In the world of information technology, disasters come in many shapes and sizes. The loss of a single mission critical database can be seen as a business-threatening disaster to some organizations. At the other end of the spectrum, unexpected events can force the complete shutdown of an enterprise’s data center for an extended period of time. Falling between these two examples are a variety of circumstances that impact a portion of an IT environment and can cripple a company as they struggle to cope with the situation.

A disaster is usually thought of as being the result of extreme environmental or weather events such as a hurricane, flood, or fire. While this concept may be true when discussing the impact on municipal services or utilities, it is insufficient to describe the many ways in which an organization’s computing landscape can be severely negatively affected. Additional concerns such as cyberattacks, faulty software, equipment failure, and human error can have catastrophic consequences for a company’s IT resources.

Without a realistic disaster recovery plan, an organization is tempting fate regarding the ability of their IT department to restore their computing environment. There are many moving parts required to quickly and effectively address the sudden failure or shutdown of a company’s computer systems. This paper will take an in-depth look at the components that need to be incorporated into the creation of a disaster recovery plan.

The majority of organizations rely heavily on their databases and computer systems and would suffer irreparable harm if they were unavailable for any considerable length of time. Developing a robust disaster recovery plan with coordinated backup schedules and policies is an essential step in protecting against the loss of an enterprise’s computing resources. Though under optimal circumstances it will never be used to deal with an actual disaster, it is essential, not optional, for your company to develop and test a disaster recovery plan. Your organization’s survival may depend on it.

This whitepaper describes disaster recovery, how to define a realistic disaster recovery plan, what makes a disaster recovery plan successful, how ensure the correct backup strategy is in palace, how to perform periodic testing, and the focus areas of a disaster recovery test post-mortem.

Presenter: Robert Agar

Robert Agar spent a long and diverse career specializing in data backup, recovery, and compliance among other areas of the IT world. Tired of being woken up at all hours to provide support, he embarked on a new career as a freelance writer focusing on various areas of the tech sector. Outside interests include music, sports, and poker. He shares his home office with two green-cheeked conures who suggest topics and engage in the occasional proofreading exercise.