A disaster recovery plan [DRP] should include plans for dealing with the unexpected or sudden loss of I.T. systems, data recovery, communications, key personnel, these essential core elements of your business survival are an integral part of your overall Business Continuity Planning [BCP]
The same as Lottery syndicate insurance will protect a business against the bulk of its key staff walking out of work after scooping millions on the Lottery a comprehensive DRP must take the worst case scenario and plan a route out of that disaster or combination of disasters to enable the business to steer its way back to full recovery.
This pessimistic overview is normally the Boards protection mechanism against such ruin or calamity. And it is the board that should recognize its vulnerability and Achilles heel as its business reliance upon pieces of equipment continues to increase year on year.
The levels of sophistication that many small SME’s have attained is quite staggering compared to only a decade ago before computers became essential employees of every business. Can you remember what it was like running a business before you had a server, intranet, email or the web!!!
To enable an effective Disaster Recovery Plan to work it must be thoroughly tested and requires the cooperation of experienced disaster recovery specialists who know all of the pitfalls that can beset your business. A good Disaster Recovery Plan should be managed by a small committee led by an experienced chairperson who can advise the business owners and steer them in the right direction.
Fitzrovia are specialist Disaster Recovery Planners and it is at the core of its I.T. planning and strategy advice on how to set up a future proof disaster recovery plan for your business. With the overwhelming reliance on I.T. systems the critical infrastructure requires careful planning to ensure your business can recover from the most devastating of disasters and resume its business activities as soon as possible.
Most large organizations in the US set aside between 2% to 4% of their entire I.T budget to disaster recovery planning. Of companies that had a major loss of computerized data 43% never re-open, 51% close within 2 years and only 6% of those businesses without a Disaster Recovery Plan will survive long term.