The #COVID19 pandemic highlighted significant gaps businesses face in predicting disasters. Though we wouldn’t advise using a crystal ball, businesses and organizations need some methodology or framework to prepare for a disaster, the future, and the evolution of ‘business as usual.’
In 17 years partnering with clients, ICAP uses FIVE basic principles to guide disaster recovery. If you’re developing a Disaster Recovery plan or considering it, below are some helpful questions to ask yourselves while implementing the principles:
1. Understanding
What are the foreseeable and unforeseeable disasters?
What are the biggest priorities? What’s urgent, not as urgent, or in a couple days or more?
How much downtime of each system can be handled?
2. Planning
What’s your Recovery Point Objective?
How long does recovery take?
What are your objectives? Where will you store the physical plan if all electronic documents are unavailable?
After a system inventory, when can you practice an event?
3. Communicating
When? How? What?
Who is the audience for this communication?
What is each person’s role in this Disaster Recovery?
What’s the hierarchy?
How does this contingency need to be coordinated? As things change?
4. Recovering
What do we need to recover?
Who needs to be involved?
What systems and vendors need to be involved for recovery to begin?
Because everything won’t be perfect, how can we execute well and maintain security?
5. Backing Out
How to reverse the DR plan once it’s in place?
What is most important?
What step needs to go first?
