3 Disaster Recovery Plans Every Business Should Have–and Why
Disaster recovery did not take hold until the mid-to-late 1970s as it became obvious companies were more dependent on their IT infrastructure. The backbone was now the way they captured, stored and managed data and information from customers, clients, vendors, and strategic partners. For the most part, this data was stored on a locally residing storage device within the company’s data center. As a result, a disaster recovery plan was not as essential as it is today.
Disaster Recovery Plans Became Essential
As both natural and man-made disasters became newsworthy, companies were quick to realize the risks that were present if these occurrences were to affect their businesses. News of many of the natural disasters was almost appearing daily in newspapers as floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, and earthquakes were highlighted. At the same time, there was an escalation of the man-made disasters, which included data breaches and cyber crimes being perpetrated by outside influences and—in some cases—even internal employees.
Disaster Recovery Costs Are Staggering
Statistics tell us of the businesses that suffer a major loss of business data, 43% will never recover and 29% will close within two years of the disaster. The statistics are staggering and suggested that an unplanned downtime can cost up to $17,244 per minute, with a low-end estimate of $926 per minute. With this in mind, it’s no surprise that only 28% of the businesses make it past the initial disaster and are still in business after two years.
Minimizing Disaster Impact
What can be done by companies when dealing with disaster recovery? Here are three approaches:
- Preventive
Controls aimed at preventing an event from occurring, which follows the thinking an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. This measure consists of offsite storage, back up and cloud applications that are remote—and therefore, do not reside within the business.
- Detective
Measures that provide controls aimed at detecting or discovering unwanted events before they can happen. This measure assures sound continuous monitoring of network and firewalls resistant to breaches.
- Corrective
Corrective measures include controls aimed at correcting or restoring the system after a disaster or an event.
With a well-written disaster recovery plan in place, the odds of a company making a complete recovery are greatly enhanced and provide peace of mind. A disaster recovery plan should include a set of policies and procedures to enable the recovery or the continuation of vital technology infrastructure and systems. It is best to partner with an IT provider to develop a sound plan that fits the type of business in which the company engages. Each plan should be customized to take into consideration the various types of disasters whether natural—or man-made.
To learn more about disaster recovery and Managed IT Services, please contact RJ Young today.