Disaster recovery for a business is a tricky road. Statistics indicate that nearly half of businesses struggle to reopen after going through a disaster. Now you might be wondering, what does the word disaster mean in this context? A disaster could be as simple as a minor chokehold in the supply chain, a vendor disappearing, which can cause a chain reaction, leading to losing clients, especially if your business is in a competitive market. However, it could also mean major data and security breaches that can lead to permanent infrastructural damage, and the cost of repair can really set a business back financially. The greatest way of avoiding this outcome could simply be devising a Disaster Recovery Plan (DRP) preemptively to counter any blowback. Here are a few ways in which a DRP can protect your business.
Help Restore the Data
One key way in which a DRP can help your business is by helping you restore your data. Data in today’s world is currency, and if your business ends up losing data due to a security breach, you could be closing the shop by evening. The first advice is, consider employing a company that offers planning for disaster recovery as a service. Next, assess the risks and have them prepare a comprehensive report. Once you are aware of all your data assets that could potentially be at risk, the next step should be setting up a hard drive backup of your data and designing a system through which new data is constantly and systematically added to the backup drives. You can consider using cloud storage for this purpose, too, but you should still rely on a hard drive. At the end, it is probably best to have both forms of backup.
Reinforce Your Cybersecurity Measures
Cybersecurity is a big threat, especially if your company is growing and getting bigger by the minute. First things first, you must make sure that your backup cloud storage has an extra layer of cyber protection from attacks. Because if your company’s data is being attacked, it is likely they will go after the backup storage too. You also need comprehensive cybersecurity measures to protect your operating systems in real time to prevent them from crashing. This is a mix of DRP and real-time surveillance and monitoring that acts in a preventive manner. You can also consider partnering up with third-party security services providers to protect your data. It also legally makes it binding on these third parties to ensure protection, or they can be sued for the damages later on, the kind of money that can keep your dwindling business afloat in the event of a disaster.
Minimal Downtime
Now that the hard system is laid out, you need to work on the part of the recovery plan that dictates how you can bounce back from a disaster as soon as possible. Once a disaster hits and your company goes into maintenance mode, your clients will start to get uneasy. Your priority should always be getting your services and customer support online as soon as possible, so people can at least have answers, if not service. A proactive approach to engaging the customers about a potential disaster can help pacify them and minimize their expectations. But if you go off the grid without an explanation they are bound to become frustrated. Consider setting up a clear RTO (recovery time objective) and an RPO (recovery point objective) to ensure a minimum amount of time to get back online and a maximum amount of data that you can lose in a potential breach.
Use Automation Tools
Have a backup automated system ready to be used in the event of a disaster. This automated backup process can help reduce the RTO and put you back on the map a lot faster, which will foster a sense of trust in your clients and might even end up reaping some marketing as a result of the breach, which is not all too bad. It can also significantly reduce the risk of another human error, which can happen in chaotic circumstances.
Conclusion
DRPs are often viewed as a luxury that only big companies can afford, but the reality is, if your small company does not have the right tools handy, it could lose a small company to a serious attack in the absence of a DRP.