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Disaster recovery plan definition
Disaster recovery is a critical aspect of an organization’s overall business continuity strategy. A DRP lays out a clear and structured approach to responding to disruptions and ensuring the preservation of essential operations, data, and systems. The plan outlines the procedures for restoring normal operations in the event of a disaster and includes the identification of critical systems and data, alternate site locations, communication protocols, and testing processes. It is essential that organizations regularly review and update their disaster recovery plan to ensure its effectiveness and relevance in the ever-changing technology landscape.
What is a disaster recovery plan?
A disaster recovery plan is crucial for organizations as it ensures that business data can be restored in the event of a disaster, such as hardware failure, malware, hacking, human error, or any other event that can cause data corruption or loss. This plan should outline the steps to be taken before, during, and after a disaster, to ensure that the restoration process is efficient and effective. By creating a comprehensive disaster recovery plan, organizations can minimize the impact of data loss and protect their mission-critical information.

The BCP and the DRP are complementary and should be developed together to ensure that all necessary information is included. The BCP covers all aspects of the organization’s preparedness for and response to a disaster, while the DRP focuses on the specific steps necessary to restore IT systems and data to a normal state of operation. These plans should be reviewed and tested periodically to ensure their continued effectiveness and to identify any necessary changes:
- Business resumption plan
- Occupant emergency plan
- Continuity of operations plan
- Incident management plan (IMP)
- Disaster recovery plan
The disaster recovery plan focuses on the restoration of IT systems and data in the event of a disaster. It outlines the steps and procedures necessary to recover the IT infrastructure and restore normal business operations. This includes identifying critical systems, data, and processes, as well as establishing recovery strategies, such as the use of backup data and failover systems. The disaster recovery plan also includes regular testing and maintenance to ensure its effectiveness in the event of a disaster.
Additionally, the disaster recovery plan should include steps for communicating the disaster response plan to all employees, regularly testing and updating the plan, and conducting training sessions to ensure everyone knows their roles in the event of a disaster. The plan should also identify key personnel and resources needed for disaster recovery, including hardware, software, communications, and supplies. In conclusion, a well-designed disaster recovery plan should minimize downtime, protect sensitive data and ensure a quick return to normal operations after a disaster occurs.
What should a disaster recovery plan include?
Goal
The RTO and RPO should be established in collaboration with business leaders, IT and any other stakeholders who are affected by the data. The RTO and RPO should be realistic and achievable, taking into account the organization’s resources, infrastructure, and constraints. In addition to these two goals, the disaster recovery plan should include a risk assessment, identifying potential threats and the likelihood of them occurring, as well as the potential impact on the organization. The plan should also outline the steps to be taken to prevent, detect and correct these threats, as well as procedures for testing and maintaining the plan to ensure it remains up-to-date and effective.
Personnel
It is crucial for a disaster recovery plan to identify the individuals accountable for carrying out the plan and have contingency measures in place in case any of those responsible become inaccessible.

IT inventory
A comprehensive IT inventory should be maintained and include information about all hardware and software assets, cloud services and their respective importance to the company’s operation. The inventory should indicate whether the assets are owned, leased or used as a service and specify which of them are essential to business operations.
Backup procedures
The disaster recovery plan must outline the specific backup methods for each data resource, including the location, type of device, and folder. It must also explain the process for recovering each resource from backup.


Disaster recovery procedures
The DRP must also outline specific steps and procedures to be taken in the event of a disaster. These procedures should be separate from the backup procedures and should clearly specify the emergency response measures, including the implementation of final backups, steps to minimize damage, measures to eliminate cybersecurity threats, etc.
Disaster recovery sites
A comprehensive disaster recovery plan should include the designation of a hot disaster recovery site. This remote location serves as an alternative data center that holds all critical systems, with frequent data backup or replication. In the event of a disaster, operations can quickly be transferred to the hot site, ensuring a seamless continuation of business processes.

