• The average cost of IT downtime is $5,600 per minute
• 40% of businesses fail to reopen after a disaster, 25% fail within one year
• 68% of small-business owners don’t have a written disaster recovery plan

At CCB, we’ve found that the most common fear among IT professionals is that some major event or error will create extended downtime or permanent data loss. The concern is real, so why are disaster recovery solutions infrequently implemented?

The fact is, disaster recovery planning often becomes an overwhelming, too-big-to-tackle project that takes the back burner to more immediately relevant projects. As important and stress-relieving as a DR solution would be, many IT professionals either have difficulty getting the ball rolling or are too busy putting out fires to make anticipatory steps.

Backup and disaster recovery begins with one step: a plan. That’s why we’ve compiled four initial steps to help you build a plan and make disaster recovery a less daunting project. Create a plan from which you can build a robust and reliable solution.

Step 1 – Create an “emergency contact” list

Create one sheet (ideally no more than one page) with the contact information for all vendors you might need to contact in case of a disaster. This list should contain contact information for any hardware or software warranties you have, as well as contact information for your internet provider or any other support.

Having all of this information in one place simplifies your first step when a problem arises.

Step 2 – Create a prioritized list of critical systems

Identify what your most critical IT assets are: email, phone lines, SQL server, etc.

Examine what dependencies exist between systems. What is the larger impact of a single point of failure? It is helpful to provide some percentage value to each item in your environment, giving more weight to your essential business tools.

Once you’ve prioritized your systems, define the maximum acceptable amount of downtime for each of those items. Utilize a tool like this cost of downtime calculator to build out a quantifiable assessment of how much downtime your business can handle. It is important to establish expectations with managers so that when a disaster occurs, everyone is on the same page.

Step 3 – Create a list of disaster scenarios

Determine what the most serious threats to your IT environment are. Natural disaster, human error, power outages, system failure, or others. Whatever you might determine for your environment, you should note these findings as well:

1. UPS System Failure (29%)
2. Accidental/ Human Error (24%)
3. Water/ Heat or Computer Room Air Conditioner Failure (15%)
4. Natural disasters (3%)

As you might expect, more common than natural disasters are technical or accidental issues – these “disasters” are largely preventable.

Assess what downtime you’ve experienced in the past, how it was handled, and what you can learn from those experiences. Determine what your environment’s greatest vulnerabilities are: lack of backup power supply, vulnerable or out-of-date software, legacy hardware, infrequent or unreliable backups? 

Step 4 – Select a solution 

The best backup and disaster recovery solution is **drum roll** completely contingent upon your environment and what you’re backing up!

Many factors will determine what backup and DR solution you eventually implement, but these four questions are a good starting point:

• Capacity: what amount of data are you routinely backing up?
• Extensibility: does the solution need to grow as your company grows?
• Speed: how quickly do you need to initiate or retrieve backups?
• Cost: does the solution you need fit into your budget?

There are basically three backup options: tape, disk-to-disk, and cloud. Which option you should choose depends on what’s being backed up and what you need from a backup solution.

Now that you have your initial backup and disaster recovery plan underway, find out how to create a disaster and recovery plan and see if Microsoft Azure is a good fit.

We’d be happy to give you some professional insight into what solution is best for you or help you implement a backup and disaster recovery plan. Send us a message and we’ll set up a conversation for you with one of our sales engineers.

The post How to Start a Backup and Disaster Recovery Plan: 4 Initial Steps appeared first on CCB Technology.

Our local story never received national attention, nor should it compared to the larger devastation that occurred across the world last year from hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes and wildfires. However, the recovery story which is rarely told, is the most devastating part of a disaster and generally takes longer and costs more than planned. After big news stories fade, the aftermath continues in ways that we can’t imagine.

Our July floods receded, but wells were unsafe to use, thousands of sand bags had to be disposed of, debris removed, and then there is “basement sludge” – ever thought about that? I hadn’t either until we received a call from a company whose server was immersed in it. This is where the importance of a proven disaster recovery plan gets tested.

What makes us rationalize that it will “never happen here”? Disasters that affect our business, whether thanks to nature, hackers, or local utilities, have one commonality – they are unexpected. So in the world of IT, how does a company prepare for the unexpected?

This list of questions will help guide your annual DR assessment and planning, and provide resources for additional help.

1. Have you analyzed possible threats and discussed plans for each scenario?

Wisconsin will never see a hurricane, but our spring storms can include wind damage, which could mean time without power, or worse. One 12-hour power outage at CCB was caused by a raccoon in a transformer! Making a list of possible scenarios will help you target the kind of solution that will best suit your needs.

2. Do you know what the cost of downtime will mean financially for your company?

The average cost of downtime is often listed around $100,000 per hour. What size company is that average based on, in what industry and with what necessary functions? To get buy-in from management on the right solution, the conversation needs to start by calculating the cost of downtime relative to your company.

Here’s a resource that can give you an estimate of potential financial losses based on your company’s information.

3. Have you prioritized your applications based on what is most critical to recover first?

Here’s a simple breakdown of how to categorize your applications:

• Mission critical: generally revenue or legally required applications – what data needs protection?
• Business critical: critical for your business functionality – what can directly affect your revenue?
• Required: Important to your business functionality, but will not directly influence revenue in the short term. HR and marketing apps may be in this category.
• Other: Lowest priority with little or no impact on the business.

4. Do you know that your plan will hold up if a real world event comes along?

The only way to tell is if you test, retest and test again. According to a Unitrend’s survey, 62% of companies test once a year or less, a schedule that doesn’t guarantee successful recovery. The complete spectrum of your company’s operations should be tested frequently, especially when there are major changes to your environment.

Is finding time to test the issue? Consider a solution with automated DR testing built in. This can provide you with reporting that can build confidence with management, bring attention to areas that need improvement, and help maintain compliance requirements.

5. Do you know how long it will take to get from disaster to recovery?

The average recovery time most companies set is around four hours, but is that realistic? Even if four hours isn’t manageable, there may be ways that you can reduce the time between the “D” and the “R”, since that’s the important factor in cutting your losses.

With new advances in backup and recovery, there are ways you can quicken your recovery time.

Their video shows you five ways to do that:

6. Are all of your applications, including cloud and SaaS, covered by your plan?

The question is straightforward, but one you should consider. Here is a cloud cost calculator that can help.

7. Are you looking into DRaaS?

When selecting a DRaaS provider, be sure you get key information. What assurances do you have that you’ll get your provider’s attention during an event? Learn how they test and validate your data and workflows. Ask how extensively and frequently they test and the level of review and reporting they provide afterwards. Finally, be sure you get a one-hour DraaS SLA.

8. What about the day-to-day recovery of lost files?

Can you restore them in 5 minutes or less – from login to restoration? This is the most requested IT function from the user level. Let’s face it – for some end users this can be the most devastating type of disaster! (Cue the eye roll from IT.) Using solutions that can meet this need could help alleviate some regular workday frustrations.

You can’t recover what you don’t backup.
Hopefully this article has given you the knowledge and resources needed to evaluate your company’s DR plan. If your company doesn’t have an adequate backup solution, a DR plan will not be of much help. Unitrends has a robust backup portfolio, which your account manager can help you assess to find the right solution and set you up with a free demo and trial.

Are you prepared for the upcoming year?

Everyone’s hope is for a quieter year on the natural disaster front, but the local stories will continue to happen and are the most important to prepare for. Take time to re-evaluate your DR plan and backup solution to be sure it is still the best fit for your business.

The post How to Review a DR Plan: 8 Questions You Need to Answer appeared first on CCB Technology.