If you are familiar with Murphy’s Law, you probably know that unfortunate situations will eventually occur whether we’re prepared or not. It’s not a matter of if, but when. If you own a business or use technological tools in your daily life, you should take the necessary steps to ensure that your data and systems are protected.
A disaster recovery plan (DR plan) gives you the ability to know ahead of time the critical steps to take in the event of an emergency or disaster. With a DR plan in place, an event that would typically turn your business upside down can quickly become a minor inconvenience.
Though we hope you never encounter a need for your disaster recovery plan, ensuring you have one in place in case disaster strikes is essential. This article will cover everything you need to know about disaster recovery plans including why you need one and what it should include to be most effective.
What Is A Disaster Recovery Plan?
Imagine going into work one day, and your building suddenly loses power. Your customers cannot reach you through the company phones, critical digital files are out of reach and you can’t even access your email because the internet is down. How will you conduct business? Will all of the information systems work properly once power is restored? Do your employees know their roles in getting things back on track?
If you own a business or are in charge of handling sensitive information on behalf of your organisation and clients, it’s important to know the definition of a disaster recovery plan. A disaster recovery plan is an official record that contains the steps a company should take in response to unforeseen events.
While we know that cybersecurity is an ongoing and very real problem, we should also consider things like natural disasters and widespread and or lengthy power outages. The purpose of a disaster recovery plan is to reduce the negative impacts associated with these disasters and emergencies. An effective disaster recovery plan should include the following:
- An employee task force to promote a quicker return to operation
- A medium to transmit information to affected parties
- A risk analysis that identifies threats to the organisation should the disaster continue
- A means of backing up important information
Having this plan on hand before a chaotic moment can help you get back to business as usual in a shorter amount of time. Failure to plan ultimately leads to loss of revenue and failure to meet customer expectations. A company disaster recovery plan can help avoid these negative issues by planning upfront on how to take swift action. Although creating a disaster program may involve purchases that seem unnecessary beforehand, businesses that are serious about their brand can’t afford not to have one.
Why Do I Need A Disaster Recovery Plan?
According to Probrand, “one in four (24%) of UK SMEs do not have an IT disaster recovery plan in place. Yet, 80% of businesses who suffered a major incident failed within 18 months.” In other words, by failing to plan, many small businesses are planning to fail. If you believe your start-up is safe from the unknown, think again.
Matt Royle, Probrand’s marketing director, emphasized that there are roughly 1.4 million businesses in the UK that are at risk of ultimate failure because they have no data recovery business plan. Many of these businesses have not even recorded the basic steps to backup data into a safe space.
Your business, or the company you work for, is an excellent investment of time and money. When a disaster occurs, there are so many things to worry about. You may have to account for physical damages to your property and even account for the safety of your family and friends. Here are some of the key aims of a disaster recovery plan:
Ensure recovery of important information
Whether it be personal information about clients, like their contact information, identification numbers, or payment details, or all of the documentation related to vendors you work with daily, it will be tough to operate at total capacity if this data is unavailable.
Reduce the interference to daily business operations
It can be challenging to explain to customers that you are experiencing difficulties – especially where their personal information is concerned. Being able to bounce back from an emergency quickly shows your customers that you care and take pride in meeting their needs.
Make sure team members are prepared to respond swiftly
Outlining the tasks that specific individuals are in charge of is a great way to ensure that recovery time is quicker. Rather than assigning duties at the onset of a disaster, having a written directive beforehand creates a faster response time while also minimising confusion.
Prevent and reduce financial losses incurred
Less time actively doing business means that less money is coming into the organisation. Your ability to make a speedy recovery is less likely to damage your reputation with partners and customers. Getting ahead of an emergency will help ensure that the company’s cash flow is not interrupted.
What Kind Of Disasters Should You Plan For?
While you may have your own definition of what constitutes a disaster or emergency, it is vital to keep an open mind while creating your DR plan. Remember, anything could happen and it’s always better to be safe than sorry. Here are some of the types of disaster to plan for:
- Natural disasters
- Crises within a data centre
- Emergencies within the company building
- Artificial disasters
This is certainly not an exhaustive list, but it is an excellent place to start when it’s time to begin making your own plan. Having a system in place before disaster strikes will help you get through any of the above scenarios with more ease than trying to wing it independently.
What Does a Disaster Recovery Plan Include?
The information included in an appropriate disaster recovery plan for your company will vary based on the type of business you have. For example, an accounting firm has different needs than a personal assistant. Though certain businesses’ needs may differ, specific components are generally applicable across the board.
Disaster-based planning
As we mentioned above, many different types of disasters and emergencies can impact your business. Perform a risk assessment to determine which disasters are more likely and the specific measures that you should take for each one. Identifying critical criteria to be taken during each disaster will help you avoid trial and error processes.
Take inventory
Regardless of the kind of business you are in, it is likely that you are accountable for documentation and material, like hardware and software, that needs to be accounted for. Creating a list of these things can help you to identify items that may be missing and even account for financial loss for insurance claims.
Identify team members
Your most valuable asset during a disaster is your team. Your disaster recovery plan should clearly identify a task force that will be in charge of the recovery process. These team members should be familiar with the plan ahead of time and be ready to perform mission-critical tasks when the time comes.
Data backups
One of the significant ramifications of a disaster is the potential loss of data that can occur. Because a company’s data is often the bread and butter of its success, it is imperative to know what to do if this information ever goes missing. To prevent or reduce data loss, the disaster recovery plan should contain a catalogue where all data has been restored. It should also contain a plan of action to recover permanently deleted files, which is a common accidental data loss scenario.
How To Create A Disaster Recovery Plan
While you may be tempted to go it alone in your planning, there are some steps to creating the best disaster recovery plan for you and your business. By following these steps, you will develop a recovery strategy that is easy to follow and practical for your profession.
Step 1: Talk with your team
We’ve already established that your team members need to play an active role in the process of recovery following a disaster. Never assume that your designated task force is up to the job if you haven’t explicitly talked with them about their duties.
Work together in creating this plan so that everyone is agreeable if it should ever have to be implemented.
Step 2: Develop methods for data recovery
If your company deals with sensitive data or a wide variety of digital information, you must designate a strategy for recovering those files if necessary. Know your recovery objectives and recovery strategy ahead of time and make regular data backups.
This way, even in the event of a disaster, you will still have access to the most recent information.
Step 3: Test your plan
The only way to know if your disaster recovery plan works is by testing it out. Failure to do so may result in longer recovery times or complete failure of the business. While many plans make sense on paper, some just aren’t functional when it’s time to go live.
When testing the plan, create a mock scenario and involve the entire recovery task force. See how each individual responds in real-time and make evaluations that will help to perfect your plan.
Disaster Recovery Plan Overview
Whether you have owned the same business for years or you’re just starting out – a disaster could be right around the corner. A disaster recovery plan can save you the pain of letting go of a company that you brought to life and the shame of damaged relationships with consumers and business partners.
Start your plan process as soon as possible to guarantee that your investment is protected for the long-term.
Datraction Is Here To Help Recover Your Data If Disaster Strikes
At Datraction, we are a team of data recovery specialists on hand to help your company should a data loss incident occur. We offer quality data recovery services for any data loss scenario to help your company get back to business quickly and efficiently. Get a quote today.
