Disaster Recovery (DR) is something that every business should consider. In today’s world, it’s difficult to think of an environment that doesn’t need DR. Some organizations think they don’t need DR but in reality they do. Some think they are ready for a disaster but they are not. I have found that most companies fall into four DR scenarios.
Companies who have DR – I find this is the rarest scenario. Their DR plan is complete with the hardware and the detailed plan of what is required in a DR scenario. The company regularly tests this DR plan and is comfortable with executing it in the event of a real disaster.
Companies who think they have DR but fall a little short– This is a very common scenario. These are the companies who feel that they have DR because they have reliable backups, their data is backed offsite or taken off site and they have the hardware offsite for the data to be restored too. This is a good start but it may provide a false sense of security. These companies have the technical aspect covered but lack the actual plan. Without a plan it might be physically possible to recover from a disaster but at the very best it’s going to be absolute confusion and chaos to get these systems up and running in the event of a real disaster.
Companies who don’t have DR – This is the most common scenario. These companies think that DR is out of their budget and feel that if they have a reliable backup they have everything they need. Nothing could be further from the truth. Without a plan and the necessary infrastructure in place, recovering from a disaster is probably not possible. With the advancements in technology and reduced costs of bandwidth and storage, DR is more affordable than ever and something that most companies can’t afford to go without.
Companies who don’t think they need DR – This is less common but from time to time customers still feel they don’t need disaster recovery. In this case I usually ask the customer if the business can continue without IT infrastructure, which includes data, printing, basic PC usage etc… Once customers really think about this, most of them change their mind. However, there are exceptions to every rule and that is fine, as long as the risks are understood.
M.A. Polce can assist companies with developing a DR plan from both the technical and policy perspective. It never hurts to sit back and ask yourself honestly which scenario you fit into? If a fire, flood, cyber-attack, power outage, or other disaster strikes will your company be prepared to continue business as usual?
For more information on how M.A. Polce can help you with Disaster Recovery, call today at 315-338-0388.
