Why Is it Important to Have a Disaster Recovery & Business Continuity Plan?
Companies create disaster recovery and business continuity plans proactively to minimize the effect on business when a disaster occurs. Each company defines disaster differently but whether it is a natural disaster such as a flood, snowstorm or hurricane, or not, such as loss of power or networks, all agree that disaster can have a significant effect on business, depending on degree and length of the disaster.
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Minimize Business Disruption
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A primary reason to have a disaster recovery and business continuity plan is to minimize operational interruption in the event of a disaster. Companies that provide services may need to limit the impact of disaster to their customers. Companies strive for business as usual during a disaster even if that means implementing a contingency plan. For example, a business continuity plan may allow a telephone call center experiencing a power loss to arrange for another call center to receive and handle their calls. The switch is seamless to the customer and operational business interruption is minimal.
Ensure Employee Safety
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Employers need to have a disaster recovery plan that ensures the safety of their staff. In conjunction with an emergency plan, the disaster recovery plan must outline staff procedure for evacuation during a disaster. In addition to an evacuation plan, needed for disaster such as a fire, employees need to know how to handle business interruption such as power loss. Managers should make sure their staff is aware of the procedures and hold training and refreshers to remind staff of the plan protocol.
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Establish Responsibilities during Disaster
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When disaster occurs, management needs to know exactly what to do. In addition to managing staff, making business continuity arrangements and assessing risk, they may need to alert customers, the public, other business locations and vendors. A disaster recovery and business continuity plan must outline the responsibilities for management in the event of a disaster. It needs to outline the definition of disaster and the procedures for specified operations, IT and senior managers. Many companies designate a team or assign roles to specific managers in the event of a disaster. All managers, from senior to lower-level managers, must receive training and understand their responsibilities during and after a business interruption.
Safeguard Data and Systems
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Many companies rely on systems and data to support their day-to-day operations. When a disaster occurs that compromises the company's data, the disaster recovery plan requires implementation. The plan must allow for a data backup arrangement and establish procedures to restore any loss of data. In the event of a systems' loss, the plan must allow for the usage of backup computers and servers for business continuity and minimal customer disruption. Companies may have a separate IT disaster plan to handle data and system loss.
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