Manmade and natural disasters are unpredictable, so it is necessary to plan for numerous worst-case scenarios. Having a disaster recovery (DR) plan that protects mission-critical data is essential for maintaining business continuity. The following will discuss six key features that should be included in your organization’s DR plan.

1) Scope of Plan

Several types of events can adversely affect an organization. Several aspects of a business must be protected in the event of a disaster. Defining the scope of a DR plan will help ensure that these aspects are prioritized. It is crucial to hold consultations with your company’s leadership to properly define the plan’s parameters. After reaching a consensus, a document setting forth the objectives of the DR plan should be written and distributed.

2) Roles & Responsibilities

Every company should designate members of the disaster recovery team. Every team member should be well-versed in the processes of the DR plan and their specific roles. In addition to being responsible for training and disaster preparedness, they will also have particular responsibilities during a disaster and its aftermath. Thus, a list of assigned tasks for each individual should be included in the plan.

3) Critical Functions & Downtime Tolerance

Critical business functions are the vital functions that your company requires to continue operating. Properly developing disaster recovery strategies will require your leadership team to determine these critical functions.

After identifying your critical business functions, figure out how long your business can go without them before experiencing serious economic losses. This will allow you to calculate each function’s RTO (Recovery Time Objective) and prioritize each for the DR plan.  

Part 2 will cover Restoring Critical Business Functions, Communications Plan, and Testing Schedule.

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