Is Disaster Recovery Planning Really Worth the Cost

A disaster recovery plan, or DRP, is a series of protocols observed in order to protect and to recover IT infrastructure in the case of disasters or events that result in data loss. Such disasters could be natural, like floods, or be man-made like accidental deletion, deliberate data sabotage etc. A comprehensive plan details whom to contact in the event of a disaster as well as steps to observe to mitigate the occurrences of such threats. A detailed recovery plan ensures you are back online within the shortest possible time in the event that a disaster that takes you offline occurs.

The Costs of Disasters

Disasters pose significant risks to businesses. The damage can be manifold and devastating. You could lose sensitive information critical to the running of your business and spend millions for restoration.

Data Loss

The internet has ushered in an era of information overload, making every bit of data you have carefully collected more critical than before. The cost of curating data could be so overwhelming they form a potential barrier to entry against newer firms. Without a plan of recovery, losing such information could set you back greatly in both time and dollars. You might lose customer insights and business leads and, sometimes, key invoices needed for regulatory and audit purposes; the legal impasse could be catastrophic to the continuity of your business.

Financial Loss

An incomplete or nonexistent disaster recovery plan can set you back several thousands of dollars in the event of a forced downtime. A hacker can unleash ransomware on your business and hold information on your servers to ransom. The ransomware encrypts the information and denies you access until you cough up the demanded amount. A typical example of a ransomware in action is when Notpetya infected more than a hundred thousand computers in over a hundred countries in 2017. This ransomware costed pharmaceutical giant, Merck, over $300 million in the third quarter alone.

In the event of such an attack on your business, a lack of disaster recovery plan might cost you the confidence of your clients. Customers and partners invest in you by giving you access to personally identifiable data. They give you the information based on trust and the agreement that you will not use it for illicit purposes. The moment their information gets into the wrong hands because third parties were able to access them through your business, you lose that trust. In a world where personal information is a prized currency, the reputation damage could be difficult to recover from.

Downtime

Only 53% of organisations are able to manage less than one hour of downtime before they start to suffer setbacks in revenues and performance, an ESG Research Review Data Protection Survey says. This means that within the first hour of your systems shutting down due to a disaster, your business will start experiencing serious problems that affect operations. This period could last from between an hour and many days if you have no plan of action in place. The losses could be permanent in some cases.

Forming a Plan

Disaster recovery plans can require costly outlays at the onset. However, a careful audit of your business needs could help you create a more pragmatic approach to securing your business in the event of disasters.

People and Power

Prevention is key. The first move in any disaster recovery plan is to take steps to avoid a disaster at all costs. With computers and other IT infrastructure, one of the reasons for downtime and equipment breakdown is erratic power supply. Surges in current can cause serious damages to your computers and other hardware devices. If your environment suffers such frequent power surges or outages, it’s important to invest in an alternative and stable power plant to protect your computing devices.

Protecting your network and server from cyber attacks is another crucial preventive mechanism. Some cyber attacks will cause your network to crash, while others will encrypt your data and make it inaccessible. Investing in intrusion prevention and detection systems like firewalls will prevent malware from attacking your network and knocking it offline. All existing and new software must be adopted only when security implications are considered and properly addressed.

Having well-trained personnel to handle sensitive data is equally important as it limits system exposure to unqualified personnel. Ensure your security protocols spell out who has access to what information. All workers should also be trained on the importance of security and must be enjoined to follow security protocols at all times. A poorly trained worker can inadvertently cause serious damage to your business by exposing your network to rogue codes and illegal access.

Recovery

There are various tiers of recovery processes that can be followed to ensure the integrity of your IT infrastructure. In hot recoveries, data and tools are available immediately after the disaster hits. The business can move all its operations to the hot site even when the original network is down. This normally requires a prearranged agreement with service providers and could be very expensive depending on your IT infrastructure needs.

Cold recoveries, on the other hand, involve offline restoration where you have to install all new systems during a downtime. Rather than seamlessly transition from a broken system to a new one, a cold site takes time to set up and would normally involve your business being inaccessible for a while. In terms of service charges, cold sites are less expensive for obvious reasons. A warm recovery incorporates a bit of each options depending on your specific business needs.

Considering the potential loss of critical data and the costs involved with dealing with ransomware as well as disturbed clients, a well-thought-out  disaster recovery plan becomes indispensable and very well worth the cost and effort.