Disaster Recovery
An explanation of Disaster Recovery
Disaster Recovery is the process, policies and procedures of restoring operations critical to the resumption of business, including regaining access to data (records, hardware, software, etc.), communications (incoming, outgoing, toll-free, fax, etc.), workspace, and other business processes after a natural or human-induced disaster.
To increase the opportunity for a successful recovery of systems, data etc a well-established and thoroughly tested data recovery plan must be developed.
A disaster recovery plan (DRP) should also include plans for coping with the unexpected or sudden loss of communications and/or key personnel, although these are not covered in this article, the focus of which is data protection. DRP is part of a larger process known as business continuity planning (BCP).
Some pertinent facts about disaster recovery:-
- 93% of businesses that experience a disaster go out of business within 5 years.
- Two out of five enterprises that experience a disaster go out of business within five years.
- 80% percent of all companies that experience a business interruption of greater than five days,without recovery plans, go out of business.
- 43% of companies that experience a disaster but have a business recovery plan in place never reopen.
- According to the Disaster Recovery Journal, of those companies that experience a significant data loss, 43% go out of business within the first year, 72% go out in the second year.
- Financial and functional loss increases rapidly after the onset of an outage.
- Recent research suggests some 75% of businesses that experience disaster with no recovery planning in place will go out of business within two years.
The growing importance of disaster recovery
With the rise in information technology and the reliance on business-critical information, the importance of protecting irreplaceable data has become a more visible business priority in recent years. This is especially evident in information technology, with most companies relying on their computer systems as critical infrastructure in their business. As a result, most companies are aware that they need to backup their digital information to limit data loss and to aid data recovery.
Most large companies spend between 2% and 4% of their IT budget on disaster recovery planning; this is intended to avoid larger losses.
An effective recovery plan will list each possible type of problem and specify the steps that should be taken in the event that disaster strikes. Details about who is responsible for carrying out each step of the recovery plan would also be specified clearly, so there is no confusion regarding who is accountable for each task. When recovery plans can be implemented immediately, the process of returning to normal operations can be expedited.
Disaster recovery - a custom solution
Disaster recovery planning means many things to different organisations. MailSure can use its extensive experience to produce a tailor made solution. The need for disaster recovery can be driven by many factors including:-
- specific industry risks
- increasing number of critical systems
- customers expecting a DR plan prior to trading with your organisation
- internal adoption of a 'best practice' approach to risk management.
Therefore, when designing a disaster recovery solution for clients, we adopt a bespoke approach taking into account your organisations' individual needs, risks and budget.
MailSure typically starts from a complete review of the systems and infrastructure in place; the applications in use and underlying data associated with those applications to design a solution which meets your organisations restoration thresholds and expectations. By taking into account aspects like proportionate levels of risk, post-disaster working options, access alternatives and budget we work with you to arrive at a practicable and realistic solution.
We also provide solutions for voice, as well as data infrastructures, so that communication at all levels can be maintained in a disaster scenario.
MailSure has the experience and expertise to quickly aid your organisation especially when disaster should occur.