Restoration procedures
In conclusion, a comprehensive disaster recovery plan should consist of a clear statement of goals and objectives, identification of key personnel and their responsibilities, a detailed inventory of hardware and software assets, backup and recovery procedures for each data resource, designating a hot disaster recovery site, and a structured approach for restoring full systems operations in the event of a disaster. It is essential to tailor the plan to meet the specific needs of the organization and to ensure that all critical details are included. The DRP should address various types of downtime and disasters, including data loss, natural disasters, power outages, cyber threats, and other issues, to ensure the successful restoration of business operations.
The DRP must include a comprehensive list of all IT staff members along with their contact information, defined roles and responsibilities. It is important to ensure that each team member is familiar with the disaster recovery plan prior to an emergency, so that they have the necessary permissions and access codes to carry out their duties. It is always advisable to have alternate arrangements in place, even if the team is considered to be immune to any disaster.
The disaster recovery plan must also address business continuity by providing specific details regarding critical applications. The plan should include information on who is responsible for troubleshooting issues and maintaining smooth operations. If the organization intends to use cloud backup or disaster recovery services, the vendor name, contact information, and a list of authorized employees who can request support during a disaster should be included in the plan. Ideally, the vendor and organizational contacts should be aware of each other.
A well-developed disaster recovery plan should also consider media communication strategies. In particular, large organizations or those that require 24/7 availability, such as government agencies or healthcare providers, should have a designated public relations contact and a clear media plan in place. It’s important to research disaster recovery plan examples in your industry or sector to find specific best practices and language to use in your own plan.
Benefits of a disaster recovery plan
Cost-efficiency
the process of creating a disaster recovery plan itself helps organizations identify inefficiencies and areas for improvement, and implement better processes, thereby increasing overall cost-efficiency. Regular testing and updating of the disaster recovery plan also ensures its continued relevance and effectiveness, reducing the risk of downtime and data loss in the event of a disaster. In summary, a well-designed disaster recovery plan can improve cost-efficiency, increase productivity and ensure better service to customers while meeting regulatory requirements.
Increased productivity
Having well-defined roles and responsibilities within the disaster recovery plan improves efficiency and productivity among the team. It also provides backup personnel for critical tasks, enhances productivity during absences, and reduces the costs associated with staff turnover.
Improved customer retention
Disaster recovery planning helps organizations to deliver better quality service to their customers and maintain their loyalty. A well-executed DRP minimizes the risk of data loss and downtime, ensuring that customers receive a consistent level of service during and after a disaster. In today’s highly competitive marketplace, customers demand reliable and secure services, and any failure to deliver can result in loss of trust and confidence, which can be difficult to regain. By implementing a robust disaster recovery plan, organizations can demonstrate their commitment to their customers and establish themselves as a trusted partner in business.
Compliance
Therefore, it is crucial for organizations to have a well-thought-out and tested disaster recovery plan in place to ensure that they are prepared for unexpected events and can quickly and efficiently restore critical operations and services. Compliance with industry regulations is an important aspect of disaster recovery planning and should not be overlooked. Failing to have a proper disaster recovery plan can result in significant financial, reputational, and legal consequences for organizations, so it is essential to invest the time and resources needed to develop a comprehensive and effective plan.
Scalability
Disaster recovery planning not only helps businesses prepare for unforeseen events, but it can also bring numerous benefits to the overall operation of the company. By identifying solutions to reduce the cost of data maintenance, backup, and recovery, businesses can take advantage of cloud-based technology, which provides greater flexibility and scalability.
By streamlining the IT process, disaster recovery planning can reduce the risk of human error, eliminate unnecessary hardware, and optimize the overall efficiency of the business. The planning process itself can be seen as an advantage, making the company more profitable and resilient in the long run.
Ways to develop a disaster recovery plan
Risk assessment : It involves identifying and analyzing the potential risks, threats, and vulnerabilities that could negatively impact an organization’s IT systems, processes, and data. The goal of risk assessment is to determine the likelihood and impact of these events and prioritize the mitigation strategies based on the level of risk.
During risk assessment, the following steps are followed:
- Identifying assets: The first step is to identify the IT assets that are critical to the operations of the organization. This includes hardware, software, data, and other resources that are essential for business continuity.
- Threat identification: The next step is to identify the potential threats that could impact these assets. These could be natural disasters, cyber-attacks, hardware failures, human errors, or any other events that could cause disruption.
- Vulnerability assessment: After identifying the threats, the next step is to assess the vulnerabilities that make the assets susceptible to these threats. This includes the weaknesses in the infrastructure, systems, and processes that could be exploited by attackers.
- Impact analysis: The next step is to determine the impact of each threat on the organization. This includes the extent of damage, the time required to recover, and the cost of the recovery process.
- Risk prioritization: Based on the impact analysis, the final step is to prioritize the mitigation strategies based on the level of risk. The mitigation strategies should target the highest priority risks first, to minimize the impact of any disaster on the organization.
Risk assessment is a continuous process that should be updated regularly to keep up with the changing threat landscape and to ensure the disaster recovery plan remains effective.
Evaluate critical needs : The next step in developing a disaster recovery plan is to establish priorities for operations and processing by evaluating the critical needs of each department. This is an important step in the DRP process as it helps you determine which systems and applications are critical to your business operations and which ones can be temporarily shut down in the event of a disaster. The evaluation of critical needs should take into account the impact of downtime on the business and the time required to restore the affected systems.
Collect data and create the written document : Once priorities have been established, you can then prepare written agreements for selected alternatives. This includes agreements with vendors, service providers, or partners for alternative solutions in case of a disaster. The agreements should include details such as the cost, duration, guarantee of compatibility, hours of operation, what constitutes an emergency, non-mainframe resource requirements, system testing, termination conditions, a procedure for notifying users of system changes, personnel requirements, specifications on required processing hardware and other equipment, a service extension negotiation process, and other contractual issues. This helps ensure that all parties involved understand their roles and responsibilities in case of a disaster, and it helps ensure that the DRP is comprehensive and effective.
Set disaster recovery plan objectives : Then, determine the resources required to achieve each RTO and RPO. This includes the necessary hardware, software, personnel, and facilities, as well as the cost of any additional equipment or services that may be needed in an emergency.
Once the resources have been determined, create a step-by-step plan for each mission-critical function, including procedures for data backup and recovery, hardware replacement, and system and network reconfiguration. Make sure the plan is comprehensive, clear, and easy to follow, with clear and concise instructions for each step.
Assign responsibility for each step in the plan to specific team members, and ensure that all team members are familiar with their roles and responsibilities. Regularly test and update the plan to ensure that it remains effective and relevant in the event of an actual disaster.
Finally, communicate the disaster recovery plan to all relevant stakeholders, including employees, customers, partners, and other key stakeholders. Make sure that everyone understands their role in the event of an emergency, and that they know how to access the necessary resources and information.
RPO vs RTO
Recovery Point Objective (RPO) and Recovery Time Objective (RTO) are two important concepts in disaster recovery and business continuity planning.
RPO refers to the maximum acceptable amount of data loss that an organization is willing to tolerate. It represents the point in time to which the data must be recovered after a disaster. For example, an RPO of 4 hours means that an organization is willing to accept data loss of up to 4 hours in the event of a disaster.
RTO, on the other hand, is the amount of time within which normal business operations must be resumed after a disaster. It is a measure of the maximum allowable downtime for the business. For example, an RTO of 8 hours means that the organization aims to resume normal operations within 8 hours of a disaster.
In summary, RPO is concerned with the data loss and RTO is concerned with the downtime of the business. Both metrics play a critical role in determining the overall disaster recovery strategy and are used to ensure that the organization can recover from a disaster in a timely and effective manner.
The following table compares and contrasts these two metrics:

