Keeping cloud services safe

Organizations are increasingly dependent on digital infrastructure to maintain business continuity. IT systems are a business’s core data center, and any disruptions like security breaches, power outages, or other types of disasters can seriously impact critical systems.

Businesses that operate without a network disaster recovery plan risk data loss, failed backups of critical data, and other major problems. The health of an organization’s disaster recovery plan directly correlates to the company’s long-term success

What is an IT Disaster Recovery Plan?

An IT disaster recovery plan covers your organization in the event of unplanned incidents, mitigating data loss and ensuring swift recovery efforts. A disaster recovery plan is a written plan with step-by-step instructions to assess damage to every component of your IT network, enact recovery, and get all systems operating again. Team members can start with recovery objectives, then create an itemized plan.

Incident response plans and recovery strategies can vary. The important thing is to make sure there’s an emphasis on rapid recovery to minimize downtime.

Why Does My Business Need a Disaster Recovery Plan?

In the digital age, organizations rely heavily on cloud services and IT is tasked with protecting critical data. While it’s true that technological advancements have enabled businesses to grow to new heights, reliance on network infrastructure poses many potential risks.

Even the best efforts can sometimes give way to cyber attacks, force majeure (acts of God), or even human error. Disaster recovery plans can turn a crisis into an inconvenience.

Types of IT Disaster Recovery Plans

Disaster recovery plans in IT generally fall into a few main types, each with its own focus and purpose.

• Cyberattack or Malware. Cyberattacks continue to grow in craftiness and could realistically affect any organization. A cyberattack or malware disaster recovery plan should ensure businesses can still operate, protect critical data, and minimize costs throughout.
• Data center disaster. A data center disaster can be reduced by having a backup data center in another location whenever possible. Datacenter plans focus on improving uptime (recovery time objective, or RTO), ensuring skilled team members are available to address equipment failure, and getting the primary site back to health.
• Building disaster. The physical building housing your hardware is your primary hot site. A building disaster plan addresses natural disasters, electrical failure, or freak accidents that could result in IT failure, plus how to handle this type of crisis.
• Power outage. Power outages happen to everyone. Some businesses can stand several hours without power, while others require immediate backup. An organization’s recovery point objective (RPO) may determine how power outage plans are written.

How to Build a Disaster Recovery Plan

Building an effective IT disaster recovery plan involves several key steps to make sure that the organization can deliver rapid response and efficiency to any potential disasters. Here’s a structured approach to build your plan.

• Complete a risk assessment – Identify potential risks and threats that could impact normal operations, such as natural disasters, cyberattacks, hardware failures, etc.
• Set objectives – Based on the assessment, define clear objectives for the disaster recovery plan, including recovery time objectives (RTOs) and recovery point objectives (RPOs) for critical systems.
• Design the disaster recovery strategy – Choose the appropriate type of disaster recovery solution (e.g., backup and restore, cloud-based) based on the organization’s needs, budget, and risk tolerance.
• Train staff – Train IT staff on their roles and responsibilities during a disaster recovery event. Test the disaster recovery plan regularly to ensure it functions as intended.

Key Elements to Include in a Disaster Recovery Plan

When creating a disaster recovery plan, it’s important for businesses to set a priority list of key business functions. Knowing the critical systems within your organization will help assign roles where high availability is needed so you can get back up and running as quickly as possible. You’ll also need to assess backup capabilities and determine if outsourcing disaster recovery is needed.

Prioritizing IT Recovery

A disaster of any kind can bring your business to a slow or even a halt, often for much longer than business owners anticipate. Get ahead of the problem before it strikes. Prioritize your RTO to understand the time it would realistically take to get your network infrastructure back to health, then work to cut the time down if possible.

Benefits of a Disaster Recovery Plan

The key benefit of having a detailed disaster recovery plan is reduced downtime. Planning for potential risks is responsible business practice. Understanding your RTO and RPO will help you set realistic expectations in the event of a disaster, plus determine in advance what outside help is needed.

Minimize Cost

Navigating a disaster can get expensive quickly. Not only are you losing profit from normal business operations, but data breaches can create mistrust among consumers, resulting in further loss. An organization that has a plan in place can move through it step by step, vastly minimizing the risk of overlooking systems or services. With a disaster recovery plan, backup happens more quickly.

Retain Customers

Even though some disasters couldn’t have been prevented, the event can result in customer loss if businesses aren’t prepared. Losing customer data or failing to get operations back up to speed can have a long-term negative effect on retention. A disaster recovery plan covers customer communication, higher levels of protection, and faster backup, resulting in a more positive projection to the consumer.

Scalability

In order to grow, your business has to be rock solid where it is. Locking down your network infrastructure and having a strategy for rapid response in the event of disaster positions you for growth. Disaster recovery plans also protect budget and customer retention, two other important scalability factors.

A disaster recovery plan is a business expense that can’t be ignored. Preparing for an unforeseen event now will end up saving you valuable time and money later.

Need Help with a Disaster Recovery Plan?

Is your business lacking a disaster recovery plan? Schedule a call with us today so you’ll have boots-on-the-ground IT support when you need it most.