Disaster Recovery is not equal to having backups.
Monthly IT Support Update – August 2016
Hi all, This month I’d like to talk about disaster recovery (DR). I know some of you may have heard the term, and some of you already have a DR plan in place. For those that don’t, this summary is for you.
Simply put, DR is a set of policies and procedures to allow for the continuation or recovery of services in the event of a natural or man-made disaster. Examples are fires and floods – these are more common than you might think, even in metropolitan areas.
Disaster Recovery Planning is critical
The first thing to note is that DR is something that should not be ignored – your business might get lucky and not be affected by a disaster. However, if you do have a disaster and there is no plan, chaos will ensue. Expensive chaos. A DR plan doesn’t have to cost thousands of dollars a month, as long as it’s formally documented and tested, even a basic plan will prevent uncertainty, and in the event of a disaster stop panic from setting in.
Backups ≠ DRP
The second thing to note is that backups aren’t DR. Backups can be a component of a DR plan, but a DR plan encompasses much more than just data, or even IT services. A proper DR plan includes scenarios for the entire business in the event of a disaster. This summary focuses on IT aspects of DR but hopefully, it can also start a dialogue for a holistic business DR plan.
I’m not going to go into the technical specifics of DR in this summary – cold, warm, hot, replication etc. Just know that whatever size your business may be, there is a plan that can be developed to suit.
Please contact us if you would like to learn more about a DR plan for your business.
About the author:
Eden Freeman is Intuitive IT’s Director of IT and outsourced IT manager to our clients. Eden’s no-nonsense and practical approach to IT Management ensures his clients receive the best possible solutions for their IT needs. Eden works across our many and varied clients, ensuring best practice is implemented from a technology perspective and can communicate risks and ideas to the business at the same time. A unique and highly regarded set of skills make him invaluable to the IIT team. Contact Eden here
About the author
Eden has over a decade of experience in the IT industry. Working with numerous organisations from a diverse range of industries; education, finance and renewable energy to name a few.
Prior to joining Intuitive IT Eden worked at a top tier Managed Services provider which gave him valuable experience in a wide array of enterprise level technologies and customer environments.