5 Tips to Strengthen the Effectiveness of Disaster Recovery Plans

From natural disasters to cyberattacks, modern businesses face various risks that can disrupt operations. Effective disaster recovery plans (DRP) are essential for ensuring business continuity and minimizing downtime. 

These plans go beyond risk management, focusing on contingencies for every potential disaster, whether it's a hardware failure, cybercrime, or natural calamity.

What is a disaster recovery plan?

A disaster recovery plan (DRP) is a documented strategy that outlines the steps a company must take to restore its IT systems and operational processes after a disruptive event. A comprehensive IT disaster recovery plan ensures businesses can quickly recover and continue their operations without significant downtime.

Causes of disaster may include:

•          Hardware failure
•          Ongoing power outages
•          Ransomware and other cybercrimes
•          Natural disasters (e.g., floods, hurricanes, pandemics)
•          Localized emergencies (such as fire or flooding)
•          Structural damage to facilities
•          Inclement weather

For instance, in April 2023, a cyberattack on Shields Health Care Group compromised the personal data of 2.3 million people. A more proactive disaster recovery plan could have mitigated the impact of the breach, prompting security updates before the incident occurred.

5 Tips to improve your disaster recovery strategy

Every business requires a tailored disaster recovery strategy, but here are five universally applicable tips to improve the effectiveness of your DRP and ensure business continuity during and after a disaster.

1. Create business continuity plans immediately

Don't wait for a disaster to strike. Implement your disaster recovery plan (DRP) and document the necessary recovery processes now. Ensure that all departments impacted by potential disasters are involved in the planning process.

• Establish a Recovery Point Objective (RPO) — the maximum acceptable amount of data loss after an incident.
• Set a Recovery Time Objective (RTO) — how long IT systems or business operations can remain offline before major damage occurs.

The shorter the RTO, the more critical the systems are to your operations. This step is crucial for industries like managed service providers (MSPs), where downtime can directly affect customer operations.

2. Conduct a Thorough Risk Assessment

A successful disaster recovery plan (DRP) hinges on a detailed risk assessment. Identify every possible risk, from hardware failures to cyberattacks, and evaluate their likelihood. Regular risk assessments help you prioritize responses, update recovery strategies, and address new threats as your business evolves.

3. Invest in Comprehensive Data Backups and Off-Site Data Centers

Cyberattacks such as ransomware often exploit businesses without proper data backups. To mitigate this risk, ensure you have comprehensive data backup solutions and utilize off-site data centers. These measures reduce the recovery time after an attack and improve overall data protection.

4. Partner with trusted IT services

If your in-house IT team is not confident in developing an effective disaster recovery plan (DRP), consider partnering with external providers. Disaster Recovery as a Service (DRaaS) is a growing industry that offers cloud-based backup and recovery services, which can be tailored to your needs.

DRaaS providers typically assess your company's requirements, create a custom disaster recovery strategy, and keep your critical contact information on hand for quick communication during a disaster.
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5. Test/retest cybersecurity & disaster recovery processes

Having a DRP in place is not enough. Regularly testing your plan is essential to ensure it works when needed. Simulate disasters to spot flaws, enhance response times, and improve your IT security protocols. Testing also allows your team to stay updated on any changes in the recovery strategy.

According to Gartner, businesses that exercise their disaster recovery plans regularly are eight times more likely to fully recover from an incident. Companies that neglect to test their recovery plans are 58% more likely to suffer long-term impacts after a disaster.

The importance of business continuity in a DRP

In today's fast-paced business environment, downtime is not an option. A well-designed IT disaster recovery plan ensures that critical services continue without interruption, whether you're running a water utility or an online retail business.

The longer it takes to recover, the greater the negative impact, which may include:

• Loss of income
• Damage to brand reputation
• Vulnerability to further cyberattacks
• Loss of clients to competitors
• Reduced stakeholder and investor confidence

Gartner’s report, "Implement an Exercise Management Strategy to Strengthen the Effectiveness of Recovery Plans," stresses that companies without a solid disaster recovery plan may struggle to recover, jeopardizing their business operations.

Avoid IT disasters by prioritizing your Disaster Recovery Plan (DRP)

An effective disaster recovery plan (DRP) is more critical than ever in today’s unpredictable digital landscape. Whether it’s natural disasters or cyberattacks, businesses must prepare for any eventuality to protect their data and operations.

Partnering with experts can help you assess your current recovery plan and improve it to meet modern threats. At Adservio, we specialize in advising businesses on how to optimize their digital transformation and implement robust disaster recovery plans that ensure long-term IT resilience.

Contact us today to discover how we can help you enhance your disaster recovery strategy.