You are a business owner, and, as such, you want to make sure that your business stays up, running, and performing at optimal levels at all times. This goes without saying, and you will already have a wealth of different tools, policies, and protocols in place to make sure this is the case.
But what about the unforeseeable dangers? What about the risks that are lurking online, risks that are constantly evolving?
The intention here is not to scare or cause undue worry – instead, we intend to draw attention to the importance of a robust disaster recovery plan.
This disaster recovery plan is what you will fall back on if the worst happens. Let’s say your company is hit by a malware attack, or another catastrophe, and loses data, loses system capability, and loses the ability to give clients and customers what they need. This is when your disaster recovery plan kicks in, reducing downtime and achieving almost seamless business continuity.
But, here’s the catch. A plan like this is not something you can just put in place and forget about.
Threats evolve, your business grows and scales, and so your plan needs to do the same. So, the question is: are you testing your disaster recovery plan? And, if not, why not? With 43% of cyber-attacks now targeting small businesses, all companies need to be prepared.
Why testing your disaster recovery plan is so critical? You already have your plan in place, so what is the problem?
Well, just like anything else, without the proper testing, you do not know anything about your recovery plan, including whether it is fit for purpose.
Let’s take a look at why testing your disaster recovery plan is so important for your business and examine some of the questions these tests are designed to answer.
- Is it effective? First, you need to know that your disaster recovery plan is actually up to the job. Will it give you the protection you need, and is it robust and comprehensive enough to cover all the bases? Run through some potential scenarios. How does your plan stand up to each of these? Do you need to make any tweaks or alterations to achieve the protection you need?
- Does your team know what to do? Cast your mind back to your school days. Remember the fire alarms? Did your school save the fire alarms until they were really needed, or were the alarms tested with regular drills? Of course, the answer is the latter. But why is this? The drills are designed to test the response to the alarm and to make sure that people know exactly what to do. Apply the same logic to your disaster recovery plan. Make sure that everyone understands their role and is ready to put this into action to protect your data and your business capabilities. Conduct drills and make sure everyone knows what to do.
- Is it up to date? Threats are evolving, and so your plan needs to evolve too. Stay relevant with the latest changes in the field of security, and make sure that your plan is ready to meet any new threats as they emerge.
To learn more about putting an effective disaster recovery plan in place, and about testing it in the right way, get in touch with our team today.
