The importance of a disaster recovery plan

The importance of a disaster recovery plan cannot be overstated. Regardless of industry, when an unforeseen event takes place and brings day-to-day operations to a halt, your organisation needs to recover as quickly as possible and continue to provide services to your clients. From data security breaches to natural disasters, you must be a plan in place in case of a catastrophe. Not having a disaster recovery plan in place can put the organisation at risk of high financial costs, reputation loss and even greater risks for its clients and customers.

State of the Industry

The 2014 Information Governance Benchmarking Survey reports that only 30% of respondents strongly agree that their organisation's integration of records and information management with business continuity, disaster recovery and crisis management is mature. Most organisations, both public and private, cannot afford unplanned and prolonged downtime and need to be able to recover from an unforeseen emergency as quickly as possible.

Preparing for What Can Happen

Companies that don't currently have a plan in place may recognise the importance of DR but struggle with getting started. Those who have not been affected by unforeseen events and costly unplanned downtime may even think that they are immune from disaster. However, it is better to be prepared since the cost of not having a plan in place can pose serious risks for an organisation.

When putting a plan together, it's best to work with an experienced supplier with vast experience in disaster recovery and business continuity planning. There are many vendors available to assist businesses and organisations that would like to protect themselves from unforeseen events. These vendors offer strategic services to help organisations review their current processes, test for gaps, evaluate and redefine what needs to be done and then actually implement the new disaster recovery plan.

Secure Offsite Data Storage: It Keeps You Running

Floods, terrorist attacks, extreme weather, power outages: a catastrophe can strike without warning. Your company’s best defence is a proactive and dynamic business continuity plan built on secure offsite data storage.

Beyond the Basics

Emergency and disaster recovery planning isn't just clearly marking exit points, practicing fire/safety drills, or making sure you have a data backup ready to go in case something happens. It's about having a clear plan in place to assist your employees and sustain your business. It also means using a secure, secondary infrastructure that hosts all the critical data and systems that run your business and can be accessed when disaster strikes.

With more than 60 years of experience securely managing our customers' data, Iron Mountain acts as a trusted data custodian. We can offer expert advice about how your organisation can best protect its data with tiered storage options.

The benefits and importance of a DR plan are clear. Once a thorough plan is implemented, if an unforeseen and damaging event occurs, you can mitigate risk, minimise downtime, remain compliant and ensure client records are safe and protected through proper records storage.