Strategies and tools for a disaster recovery plan
A disaster recovery plan outlines the steps an organization needs to take to recover from a disaster. Here are some common strategies and tools that can be used to implement a disaster recovery plan:
Backup and Recovery: This involves creating regular backups of data and systems and storing them in a secure off-site location. In the event of a disaster, the backups can be used to restore the data and systems. Tools such as cloud-based backup solutions, tape backup systems, and disk-based backup systems can be used for this purpose.
Business Continuity Planning: This strategy involves identifying critical business processes and systems and creating plans to ensure that they can continue to function during and after a disaster. This can include developing alternate work arrangements, such as remote work or backup facilities, and identifying alternate suppliers or vendors.
Cloud Computing: Cloud computing can be a valuable tool for disaster recovery, as it enables organizations to store their data and run their applications in a secure, remote location. In the event of a disaster, organizations can switch over to the cloud and continue their operations without interruption.
Hot Sites: A hot site is a backup facility that is equipped with all the necessary hardware, software, and data to resume operations in the event of a disaster. Organizations can use hot sites as an alternative work location until their primary facilities are restored.
Disaster Recovery as a Service (DRaaS): DRaaS is a cloud-based disaster recovery solution that enables organizations to store their backups and run their applications in a secure, remote location. In the event of a disaster, organizations can quickly switch over to the DRaaS environment and continue their operations.
These are some of the strategies and tools that can be used to implement a disaster recovery plan. The specific strategies and tools used will depend on the organization’s specific needs and the type of disaster it is preparing for.