Disaster Recovery Journal

A few weeks ago we had a blog post about the business continuity plan (BCP) and what this really means for your organization. By thinking about the definition of the term and inherent actions within it, you can better understand what BCP really means for you and the longevity of your organization.

In this week's blog post, we'll take a deeper look at the disaster recovery plan (DRP). Of course, don't forget to visit the DRJ Glossary to get a very solid grounding in the basic terms and terminology associated with BCP and DRP.

To help us get on the same path of thinking and understanding, here is a refresher on the key terms:

Business Continuity Plan: Process of developing and documenting arrangements and procedures that enable an organization to respond to an event that lasts for an unacceptable period of time and return to performing its critical functions after an interruption.

Disaster Recovery Plan: The management approved document that defines the resources, actions, tasks and data required to manage the technology recovery effort. Usually refers to the technology recovery effort. This is a component of the Business Continuity Management Program.

So, these are the basic bare bones definitions for BCP and DRP. But what do these two terms really mean for your organization? It is one thing to read the definitions, review the rules and regulations, review the GAP document, and participate in webinars - it is taking this information beyond listening/education and putting it into action is where we get to the real meanings of BCP and DRP.

(In this blog post we’ll take a look at DRP. BCP is covered here.)

So reviewing the definition of DRP can get you quickly into some head-scratching and likely some long meetings... So what does this term really mean? At its core, the DRP is a document and plan that ensures your organization will be ready in the event of a threat or disaster.

What is often overlooked in the definition of DRP is the focus on technology. Yes, the DRP should be focused on your technology infrastructure and ensuring its longevity. Regardless of the type of company you are running or working for, you have a technology infrastructure that needs to be considered. For example, this technology includes:

• Employee desktop and laptop computers - what will your team do if a power outage wipes out work-in-progress? Do you have a back-up plan and offsite data storage system?
• Email system - what happens to your emails in the event of a collapse of your servers? Are emails archived off-site? How do you determine what to archive?
• Servers - you likely have a room with a number of servers that support your internal technology and if you have a software or hardware company, these servers are critical to testing, development, research and sales. So what happens if the server room is flooded or if the air conditioning unit stops working on a long weekend?
• Human resources data - how and where do you store employee data and other associated human resources data? Payroll must continue, employee benefits must be up-to-date regardless of the power outage, flood, or ice storm.
• Continuity of work - when your company experiences a threat or disaster, how will your team continue to work and communicate? Do you have an off-site work plan in place or maybe a temporary office space that can be used? Remember customers still need their emails answered, orders filled and investors need to be confident that you can recover.

These are just some of the questions and concerns that you need to be ready to answer and respond to - and should all be covered in your DRP. Now lets take a closer look at a critical component to this overall definition:

Disaster Recovery: The technical aspect of business continuity. The collection of resources and activities to re-establish information technology services (including components such as infrastructure, telecommunications, systems, applications and data) at an alternate site following a disruption of IT services. Disaster recovery includes subsequent resumption and restoration of those operations at a more permanent site.

Yes, this is why a DRP is so vital. Without it you won't have the ability to maintain business as usual. Disaster Recovery is really quite straightforward - think about, analyze, meet with others, test, and formulate your plan. If you're not sure how to do this or even believe that this something you "need" to do - review the rules and regulations and take a long hard read of the GAP document.

To be blunt, formulating the DRP and having a clear understanding of your organization's Disaster Recovery is necessary for any organization. It doesn't matter if you have a home-based business with one or two laptops (what will you do if you spill a glass of water on your laptop) or if you have a large organization with hundreds of employees with laptops, desktop computers, mobile devices and a server room full of computers - you need to have a plan.

Vicki Thomas is an Associate Editor with Disaster Recovery Journal

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