Importance of Disaster Recovery

Nobody likes to think of what might go wrong but disaster recovery is an important part of business planning and review. Fortunately, proper preparation can minimise the disruption caused by events that are out of your control. Contingency planning in the form of a disaster recovery plan gives you the potential to cope in a crisis. If you combine this with the automation that IT systems can provide you should never be without an adequate recovery plan in times of failure.

When working through your first disaster recovery plan be sure to think around various business interruptions that would have an affect on your bottom line; everything from power cuts through adverse weather to staff problems.

Acknowledge that there are limitations in what you can do but try your best to mitigate the problems that might arise from them; for example keeping customers informed is something that automated (and perhaps remote) IT systems can achieve for you. If you're going to be late in the delivery of a product or service then notification is not only a courtesy but may be a critical factor for your customer.

Once implemented make sure that your automated procedures integrate with your key decisions. For example you should store your recovery data remotely, securely (and make sure you can retrieve it!).

If disaster strikes one of the best coping methods is to have planned for it.