Disaster can strike at any time, and it can have devastating impacts on businesses of all sizes. Whether it is a cyber attack, power outage, or a human error, disasters can disrupt your business operations, damage your reputation, and cause financial losses. What would you do if your systems were down?
Prepare your business now and create a plan and asking yourself the following questions:
Step 1: Conduct a Business Impact Analysis
- What are the critical systems and data that support your business operations each day?
- How quickly would you and your team need to regain access to systems?
- Which systems are a priority?
- How far back would you need to be able to recover your data?
- How much data does your business need to store?
- What are the potential threats and vulnerabilities that could affect your IT systems and data?
- What are the financial and non-financial impacts of a disaster on your business, such as lost revenue, customer dissatisfaction, regulatory fines, or legal liabilities?
Step 2: Develop a Recovery Strategy
- Who will be responsible for the plan?
- What will their responsibilities be?
- How will the disaster recovery team communicate to other stakeholders, such as employees, customers, vendors, or regulators?
- What are the backup and restoration methods and tools that will be used to safeguard and recover your IT systems and data?
- What preventative measures could be used to protect systems, such as enhanced security, training, and safety equipment?
- Are there any alternative IT resources and facilities that will be used to resume your business operations, such as cloud computing, virtualisation, or co-location?
Step 3: Create a Recovery Plan
- What are the triggers and criteria that will activate the plan, such as the type, severity, and duration of the disaster?
- Do you know what information your insurance provider would need and when you should call them? Does the team know?
- What are the tasks that will be performed during the disaster recovery process, such as the preparation, response, recovery, and restoration?
- What are the checklists and guidelines that will be followed by the disaster recovery team, such as the backup and restoration procedures, the communication protocols, or the security measures?
- What are the resources and tools that will be used during the disaster recovery process, such as your IT support provider, your backup and restoration software, communication devices, or emergency kits?
Step 4: Test and Validate the Plan
- Does the plan meet your recovery objectives?
- Does the plan cover all the possible scenarios and contingencies that could occur during a disaster?
- Does the plan align with your business needs and expectations?
- Does the plan have any gaps, errors, or weaknesses that need to be addressed or improved?
Step 5: Update, Maintain, and Communicate the Plan
- Have there been any changes or developments in your business environment, such as new IT systems, new business processes, new regulations, or new threats?
- Have there been any feedback or lessons learned from your disaster recovery tests or actual incidents, such as best practices, improvement suggestions, or corrective actions?
- Have there been any gaps or discrepancies between your plan and your actual performance, such as outdated information, missing procedures, or insufficient resources?
- Have you informed and educated your disaster recovery team and other stakeholders about your plan, such as the objectives, responsibilities, procedures, and resources?
Building a disaster recovery plan is a vital task for any business that relies on IT systems and data. It requires a systematic and comprehensive approach that involves assessing, developing, creating, testing, and updating your plan. TechWyse has been assisting business with their IT business continuity for over 30 years, and can assist in protecting your IT systems and advise on building a plan to match the needs of your business.
If you need some advice or support with your plan get in touch and we would be happy to help.
