“It’ll never happen. It’s so unlikely, it’s almost impossible. What’s the point in worrying about that?” And then it happens..
It’s easy to convince ourselves that the things that shouldn’t go wrong, won’t. But what happens when they do? A businesses IT disaster recovery plan (DRP) is a safety net, much like insurance – you hope never to have to make a claim, or implement it, but in the event that the choice is no longer yours, you’ll certainly be thankful for it!
What’s your plan B? Our back up and data recovery services are there to ensure that in the event that disaster strikes, whether natural or man-made, your business has the best chance of continuing to operate with minimal impact to your productivity, brand image and compliancy obligations. Call us today on 01403 290 321, or email us at support@woodstockit.co.uk to find out more about how Woodstock IT can help your business prepare for the worst.
What is disaster recovery (DR)?
Disaster recovery is an umbrella term for the methods used by an organisation in the event of an IT disaster to resolve data loss, and regain access and functionality of its IT infrastructure.
Key terms:
Business continuity plan (BCP)
Business continuity plans outline the methods by which an organisation intends to be able to continue to deliver goods or services in the event of unplanned disruption. IT Disaster recovery plans are typically included as part of a larger business continuity plan.
Recovery point objective (RPO)
Recovery point objectives put a numerical value on the acceptable period of time after a disaster that an organisation can tolerate data loss before exceeding the threshold as per its business continuity plan. It answers the question – “Up to what point in time could the business processes recover tolerably given the volume of data lost during that interval?”, essentially determining the frequency of data back-up.
Recovery time objective (RTO)
Recovery time objectives refer to the timeframe in which an organisation must restore its processes before it results in unacceptable consequences.
Potential disasters faced by businesses
Any event capable of severely impacting the way in which a business operates can be defined as a disaster. They may vary considerably in likelihood and severity, but all scenarios have the potential to derail business continuity.
Man made disasters
- Equipment failure and power outages
- Cyber attacks, eg. malware, ransomware and denial of service attacks (DDoS)
- Theft or sabotage
Natural disasters
- Epidemics and pandemics, eg. Covid-19
- Hurricanes
- Floods
- Fires
Disaster recovery planning (DRP)
A good disaster recovery plan comprises a number of key elements:
- Disaster recovery team: Responsible for creating, implementing and managing your IT disaster recovery plan. We can assist with the analysis of your current systems, provide recommendations for improvements and remotely monitor your data back-up and recovery solutions.
- Risk evaluation: Assessing the potential hazards that may put your business at risk, including the strategy and resources required to resume operations.
- Business critical asset identification: Identifying which systems, data and applications are at risk, including the necessary steps for resolution.
- Back-ups: What needs to be backed-up, by who, and how. This includes RPO and RTO requirements.
- Testing and optimisation: Strategies for recovery should be tested and optimised on a regular basis to ensure your business is primed to deal with the unexpected.
Benefits of a disaster recovery plan
Financial damage limitation
Failure to implement an effective IT disaster recovery plan can result in catastrophic financial losses, often exceeding an organisation’s acceptable limit. Loss of revenue, customer confidence and the costs associated with downtime (‘According to Gartner ‘the average cost of IT downtime is $5,600 per minute’) and emergency technical assistance can quickly add up.
A well engineered IT disaster recovery plan will enable your organisation to restore systems and resume operations with minimal disruption to services.
Security and compliance
Security breaches resulting in the destruction of data, the leaking of confidential information or the theft of intellectual property will not only significantly damage brand reputation but could also result in legal ramifications relating to General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
An IT disaster recovery program should include proficient data backup contingencies, whether they be on site or cloud based. Woodstock IT specialise in both on site and cloud based data security services – talk to us today to find out more.
Productivity
Inability to access critical systems in the event of a man-made or natural disaster will lead to a failure to conduct normal operations, effectively reducing productivity to zero.
Organisations who have proactively adopted IT disaster recovery procedures are far better placed to be able to continue to operate in the event that disaster occurs. For example, companies who had contingencies for remote working have suffered far less in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic than those who did not.
FAQ’s
What is disaster recovery in IT?
In the event of a natural or man made disaster, disaster recovery refers to the methods by which an organisation resolves data loss and regains access and functionality to its IT infrastructure.
What is included in an IT disaster recovery plan?
An IT disaster recovery plan comprises three main aspects:
- Assessment
- Restoration
- Recovery
What is an IT disaster recovery exercise?
Disaster recovery exercises are scenarios implemented by organisations in order to assess their performance in the event of a disaster which threatens operations.
Is disaster recovery part of IT security?
Whilst disaster recovery encompasses more than IT security alone, the two are intrinsically linked.
How Woodstock IT can help
Here’s what we can offer:
- A complete review of your current backup
- Recommendations and suggestions
- Onsite and cloud based back up solutions
- Remote monitoring 24/7
To find out more about how Woodstock IT can help your business with disaster recovery planning, or for information about any of our services call us on 01403 290321. You can also complete our contact form here, or email us at support@woodstockit.co.uk.
