Disaster Recovery Plan
A Disaster Recovery Plan (DRP) is a documented, structured approach to restoring IT systems, data, and infrastructure after a catastrophic event. The goal is to minimize downtime and restore operations as quickly as possible.
Further information
Link: Disaster Recovery Plan
Why it's needed
- Minimizes data loss
- Reduces downtime and costs
- Business continuity
- Legal regulations and compliance requirements
- Protects against attacks
Components of a DRP
Risk analysis & identifying threats
e.g.:
- Cyberattacks (hackers, ransomware)
- Hardware or software failures
Determine Critical Systems and Data
Which systems are vital to the company's survival?
- Servers, databases, networks
- Business applications (ERP, CRM, financial systems)
- Customer data & company data
Define Recovery Objectives (RTO & RPO)
Recovery Time Objective (RTO)
- What is the maximum system downtime?
Recovery Point Objective (RPO) How much data is acceptable to lose?
Backup Strategy & Storage Locations
Where and how is data backed up?
- On-site backup (local)
- Off-site backup (at a remote location)
- Cloud backup (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud)
- Incremental & differential backups
Backup Strategy
- Daily incremental backups (back up small changes)
- Weekly full backups (back up complete data)
- Monthly off-site backups (store externally for security)
Disaster Recovery Sites (Backup Data Centers)
If the main data center fails, an alternative must be available.
Disaster Recovery Processes (Step-by-Step Plan)
- Identify the problem (e.g., server failure, cyberattack)
- Report to the DR team
- Activation of the disaster recovery plan
- Data recovery from backups
- System review & testing
- Resumption of normal operations
Disaster Recovery Team & Responsibilities
- Disaster Recovery Manager – Coordinates the plan
- IT team – Repairs hardware, restores data
- Security team – Investigates cyberattacks
- Communications team – Informs customers & partners
Tests & Simulations
A DRP must be tested regularly!
- Tabletop exercise: Theoretical discussion of the plan
- Simulation: Real-time testing in a test environment
- Failover test: Switching to a backup data center