A Disaster Recovery Plan is an action map with instructions on how to ensure the maintenance of a company’s key activities. It must be applied even in the most disastrous scenarios.
The definition of a disaster in the business world is quite broad, but we can say that the term refers to any event that causes a “forced stoppage” of an organization’s workflow.
A Disaster Recovery Plan can be motivated by a wide variety of causes. From the malfunction of some hardware component to natural catastrophes such as floods. The consequences can range from an interruption of activities for a few hours to damage so great that it permanently makes business continuity unfeasible.
Even the tech giant Samsung has suffered serious consequences due to a fire in its servers. Having an action plan for these moments is essential. This avoids the worst and keeps you from falling into despair. We produced this content so you know how to apply a DRP in practice.
How does a Disaster Recovery Plan work?
The process of preparing a disaster recovery plan starts with identifying the cause of the problem. Then, it is necessary to analyze all the consequences and prioritize solving them according to their severity and the level of impact on the organization’s key activities.
Disaster Recovery Plans are not like ready-made recipes. As mentioned earlier, disasters can have the most varied causes and consequences. Different situations require different solutions and ways of acting. The disaster recovery plan must be made according to the needs and particularities of each company.
What should a DRP contain?
The tasks to be performed must be placed in order of priority. It should go from the most important activity to be restored, up to those that do not directly affect the core business. However, there are some points that are important in any DRP. Check out some of them:
Disaster Recovery Plan Committee
The Disaster Recovery Plan must be executed by a group of pre-selected employees. Ideally, those chosen should have different expertise both within the IT area and in other sectors of the company. External suppliers should also be included if necessary, as well as representatives of all parties directly involved in the consequences of the disaster.
In addition to executing and following up on the DRP, it is also up to the committee to document the lessons learned. This ensures that the planning works even better if it needs to be triggered on another occasion.
Hardware and software inventory
A good Disaster Recovery Plan must include a complete inventory of hardware and software used, in order of priority. Technical support contacts for all of them must be gathered and archived in a single location. It must be easily accessible offline so that it can be located in case of emergency.
Structured communication plan
“Perhaps one of the most neglected components of a disaster recovery plan is having a good communication plan,” says Mike Genardi, solutions architect at Computer Design & Integration. “In the event of a disaster, how will you communicate with your employees? Does your team know how to trigger the necessary systems so as not to interrupt the workflow during a disastrous situation?”
Main communication platforms — such as telephone and email — will not always be available during a disaster. They may be affected during this setback. Thus, it is necessary to establish a communication plan from the beginning, to keep everyone updated on the situation throughout the entire process.
Communication is fundamental in any emergency situation. It is essential to always have effective and reliable methods available to contact the team, suppliers, and customers in a timely manner, in addition to the initial disaster notification to put everyone on alert. It is necessary to keep the team cohesive and aligned regarding facts and the search for solutions. The last thing you will want to deal with during the execution of a DRP is a scared, unmotivated, and confused team.
Also, have all centralized supplier contacts available in an easily accessible location. From outsourced service providers to the technical support of the software that most impacts the company’s routine, the contact information of everyone who can assist in resolving a crisis needs to be accessible.
All involved parties need to be aware of each other’s tasks. This way, the DRP process will work as efficiently as possible.
Pre-defined task distribution
All disaster recovery plans must list who is responsible for executing each of the planning steps during a crisis. Clearly defined roles give a universal understanding of which tasks need to be completed and by whom. This prevents the team from “hitting their heads” (scrambling around).
Can the cloud be used as part of your disaster recovery plan?
Many companies use cloud computing as one of the resources for DRP. For some, cloud storage has become the disaster recovery plan itself, as it provides a new level of business continuity.
According to Amy Galanti, chief operating officer at Broadband Capital Management in New York, the cloud makes data and applications safer. Therefore, recovering them is no longer the central problem in a Disaster Recovery Plan, but rather how the team will access that data.
“We need to know what the plan is to get to our critical services. Where our critical business services are running has become less important in a disaster recovery plan, because we know the data and applications are safe,” Amy says.
Having a good plan is always important, especially when we are talking about disasters. After all, they do not have a scheduled time to happen and can cause forced stoppages in the most unexpected ways, even if we perform all possible preventive maintenance.
Being prepared is essential. Therefore, be sure to have planned all the steps that need to be executed so that the company’s primary activities can be reestablished as quickly as possible.
Do you have any suggestions on how to put a Disaster Recovery Plan into practice? Do you have any questions? Tell us in the comments.
