A Step-By-Step Guide To Disaster Recovery Planning By Tilly Holland

According to data specialists Nexstor, 90% of businesses with no disaster recovery capabilities close after a major failure. This is a scary stat. The truth is that businesses today are reliant on data. If the worst should happen and disaster strikes, it can be an incredibly daunting task to get back up and running again. So what should you do to mitigate the impact? Here is a step-by-step guide to disaster recovery planning by Tilly Holland, Ontrack’s marketing manager.

Make sure you know the scope of your project 

Do you need quick and easy access to your data to stay in business? If so, then your disaster recovery plan should ensure that your data is kept safe and secure at all times. A good way of doing this is by using offsite data storage options like a data centre.

Know your organisation’s vulnerabilities

Have you had a history of being hit by cybercrime? Are you in a geographic region that has a history of flooding? Your disaster recovery plan should aim to protect as many of your assets as possible, but you may have to prioritise to ensure you protect the most important areas of your business.

Conduct a risk analysis

You may now know what your organisation’s vulnerabilities are, but now you need to test your safeguards. Testing your vulnerabilities will give you a valuable perspective of how well positioned you are to protect your most valuable assets.

Identify your recovery strategies

Ensuring you have an effective and cost-efficient recovery strategy is the next step. Having a data recovery specialist on speed dial is a vital part of any disaster recovery plan. The less time you waste the more chance you have of recovering any data that might be lost. 

Put your plan to paper

You are now ready to draw up your plan. You should gather all your insights and ideas and put them into an easy-to-understand, comprehensive guide. This guide should be stored in a place that is easy for all employees to access. It is also important to ensure you have a hard copy.

Test your plan

If you don’t test your plan, how will you know if it works? Running through the plan in a staged environment will allow you to see how each step unfolds and whether you need to amend anything.

And finally… Revise and update when necessary

Technology is changing and updating all the time. Is it a good idea to revise your plan regularly to ensure it is still up-to-date. There may be new products or services you want to implement into your plan, or you may have had a major operational change. Either way, asking these kinds of questions will make sure you are prepared when disaster strikes.

Feel it is time to start on your own IT Disaster Recovery Plan? Download our free template here.