Disaster recovery? Be prepared!

It's a sad fact that some disasters you just can't plan for. When it comes to IT, however, contingency plans can be made. A disaster recovery plan is like an 'IT assets safety net' and planning for the worst is increasingly important as our dependence upon technology grows ever more apparent and industry and government rules on data protection tighten.

Appropriate disaster recovery solutions ensure business continuity and can often be the difference between surviving and flailing. Mike Philpott, Operations Director at Datashare Solutions stresses that disaster recovery planning is the kind of preparation that all businesses need to take seriously:

"A serious IT incident can happen at any time, so disaster recovery planning is vital if your business is to be adept at coping in a crisis situation," he says.

Avoid a business meltdown

"Effective disaster recovery planning is good business practice and it requires buy-in at all levels from the Board down," he continues. "All tiers of personnel need to know what to do if technological disaster strikes so that essential business processes and activities can continue without a meltdown scenario ensuing.

"Preparation is key. You will need to consider all necessary documents and data, naturally maintaining confidentiality on sensitive information. You also need to give consideration to key business areas, their processes and their dependencies on systems, data, communications and members of staff. It takes true commitment and the appropriate allocation of resources.

No short cuts allowed

 "Your disaster recovery plan needs to be rock solid: clear, concise and with no margin for error. There's no benefit in compromising on quality or taking short cuts, because if push comes to shove and you do find yourself in an adverse situation, your plan needs to be definitive in steering you through a crisis and safely out the other end."

Free disaster recovery plan template

Help is at hand from disaster recovery solutions specialist Datashare Solutions in the shape of a disaster recovery plan template - free of charge to businesses who appreciate the business-critical need for practical IT protection.

It can't stop the threat of viral attack, theft or unauthorised access to your business data, but a disaster recovery plan certainly can provide the reassurance that should the worse happen, your business has safeguards in place and knows how to implement them.

For a disaster recovery plan template, free of charge, or to find out more about Datashare Solutions' market leading ISO27001 Cerberus disaster recovery solutions, please contact us now.