The moment a man-made or natural disaster hits your business, bringing back important systems is a priority. Every second that goes by means bigger losses will impact your organization. Understanding your company needs is important and is based on how large your is network, but having a disaster recovery plan example to guide you can help you along the right path.
Network Disaster Recovery- A rundown of the basics
Regardless of your network’s size, drafting a disaster recovery plan (DRP) should consist of the following core steps:
- Finding out what steps you need to take to restore a network outage.
- Choosing roles for each person.
- Thinking about the impacts of certain events.
- Choosing the best plan for recovery.
Companies with small networks
Knowing what services are needed in order to keep a company running is much easier to determine for smaller businesses. The smaller a network is, the fewer points of failure there are to keep track of. Backup and recovery efforts are less involved since there is not as much data.
An example of a company with a smaller network is a law office. A small law office that only needs email and basic computer features will have fewer needs. These types of businesses do not often staff IT employees due to the additional costs. If a law office has a network outage, they will not be able to respond to the incident themselves.
This means they may rely on a managed service provider (MSP) to step in. An MSP can also help with backup storage. Smaller networks do not need the same amount of off-site storage for data, so they may use a scalable third party to meet their needs. Either making local copies of backup data or using a cloud service are options.
Companies with large networks
The ability to remain competitive is important. A large company, like a national bank with multiple locations, will have a very large network that could span across the country. Maintaining operations means keeping banking services online no matter what.
Since larger networks have more points of failure than smaller ones due to their size, this type of disaster recovery plan example has a lot to consider in terms of storage size, network security and more. They have more customers, staff and general company data to safeguard.
However, each enterprise is different, so an MSP is of great value to help them determine what type of plan they need. When disaster strikes, an MSP or consultancy firm may be able to provide insight that a company’s staff does not have.
Are you trying to assess risk? Identify vulnerabilities? Determine requirements? Place resources effectively? A company will need to know early on if they can do this themselves.
Lastly, test your DRP often to make sure it is still effective. Whether you crafted a plan yourself or had help, testing your plan lets you know it works when it’s needed most.
Access a disaster recovery plan example for your business
Here at SecureTech in San Antonio, TX, we can help you establish a solid DR plan for your needs. We offer cloud-based and on-site backup services to help you prepare for and withstand disasters Contact us to set up a demo to assess your company’s needs.