The Importance of Data Backup and Recovery

Companies that fall victim to a ransomware attack experience 20 days of downtime on average. Can your business afford nearly three weeks of productivity loss? Implementing a disaster recovery plan is one of the most important steps to prevent long-term data loss. A disaster recovery solution details the roles, responsibilities, and steps that must be taken after a significant event. Developing a thorough restoration plan takes time and involves the following steps:

• Verify industry standards: Some organizations must follow industry or federal compliance standards. Before creating your plan, take time to make sure you’re up-to-date with the latest regulatory standards and best practices.
• Pinpoint responsibilities: Your organization’s recovery plan should utilize your staff’s skill sets. Carefully determine each team member’s strengths and issue a task that enables them to maximize it in a crisis.
• Audit IT infrastructure: Thoroughly inspecting your existing IT environment allows you to create a list of essential tools that need to be recovered after a disaster.
• List essential activities: Working with your internal team, develop a ranking of crucial activities that must occur to maintain business continuity. Performing this helps manage risk and monitor for breaches.
• Develop a budget: Managing costs is a top priority for small to medium-sized businesses. Determining how much you’re willing to spend is significant when finalizing the size of your disaster recovery plan.
• Build your strategy: After understanding your current environment and assigning roles, you can begin building your disaster recovery strategy. Make sure to be as specific as possible to ensure an efficient process.
• Test your plan: Following a disaster shouldn’t be the first time you carry out your plan. Regularly testing your disaster recovery plan allows your team to practice and provides key insight into unplanned inconsistencies.