Disaster Recovery Plan

The next area of focus is disaster recovery plans. What should be done if the main IT center becomes unusable (e.g., due to a fire)? A disaster recovery plan is crucial for a company to resume its operations, but the investment required in that plan is a significant consideration. A backup site is necessary to return to operations as quickly as possible, but the level of preparedness of that site needs to be decided.

Is it preferable to have the disaster recovery site fully prepared with all the computers and software already installed, like a hot site? Or, is it sufficient to have just the office itself and set up everything later, which is considered a cold site? Alternatively, something in between the two, known as a warm site, could be chosen. The options are investing in a hot site, a cold site, or a warm site.

A hot site is an external facility where all the computer equipment is ready, enabling the company to transition quickly. A cold site, on the other hand, is a location with building and office space, but no set-up equipment. A warm site falls between these two, where it’s not fully ready but has some equipment in place.

Study Tip: A hot site is full prepared, and a cold site doesn’t have any equipment.

When it comes to developing a disaster recovery plan, the first step is to assess potential risks. Subsequently, crucial applications that need to be restored and data that needs protection must be identified. This information is used to create the plan. The next step is determining which employees will help initiate this plan, if necessary. Finally, the plan should be tested to ensure its effectiveness.