Over the last few years, and in view of the overall economic, social and political situation, more and more large or smaller companies feel the need and explore the possibility of implementing a 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.
- On a second level, technique solution should be designed and implemented based on mature and reliable technologies and platforms. The simpler and more understandable the solution, the more reliable and the fewer chances for failures and surprises at a 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 Continuity - 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 demand access to applications 24/24. The time it takes an organization to recover from a system downtime or loss data it can lead to financial risks or, in some cases, cause the closure of a business.
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 resources 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 essential for organizations to involve specialist executives and industry specialists for BC and DR. The availability of the IT system is critical for most, if not all, businesses and organizations. If, of course, you think you are not financially capable of a business continuity system, it may mean that you do not have the luxury of not having such a system. Therefore, seek advice from a specialist BC / DR and technology companies.
