of a data breach, you will also need to alert your state attorney general amongst others.
4) Employee Safety Procedures: Ensure that employee safety is clearly outlined in the communication plan. This section should list a wide range of emergencies, including natural disasters, and clear instructions on what employees must do during each event. Advise employees about the occupational hazards they may encounter during – and even after – a disaster, so they are informed on how to handle them. Implement training drills at regular intervals so that employees are familiar with emergency evacuation plans and how they will be accounted for during an incident.
5) Response Steps: Establish key metrics, such as the recovery point objective (RPO) and recovery time objective (RTO), for each system. This information will help businesses prioritize which systems are required during the event and decrease the likelihood of inaccurately determining when they are likely to recover from the event.
6) Test, Test, Test: Regularly test the disaster recovery plan to identify any components to be addressed before an event occurs. Include how the disaster recovery process will be tested, along with test techniques and frequency of tests.
When in Doubt, Work with the Experts
Don’t go it alone: work with the leading IT security services provider who has years of experience moving successfully through the disaster recovery process to build your own comprehensive disaster recovery plan. Contact CMIT Solutions of South Nassau today to leverage our team’s expertise to develop the most effective disaster recovery plan.
