The importance of disaster recovery planning
Most businesses depend heavily on technology and automated systems, and their disruption for even a few days could cause severe financial loss and threaten survival.
The continued operations of an organisation depend on management’s awareness of potential disasters, their ability to develop a plan to minimise disruptions of critical functions and the capability to recover operations expediently and successfully.
A disaster recovery plan is a comprehensive statement of consistent actions to be taken before, during and after a disaster. The plan should be documented and tested to ensure the continuity of operations and availability of critical resources in the event of a disaster.
The objectives of disaster recovery planning
The primary objective of disaster recovery planning is to protect the organisation in the event that all or part of its operations and/or computer services are rendered unusable. Preparedness is the key. The planning process should minimise the disruption of operations and ensure some level of organisational stability and an orderly recovery after a disaster.
Other objectives of disaster recovery planning include:
- providing a sense of security
- minimising the risk of delays
- guaranteeing the reliability of standby systems
- providing a standard for testing the plan
- minimising decision making during a disaster.
Planning process methodology
The process of developing a disaster recovery plan can be broken down into ten steps.
1. Obtain top management commitment
Top management must support and be involved in the development of the disaster recovery planning process. Management should be responsible for coordinating the disaster recovery plan and ensuring its effectiveness within the organisation.
Adequate time and resources must be committed to the development of an effective plan. Resources could include both financial considerations and the effort of all personnel involved.
2. Establish a planning committee
A planning committee should be appointed to oversee the development and implementation of the plan. The planning committee should include representatives from all functional areas of the organisation. Key committee members should include the operations manager and the data processing manager. The committee also should define the scope of the plan.
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