We’ve blogged before about the fact that having a disaster recovery plan in place is critical. But that’s not the end of the story. It isn’t a simple write it once job. For a disaster recovery plan to be truly effective if you should need to use it, it will require continual work to ensure it reflects your current business circumstances and to train your key staff
As a business it is up to you to decide exactly how often to review your disaster recovery plan. There is no set timeframe for which to do this. It will depend on many factors within your business and your approach to risk management. Here we look at three factors which, if they happen within your business, could mean it is time to review your disaster recovery plan and ensure that it is still fit for purpose.
Change of business premises
Businesses move premises for a variety of reasons. Maybe you have outgrown your previous premises, are relocating or need additional business premises. As your business grows and expands, the nature of the risks that you face will also evolve.
A new location could open up new risks. Your new location may leave you more exposed to flood risk. Or increasing the capacity of your business may mean you have more employees who would need to be relocated. Likewise, moving location will likely render your current back up locations inappropriate.
IT System Upgrade
Your IT systems will not remain static over the years. Changes to your operating system, service providers, the way that you store your data or changes to your hardware will all impact on your disaster recovery plan.
In today’s world, the need to be always available and businesses reliance on IT systems and functionality to fulfil this need has never been greater. Coupled with the increasing risk of cyber-crime it’s not hard to see why IT systems will play a crucial role in your disaster recovery plan. And therefore, why it is critical to stay on top of any changes and reflect these in the information included in your plan.
Change of key staff
Your disaster recovery plan will inevitably name key staff and provide them with roles related to the area of the business for which they are accountable. Yet all businesses will have staff members leave or move to a different position within their business. If you need to activate your disaster recovery plan but key staff members are no longer employed, then your whole approach could fall apart.
It’s therefore important to review your plan regularly and ensure all members of staff included are still employed by your business. Equally important is ensuring new members of your team who are to be responsible for areas of your plan are fully trained and onboard with your approach to disaster recovery.
So many facets of your business will change on a regular basis. The one thing that won’t change is the fact that your business will face risks and the potential for disaster to strike. So, it makes business sense to not only have a disaster recovery plan in place but to update it on a regular basis and ensure that you train you staff on all aspects of your strategy.
You can also strengthen your position by having a disaster recovery specialist such as First Recovery by your side. We can provide support to your business at time of disaster, including relocating you to a recovery centre and providing back up IT systems. If you have any questions about our service or how we can help contact us today.