How can you ensure your SLA covers disaster recovery and business continuity?

1 What are disaster recovery and business continuity?

Disaster recovery (DR) is the process of restoring IT systems and data after a disruptive event, such as a natural disaster, a cyberattack, or a power outage. Business continuity (BC) is the process of maintaining or resuming critical business operations during and after a disaster. Both DR and BC aim to minimize the impact of a disaster on the client's business objectives, performance, and reputation.

2 Why are disaster recovery and business continuity important for IT outsourcing?

IT outsourcing involves delegating some or all of your IT functions to a third-party provider, who is responsible for delivering the agreed-upon services and meeting the specified quality standards. However, if the provider fails to protect your IT systems and data from disasters, or fails to recover them quickly and effectively, you may suffer significant losses and damages. This could include loss of revenue and productivity due to downtime, loss of customer trust and satisfaction due to service interruptions, loss of competitive advantage due to data breaches or corruption, or even loss of compliance with regulations or contracts due to data privacy or security violations. For this reason, it is essential that your IT outsourcing provider has a robust and reliable DR and BC plan in place, with your SLA clearly defining the roles, responsibilities, expectations, and outcomes related to DR and BC.

3 How to ensure your SLA covers disaster recovery and business continuity?

To ensure your SLA covers DR and BC, you need to negotiate and document a few elements with your IT outsourcing provider. This includes the scope and objectives of the DR and BC plan, such as the IT systems and data that need to be protected, the RTOs and RPOs, and KPIs to measure effectiveness. Both parties should also have clearly defined roles and responsibilities, communication channels, escalation procedures, decision-making authority, and reporting obligations. Testing and auditing requirements should be discussed in detail, including the frequency, methods, criteria for testing and auditing, as well as corrective actions in case of any gaps or issues. Lastly, compensation and penalties clauses should be discussed, including incentives for meeting or exceeding expectations, as well as penalties for failing or underperforming.

4 What to look for in your IT outsourcing provider?

In addition to having a comprehensive and transparent SLA that covers DR and BC, you should also look for certain qualities in your IT outsourcing provider. This includes experience and expertise in delivering IT outsourcing services in your industry and domain, as well as technology and infrastructure that support DR and BC. It's important to assess the provider's culture and commitment to ensure they are willing to collaborate with you, align with your business goals, and adhere to the SLA terms and conditions. By doing this, you can reduce the risks and costs of IT outsourcing while enhancing the benefits and value of IT outsourcing for your business.

5 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?