Questions to Ask Yourself Before Signing Up For A Disaster Recovery Plan


Having a disaster recovery plan is the most important step in salvaging your IT infrastructure when catastrophe strikes. If you don’t have an in-house IT department, your next best move is to turn to a managed services provider.
However, not all disaster recovery plans are created equal. The advanced level planning may be intimidating, and there are a few questions you should ask yourself (and your provider) before signing up for any disaster recovery plan.

What Is My RTO / RPO?

RTO and RPO may sound like technology mumbo-jumbo, but they actually stand for:

·         Recovery Time Objective: In simple terms, the amount of downtime and the estimated recovery time.
·         Recovery Point Objective: In simple terms, the amount of data loss you can tolerate. In other words, the point in your system’s history that you can expect to return to.

Both terms are related, but have different meanings. Your RTO is basically how long your business can last with a specific system (or systems) down and how quickly you’re aiming to restore functionality. Your RPO is the specific point in your system that you aim to restore.

For example, if your system is backed up every night at 10pm and disaster strikes at 8am the next morning, your RTO is to restore your system to the state it was at the last backup, which in this case is 10pm of the previous night. This would mean you will have lost 10 hours’ worth of data (from 10pm-8pm).

For some small businesses, losing 10 hours of uptime overnight and in the wee hours of the morning may be manageable. For larger companies that process online orders around the clock, 10 hours can cost thousands in lost revenue.

Thankfully, not all solutions are created equal and there are different plans available. Ask yourself what your goals are for both RTO and RPO and communicate them with your provider, who can recommend an ideal solution.

Is It Scalable?

A small business that can weather 10 hours of downtime may one day grow into a large enterprise that can’t. An important question to ask yourself and your provider is how scalable your disaster recovery is or should be.

If your business has designs on growth, you’ll want a disaster recovery provider that can grow their solution to meet your changing needs.

How Often Do I Need To Test?

All companies have different needs, and two important questions to consider are how often you need to test your plan and how frequently your provider will test as part of their service. At first glance, it may seem like the more frequently you test, the better off you’ll be.

However, fully testing a robust disaster recovery plan may interrupt the normal flow of business. Your provider can work with you to determine a testing program and schedule that works best for you.

What Certifications Does Your Provider Hold?

Depending upon the needs of your business, certain compliance standards such as HIPAA or PCI might need to be upheld. If you’re handling sensitive data that are subject to regulatory oversight, your disaster recovery provider will need to provide a recovery plan that meets these standards.

What Type Of Support Is Available?

Your provider should be able to provide guidance to the above questions and more. With managed IT services, you can rely on your recovery provider for a host of solutions -- from on-site assistance and disaster recovery, to server management and help desk support.

Vodigy Technologies provides a range of services to businesses like yours. We work with businesses to implement comprehensive solutions that make their businesses run better. If you’re looking for a disaster recovery provider, or any of our full-range of IT support solutions, contact Vodigy Technologies today.

Comments

NorthPoint Technology Group said…
You are absolutely right that having a disaster recovery plan is the most important step in salvaging our IT infrastructure when catastrophe strikes. If we don’t have an in-house IT department, our next best move is to turn to a managed services provider.
July 18, 2018 at 4:25 AM
Disaster Recovery Plan Example PDF said…
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December 31, 2018 at 2:26 AM
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November 23, 2020 at 6:52 AM
Emma Jasmine said…
Disaster recovery is an organization's method of regaining access and functionality to its IT infrastructure after events like a natural disaster, cyber attack. A variety of disaster recovery (DR) methods can be part of a disaster recovery plan. Elevate consistently back up information and refine our disaster recovery protocols to effectively manage any risks. Elevate Technology is a leading company that provides Managed IT Support Brisbane. We also provide pro-active IT support all over Mackay, Bowen, Basin, and Whitsunday regions. With more than a decade of experience in the IT field, we provide the best web application services. We offer solutions that are tailored to the business need of the client.
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June 18, 2021 at 5:18 AM
CharTec said…
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March 5, 2022 at 11:56 AM
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May 3, 2023 at 10:31 PM
James Zicrov said…
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