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A disaster recovery plan (DRP) is crucial for any business dealing with data, which means understanding the importance of a DRP is something every business owner and manager should know. You may believe backing up your files is enough to mitigate the effects of a natural or manmade disaster.
While it’s a start, this isn’t enough to ensure your business can recover all or even part of the lost data. If you’re not sure how a DRP works, here’s what you should know.
What Your DRP Should Address
Okay, if you have an effective DRP, it should address three elements necessary for successful data recovery. If your plan is effective, it should only take a few minutes to get your infrastructure and applications up and running.
What happens if you don’t have an effective DRP? Your operations can be shut down for hours and even days while your IT department struggles to get everything back. Unfortunately, there’s a good chance some of the data may be lost forever. So, what are the three issues every DRP needs to address?
- Prevent a disaster: You can’t prevent every type of disaster, especially natural ones. For example, you can’t stop a hurricane from knocking out the power to vital infrastructure if you can. It’s time to start an entirely new business. With that being said, your DRP can take steps to make your system as secure as possible. This includes having the right tools and techniques in place. Some should even be second nature, like routinely backing up crucial data and constantly monitoring systems for issues with compliance and configuration.
- Rapid detection: The sooner you detect a potential issue the faster you can mitigate the issue. Your DRP should include tools that focus on detecting events as they happen in real-time. Yes, you’ll probably be aware the instant there’s a power failure. After all, it’s almost impossible not to notice when the lights suddenly go out. However, other disasters are a little more difficult to notice without the proper tools, including security breaches. Sometimes, hackers can move around your system undetected. Your DRP should include strategies addressing how to deal with threats in real-time, not after they occur.
- Correct disaster effects: Yes, it’s probably easier to give up after a disaster and start over from scratch, but overall this is detrimental to your business. Instead, an effective DRP will have measures in place ready to go as soon as an issue is detected. This can include ensuring your backup systems are also ready to go as needed. You should also have an effective recovery plan that addresses restoring critical systems and retrieving lost data.
Considering Adding Off-Site Storage to Your DRP
Storing all your data on-site poses significant risks, including data loss due to hardware failures, natural disasters, or cyber-attacks. By exploring off-site storage options, you can create a critical layer of security that ensures the continuity of your operations, even if your internal systems are compromised.
Utilizing cloud storage is a strategic way to mitigate these risks. The cloud not only offers a secure, off-site repository for your data but also provides scalability, allowing you to adjust storage needs as your business grows.
