A Disaster Recovery Plan - (pt.3)

In this installment of A Disaster Recovery Plan, I want to discuss how to go about ensuring that your plan is comprehensive enough and will achieve your disaster recovery goals.

Like developing new software applications or designing hardware, your disaster recovery plan must be tested to ensure it works as designed, and that there are no unintended results. You want your business up and running again as quickly as possible, so disaster recovery testing needs to be part of the plan. It is incumbent upon your IT department or Managed Service Provider (MSP) to test your plan before it is ever needed.

Testing will verify the plan, the equipment, the applications and the personnel involved, and reveal where you need to make adjustments. However, it is probably not wise to test a disaster recovery procedure during peak business hours, just in case the test itself creates a disaster!

Testing a recovery procedure is in some ways similar to conducting a network audit. Systems weaknesses and application inadequacies can be revealed.  Additionally, IT personnel and their training will be tested.  The WHO is as important as the HOW when it comes to a recovery plan.  Can you rely on the personnel who will be available to implement the plan in the event of a catastrophe?  Do they understand the plan, the procedures and their responsibilities?  Can your network and employee infrastructure support an effective and efficient recovery?

All your disaster recovery issues are addressed with a comprehensive support agreement with a reputable Managed Services Provider (MSP).  BCS CallProcessing is a service company that can help your business prevent a network disaster, BEFORE it happens.  Get started with a free network evaluation.

Getting your applications up to speed is the most critical part of recovery after a catastrophic failure.  The applications are what drive your business.  Your IT department should focus on getting critical software running first, meaning that not all hardware or network components need be immediately available.