A disaster recovery plan is an essential document that outlines the steps a business should take to prepare for and recover from a disaster, Having a thorough and up-to-date disaster recovery plan can mean the difference between a business surviving a disaster or going under
In this comprehensive guide, we will walk through the key steps involved in creating a disaster recovery plan, including:
- Conducting a risk assessment
- Choosing a disaster recovery team
- Backing up critical data
- Outlining disaster recovery procedures
- Testing the disaster recovery plan
- Maintaining and updating the plan
Follow these steps and you will have a robust disaster recovery plan that will help your business bounce back if and when disaster strikes
Step 1: Conduct a Risk Assessment
The first step in crafting your disaster recovery plan is to conduct a thorough risk assessment. This involves closely evaluating your business to identify potential risks, vulnerabilities, and impacts related to:
- Your facilities
- Technology systems and hardware
- Vital records and data
- Supply chain and partnerships
- Utilities and infrastructure
As part of your risk assessment, estimate the potential likelihood and impact of different disaster scenarios based on geographical location, past disasters in your area, and your business operations.
Focus your attention on the highest risk areas and defining disaster scenarios like fires, floods cyber attacks, data corruption, supply chain disruptions and power outages that could significantly impact your business operations. This risk assessment will drive the priorities and strategies outlined in the remainder of your plan.
Step 2: Choose a Disaster Recovery Team
Your disaster recovery plan should identify key team members who will own the disaster recovery process and oversee response and restoration efforts.
Typically, this disaster recovery team includes individuals from:
- Executive leadership
- IT and cybersecurity
- Facilities management
- Communications/PR
- Key business units
Define the roles and responsibilities of each team member. Outline the leadership hierarchy, decision-making protocols, and reporting structures that will be used if a disaster scenario unfolds.
In addition, designate backups for each team member in case one or more become injured or otherwise incapacitated during a disaster. Update this list of names and contacts regularly.
Step 3: Back Up Critical Data
A core component of any disaster recovery plan is a data backup and restoration strategy. Work with your IT team to configure onsite backups as well as offsite or cloud-based backups of your critical systems and data.
Backups should be comprehensive, encrypted, and regularly tested for availability and integrity. Focus on safely backing up:
- Databases
- Software, applications, and configs
- File servers
- Website
- Email server
- Documentation
- Transaction and production data
With backups in hand, also outline the step-by-step procedures for restoring data and systems in the event computing infrastructure is damaged or unavailable for a period of time.
Step 4: Outline Disaster Recovery Procedures
With your backups and team established, the next key element is to define the playbook for how your business will respond before, during and after a disaster scenario.
Pre-Disaster
- Monitoring weather forecasts, cyber threats, and emergency alerts
- Checking backup systems and emergency supplies
- Reviewing/preparing disaster recovery site
- Backing up additional data
- Other proactive steps based on imminent threats
During Disaster
- Activating disaster recovery team
- Executing evacuation procedures
- assessing damage and impacts
- Declaring a disaster
- Isolating affected systems
- Operating in alternate recovery site
- Restoring data from backups
- Contacting employees, stakeholders, partners
Post Disaster
- Repairing damage/restoring facilities
- Conducting IT forensics
- Returning to normal operations
- Creating After Action Reports
- Updating disaster recovery plan with lessons learned
Step 5: Test the Disaster Recovery Plan
Do not assume your disaster recovery plan will work in an actual emergency situation without thorough testing. You should regularly test elements of your plan through:
Simulations
Run simulated scenarios with your disaster recovery team to rehearse response procedures and improve coordination.
Data Restores
Periodically restore backups to ensure you can successfully access and restore the data.
Fire Drills
Test evacuation procedures and identify improvements by timed fire drills.
Failovers
Trigger failover to backup systems and your alternate site to verify successful cutover during an outage.
Use these test results to identify gaps and update your policies, procedures, contact lists, and system configurations.
Step 6: Maintain and Update the Plan
Your disaster recovery plan is not a one-and-done document. It will require regular maintenance and updating for it to remain current and effective. Set a reminder to formally revisit your disaster recovery plan at least annually. In addition, update components of the plan after:
- Major internal changes (staff, leadership, business processes)
- Technology infrastructure changes
- Completing disaster recovery tests and exercises
- Actual disaster events that unveil gaps
- Business expansions like a new location
- Major external threats like new cyber attacks
Maintain version control of your plan and ensure updated copies are distributed to key stakeholders. Print hard copies for accessibility during outages.
By following these best practices for creating and managing your disaster recovery plan, you will be well-equipped to protect your business no matter what disaster comes your way. Stay diligent, test often, and align emergency preparation with your key business risks. A little planning goes a long way when rapid response is essential during a crisis.
How to Write a Disaster Recovery Plan + TemplateAuthor
Senior Content Marketing Manager at SecureframeReviewer
Senior Compliance Manager at Secureframe
A study found that only 54% of organizations have a company-wide disaster recovery plan in place. This percentage is even lower for government IT departments (36%) despite the proliferation of ransomware and other cyber threats.
Not having a documented disaster recovery plan can seriously hamper an organization’s ability to recover lost data and restore its critical systems. This can result in significantly higher financial losses and reputational damage.
To help ensure your organization can recover from disaster as swiftly and easily as possible, learn what exactly a disaster recovery plan is and how to write one. Plus, find some examples and a template to help get you started.
How to write a disaster recovery plan
Writing and maintaining a disaster recovery plan requires collaboration and coordination among key stakeholders across an organization and can seem intimidating. Below we’ll outline the process step by step to help you get started.
7 Steps to Building a Disaster Recovery Plan
Do you need a disaster recovery plan?
A Disaster Recovery Plan must be written, tested, revised as necessary, and disseminated to all employees, who should be involved in periodic tests to make sure they understand their roles in a disaster. An uncommunicated and untested plan is virtually useless.
How do you prepare for a disaster?
Preparedness – Create and regulate a contingency plan for dire situations. Response – Use the contingency response to counteract risks and minimize its impact on the supply chain. Recovery – Once processes are analyzed and recovered, operations can resume to routine procedures. 2. Manage Environmental Risks
What is the difference between business continuity and disaster recovery?
In other words, the business continuity component deals with the overall program and processes that would bring a business back into operation and allow the organization to begin earning revenue again. Disaster recovery is the playbook that is followed in order to bring the individual components back online after a crisis happens.
