Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery
Undisrupted operation of critical systems and swift recovery for the affected is a must-have for every business, regardless of their size.
Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery strategies work as assurances for both.
But, how they are essential?
Why do you need a Business Continuity Plan?
A Business Continuity Plan contains all the information required to get the business running again after an incident or crisis.
It outlines the procedures an organisation must follow to return its operations to normal.
In essence, it is the insurance plan for survival amid an unexpected occurrence. It provides the framework for operating in the case of an emergency and details the persons, the roles and the procedures involved.
The COVID-19 pandemic had been a bold example of such an unprecedented situation.
Suddenly, there was a need for most of the staff to work from home on concise notice.
The organisations that had a Business Continuity plan in their reserves beforehand; made this look easy while others struggled.
Hopefully, you won’t have to use your Business Continuity Plan, but you need it in place as a response to unforeseen situations before they happen.
What about Disaster Recovery?
While Business Continuity focuses on getting the entire organisation again functional, Disaster Recovery focuses on getting all important IT infrastructure and operations up and running again.
In that sense, you can think Disaster Recovery as a subset of Business Continuity.
Disaster Recovery response should follow a plan; a documented process or set of procedures designed specifically to prepare the organisation to restore its services as quickly as possible.
A Disaster Recovery plan typically includes:
- Emergency procedures staff must follow when a disaster occurs
- Enumeration of the Critical I.T assets, their maximum allowed outage time (RTO) and restore point (RPO)
- The subset of tools or technologies to be used for recovery
- Persons in charge forming a disaster recovery team, their contact information and their roles in the plan execution
Why should you invest in Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery planning?
For the following important reasons:
- To Avoid Revenue Impact ― Every business is less or more dependent on I.T infrastructure. A service outage leads to direct or indirect revenue loss. Appropriate planning aims in ensuring you can continue operating with minimal or zero interruption.
- Limit Damages — A disaster will cause damage; however, the extent of this damage is critical for the affected infrastructure. Damage control is crucial for the next day.
- To Maintain and Promote Supply Chain Confidence ― Exhibiting well-defined Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery plans helps build confidence and trust within your partner network.
- Because Hardware Fails — I.T systems and technologies have been greatly improved in resiliency; however, the probability of a failure persists. Therefore, having the plans in place helps deal with those unforeseen issues.
