A Simple Guide to Disaster Recovery Planning
Efficient disaster recovery planning for many small to medium-sized businesses comes down to a few key measures that can be established between you and your IT solutions partner. We want to be able to strategically allocate resources, create a resilient environment, and prioritize continuity measures that enable recuperation from disruptions without hesitation.
Disaster recovery planning simply means that together, you and your IT solutions partner make smart choices about where to prepare for disasters (big or small), focus resources, and withstand disruptions to keep critical business operations running smoothly during and after a disaster. Easy enough, right? Let’s dig into the details.
Why Disaster Recovery Planning Matters
If you’re at the stage of the game where you’re just starting to consider hiring an IT solutions partner and want to be more prepared for modern technology threats, you’ve come to the right place!
When it comes to preparing for the worst, many of us may be tempted to assume that the odds are forever in our favor. While that may be true in many other cases, statistically speaking, there’s a pretty high chance that your business will encounter a cyber attack. According to the 2020 State of Cybersecurity Report by Keeper Security, 66% of small and medium-sized businesses experienced a cyberattack in 2019, and 63% experienced a data breach. Modern technology and the remote work era only increase the risk of outside threats.
Disaster recovery planning is crucial for businesses for several reasons:
Business Continuity: Keeps essential functions moving after a disruptive event, vital for customer service and revenue.
Minimizing Downtime: A well-thought out plan reduces downtime, cutting financial losses.
Data and Asset Protection: Critical data and infrastructure are protected, maintaining integrity and security.
Reputation and Trust: Speedy recovery builds trust with customers, partners, and stakeholders.
Risk Mitigation: Identifies and mitigates risks, reducing the impact of disasters.
Employee Safety: Keeps the safety and well-being of employees in mind during planning and after disasters with support services.
One of the most common consequences related to disaster recovery planning that we see here at M2 Technology are backup configuration issues. Sometimes companies have data backup systems in place but they aren’t configured properly and the correct data doesn’t get backed up. This leads to frustration and disappointment when the time comes to spin up the data that was lost - making downtime be considerably longer and costing the company each minute they are down. Simply put, your business's financial stability, reputation, legal compliance, employee impact, and overall resilience are at risk without proper recovery measures.
Building a Disaster Recovery Plan
The first step in building a successful disaster recovery plan to help with data backup and recovery is to connect with a trusted IT solutions parter. You can connect with M2 Technology below or learn more here.
In a nutshell, there is one main objective and several moving pieces that should be considered carefully.
Objective: To reduce downtime and safeguard your business from data loss.
Crucial Elements:
Human Resources
Physical Location
Technological Infrastructure
Operational Procedures
Essential Actions:
Asset Identification
Solution Definition for Recovery
Plan Drafting
Recovery Site Selection
Ongoing Refinement and Testing
Moving Forward With a Plan
Ready to work together to design a disaster recovery plan that works for you? From backup solutions, data recovery procedures, failover mechanisms, and regular testing protocols, ensuring you’re protected doesn’t have to be complicated.
At M2 Technology, we do not force anyone into a one size fits all plan. We work with you to develop a plan to fit your needs, protect your assets and keep you within budget. And this is what any great IT solutions partner will do.