A disaster recovery plan is critical to any organization’s IT strategy. It details a thorough framework and processes that ensure essential business functions can continue after an unexpected disruption. Given the rising frequency and severity of natural disasters and cyber-attacks, your business must adopt best practices that facilitate a successful recovery.
What Is Disaster Recovery Planning?
Disaster recovery planning involves implementing a set of procedures and protocols to ensure the continuity of operations in case of a disaster. Without a plan in place, businesses risk experiencing significant downtime and loss of revenue. A secure recovery plan includes the following:
- Assessment of potential risks and their impact on operations
- Identification of critical systems, applications, and data
- Established recovery time objectives (RTO) and recovery point objectives (RPO)
- A clear communication plan for employees, customers, and stakeholders
Disaster Recovery Best Practices
If your planning has been inadequate, your business can face serious consequences. Below are some best practices to help you update your strategy and ensure successful disaster recovery.
1. Assess Your Business Needs and Risks
Start by conducting a risk assessment and business impact analysis (BIA). This involves identifying potential risks that could cause a disaster and evaluating the impact on your business operations. Once you have identified the possible scenarios, prioritize them based on their likelihood of occurrence and potential damage
Use this information to identify critical business functions and processes, then prioritize assets and resources based on their importance to operations and recovery efforts.
2. Set Clear Objectives and Recovery Goals
When developing your disaster recovery plan, you must set clear objectives and establish recovery time (RTO) and point objectives (RPO). This will help guide your decision-making during a crisis and ensure that your business can recover within an acceptable timeframe.
Make sure to involve key stakeholders in this process to gain an understanding of their expectations and establish clear, measurable recovery effort goals.
3. Develop the Disaster Recovery Strategy
Your disaster recovery strategy should outline the processes and procedures for recovering business functions, systems, and data. It should also include a step-by-step guide to follow in case of a disaster. Select the proper disaster recovery strategy. Popular options include:
- Backup and restore
- Hot sites or cold sites
- Cloud-based recovery
- Virtualization and data mirroring
Don’t forget to integrate cybersecurity measures into your disaster recovery strategy to protect against external threats while your systems are vulnerable.
4. Create a Detailed DRP Document
Document all procedures and protocols for disaster recovery in a detailed DRP document. This document should include stakeholder contact information, roles and responsibilities, recovery procedures, and any other relevant information. Develop step-by-step recovery procedures for different disaster scenarios to ensure a smooth and efficient recovery.
5. Build a Disaster Recovery Team
Your recovery plan should include a team of individuals responsible for the recovery process. This team should be trained in all aspects of the plan and have clear roles and responsibilities assigned to them. Ensure that each member knows their duties, and regularly conduct training exercises to prepare them for potential disasters.
6. Test and Maintain the DRP
A recovery plan is only useful if it works when needed. Regularly test the plan to identify and resolve any potential issues before a real disaster occurs. Conducting drills and simulations can help your team understand their roles and responsibilities better and identify any areas for improvement. Here are a few of the most common tests to perform:
- Tabletop exercises
- Simulation tests
- Full-scale testing
Don’t Plan Alone. Receive Expert Guidance From Simple Systems
Implementing a disaster recovery plan is critical for your business’s success. However, creating and maintaining an effective DRP can be overwhelming and time-consuming. Simple Systems offers professional backup and business continuity support to protect your business against potential disasters. Rely on the experts at Simple Systems and ensure your business is always prepared.
