Disaster Recovery Plan (DRP) Explained Simply for Business Humans
A Disaster Recovery Plan (DRP) is like a playbook that shows your business how to react and get back on its feet quickly after something unexpected happens. It's essential for managing a crisis and making sure your business can keep operating.
What a Disaster Recovery Plan Means for Your Growing Businesses
It needs to provide your team with clear, step-by-step instructions on what to do and what resources to use. It's your essential guide for getting your business back up and running after any disruption, so it must be simple and easy to follow. You don't want to be scrambling for answers when a crisis hits. At a minimum, your recovery plan should cover the following key elements:
- Where your data backups are located and what they include (e.g., cloud, external drives)
- Who to contact and how to access your backup systems and data
- Clear instructions on how to restore your data and get your systems back online
- The specific order for bringing your essential IT systems and business operations back online
- How to test and confirm that your data and systems are fully restored and working properly
- What to do immediately after recovery to ensure continued smooth operations
Why a Disaster Recovery Plan is Important
When a serious incident, such as a system outage, cyberattack, or natural disaster, strikes, it creates a highly stressful situation. In such moments, employees might make rushed or less-than-optimal decisions regarding operations and problem-solving. A well-prepared disaster recovery plan, developed proactively, clearly outlines the steps to take during these disruptions. This prevents panicked "shortcuts" and provides a clear roadmap for everyone involved. Ultimately, it helps restore your business to normal operations, significantly reduces downtime, minimizes errors, and prevents critical details from being overlooked.
In which areas is the recovery plan used?
A recovery plan is most commonly used in IT for restoring data from backups. However, these plans are also essential for other parts of your infrastructure, such as during a power outage. A recovery plan applies whenever you have a backup (like data) or a backup option (such as a power generator).
- Your business should have recovery plans for the most likely disruptions that would have the greatest impact on your operations.
- A recovery plan outlines how to use backups or alternative methods to resume operations.
- Recovery isn't just about IT; it can also apply to your production or operational processes, such as during a power outage.
How Aptien Helps You with Your Disaster Recovery Plan
Thanks to the policy portal, you'll have prepared:
- Policies and operating procedures for disaster situations (crisis procedures)
- A Disaster Recovery Plan, which outlines the recovery process