What is a Disaster Recovery Plan and why is it important to have one?

What is disaster recovery?

Disaster recovery is a method of regaining access and recovering documents from an IT infrastructure after disasters occur, such as a cyber-attack or business disruptions. A variety of difference disaster recovery plans can be put in place in a company to ensure there is recoverable action after a disruptive event.

What disasters can kick start the recovery plan?

All businesses rely on documents and applications to operate, the biggest fear and loss of money for a company is when these systems go down or the loss of data, there is numerous causes to make this happen but some of the main ones are:

• Natural Disasters – Storms, fires, and floods can all do irreparable damage to your business. Without a disaster recovery plan in place, you may find it difficult to resume operations. To maintain workflow operations, getting back on your feet is crucial in the event of a natural disaster.
• Hardware Failure – From a power surge or other causes, if your hardware fails you can potentially lose all your data. It is essential to regularly back-up your data. Using a cloud-based or off-site storage can add additional protections, it is unlikely both locations will go down at the same time.
• Human Errors – From time to time we all make accidental mistakes, whether that be because we are rushing to get things done or simply a lapse in concentration. Forgetting to save changes, accidentally deleting an important document, or pressing the wrong switch could lead to a significant loss for your company. Ensuring that auto save button are on and that you regularly save documents throughout the day is crucial.
• Cyber Criminals – Cyber Crime is on the rise and most businesses will face threats and their data compromised at least once. A virus or attack could potentially hold your data hostage, your disaster recovery plan should include steps to recover from a hacking attempt, keeping your data safe and accessible.

How does disaster recovery work?

Disaster recovery relies upon duplicate data saved elsewhere in an off-premises location not affected by the disaster. When servers go down because of a natural disaster, equipment failure or cyber-attack, a business needs to recover lost data from a second location where the data is backed up.

How to implement a disaster recovery plan (DRA)?

There are many ways to create a DRA and you will most likely find templates online to help. Your DRA should identify the following:

1. Data – What data is most crucial to business operations
2. Location – The location from which you would operate if your main location were to be compromised
3. Communication – How you would contact team members and IT support people during a disaster
4. Response Steps – Specific response steps in case of a data breach or cyber attack