Man-made and natural disasters happen, and not being ready for them may sink a whole business. While avoiding problems isn’t always an option, preparation will make sure you know exactly what to do in case of a natural catastrophe or a cyber attack to preserve necessary data and continue to exist as a company.
Keep in mind that the following recommendations are mostly suitable for small businesses. If you’re looking for tips on DRP for large companies, it’s better to contact a professional service that will help you build one fitting the particular business structure and needs.
Why a Disaster Recovery Plan Is Important for Businesses
Disaster recovery doesn’t sound like a fun plan, but every business, no matter how young and small, needs one. The checklist includes the people to turn to, the software to use, how and when to do it, how to recover a certain type of information, etc.
There may also be plans for different accidents and catastrophes, concerning anything from cloud storage with sensitive data or the building in case of fire or flooding.
The most important goal of the document is to guide employees into renewing the business’s normal state in case of an emergency.
The Difference Between DRP and BCP
A disaster recovery plan and business continuity plan have their differences, even though many businesses combine them into one safety note:
- BCP.
This is a set of guidelines that prepares the company, both the bosses and employees, for a case of an emergency that may interfere with normal business operation. This includes natural disasters, a local fire in the office building, etc. - DRP.
This one is aimed more at renewing business state in case of a disaster. So, in reality, the two types make a great general guide for preparation and actions in case something happens.
DRP Approaches
Here are some approaches commonly used in DRPs:
- Virtualized recovery.
Creating a virtual server with your data, this approach is the fastest when it comes to data restoration and business renewal. - Data-center recovery.
All the data is stored on-site, but the most important parts are protected additionally from weather conditions and cyberattacks. - Cloud-based recovery.
All the data of the company is backed up by a cloud-based copy. In case of a disaster, you can always use it since it’s not as vulnerable as, say, your website. - DRaaS.
Disaster recovery as a service implies that all your data is available on another website. Special providers of IT services will also renew servers for you.
The Most Important Elements of a DRP
Here’s a list of essential elements of a DRP:
- The team responsible for the plan;
- The team that will execute it when necessary;
- Its purposes and goals;
- Potential disasters covered;
- Business capabilities;
- Step-by-step instructions written in an understandable language for any employee.
A disaster recovery plan is unique for every business. You can build it yourself or contact a service where professionals will choose the most suitable approaches for your company’s wellbeing.
Nowadays, we see threats both from cybercriminals and natural or man-made local catastrophes. While we all hope none of those will happen anytime soon, it’s crucial to be ready for anything.
