Our last three blog posts in this series discussed five disaster recovery best practices:
- Getting a thorough business impact assessment (BIA)
- Finding experienced DR/BC planners and project managers
- Investing the appropriate resources, budget and time
- Planning alternate lines of communication
- Testing thoroughly and frequently
Here’s our last disaster recovery best practice…Keep Your Plans Accurate and Up to Date.
When you first create a disaster recovery plan, you’ll thoroughly document the steps and procedures. However, businesses change all the time and your disaster recovery plan must evolve with your organization. When people join or leave the company, when you add or remove systems—any time something changes, you should update the plan accordingly. In the event of a disaster, you need to know your plan doesn’t rely on an employee who left the company months ago.
Nearly every company in every industry has increased its dependency on computerized information systems, electronic data, and electronic commerce over recent years. While this technology may have dramatically improved business, it has also created a dangerous liability for companies unprotected by a disaster recovery plan.
Why risk it? Effective disaster recovery plans don’t require costly new equipment or technology. They just need sound planning around business needs, active support of top management, sufficient resources, and regular testing and updating.
