In recent years and due to the general economic, social and political situation more and more large or small Companies they feel the need and are exploring the possibility of implementing one Disaster Recovery Plan (DRP). 
The seasons that the legislative framework alone was the reason for creating a DRP have passed. Nowadays, in addition to a substantial "risk premium", implementing such a solution is a sample of maturity, a duty and a good example of respect for customers, staff and the history of each organization.
A well-designed and properly structured DRP cost consists of the three following steps:
- Initially, a thorough study and understanding of the operational needs and functions that should be supported by a company's DRP. The involvement of executives from all departments is almost imperative as DRP is not the sole responsibility of the IT department.
- Secondly, the technical solution should be designed and implemented based on mature and reliable technologies and platforms. The simpler and more comprehensible the solution, the more reliable and the less the chances of failures and surprises in the difficult time.
- Thirdly and perhaps more importantly, the plan should be tested at regular intervals with the involvement of all stakeholders, not just IT departments, but also operational departments and / or production units.
At the same time, the impression that solutions around DRP are extremely costly tends to be overturned. Organizations are now mature and realize that the cost of such a solution is shaped solely by their needs.
Finally, the added value that DRP can bring to an organization may ultimately be limited if it is not accompanied by an equally structured and detailed business continuity plan. BC). Besides, let's not forget that the main objective of each organization is to be able to serve its customers as quickly as possible after a disaster rather than just to secure its data.
Business continuity plans, processes, and technologies combine with the organization's capabilities to ensure the maximum time for proper operation of major applications. BC and DR are often treated as the same "problem", but they are not. BC is used to allow a company to continue to perform its usual operations, while DR is the procedures followed when the BC has not worked or has never been applied.
The Cost of Downtime
In today's global online economy, an organization's IT users and customers are demanding access in applications 24 hours a day, 24 days a week. The time it takes for an organization to recover from a system downtime or data loss can lead to financial risks or, in some cases, cause a business to close.
Review, Investigate, Survey and Consult (RISC):
Business continuity and DR execution are particularly important processes that every organization must fulfill. Before a company decides to spend valuable econditions and money, there are some steps to follow:
Review:
- the number of downtime events that have been in the last 12 months.
- the average downtime per event in the last 12 months.
- the largest downtime event in the last 12 months.
- the downtime of critical applications in the last 12 months.
- system recovery time during the last downtime event.
- Explore: Calculate the cost of the downtime.
Ask:
Ask end-users and / or partners what apps could in no case be "disconnected". This will determine which of them the organization should make readily available in any case and under any circumstances.
Consult:
It is necessary for organizations to engage qualified executives and industry experts for BC and DR. IT system availability is critical for most, if not all, businesses and organizations. Of course, if you think you can't afford a business continuity system, it probably means you can't afford not to have one. So seek the advice of an expert BC / DR and companies technologys.
