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discussion on how I can help prepare your business disaster recovery
plan.
877-755-2368
Developing A Disaster
Recovery Plan
A Disaster Recovery Plan is a written plan that
identifies the potential disasters that might occur, outlines the steps to be
taken in the event of specific disasters, determines who will do what, and what
resources will be necessary and how those resources will be obtained and used to
get back into business in the shortest time possible.
While a comprehensive plan is obviously desirable, most companies never even start to develop a plan because the project seems too large and complicated. Any plan is better than no plan! You should at least put together the basic information you will need and have it stored off-site.
I can perform the following basic steps needed to develop a Disaster Recovery Plan for your business:
Conduct A Risk Assessment
I'll work with you to determine which types of disasters are most
likely to impact your business. While the list of potential disasters is
long, for most businesses the most likely disasters are fire,
windstorm/tornado/hurricane, computer failure, power outages, lightning
strike/power surges, and water damages from flooding or water pipe breaks.
In addition to disasters affecting your business directly, consideration will
be given to
neighboring businesses that might cause damage to your property or whose
operations could cause an area wide problem (hazardous material release,
explosion, etc.) or that might result in access to your business being blocked.
Categorize Your Assets & Resources
Next, I'll categorize each of your business
operations, assets and resources such as personnel, equipment, buildings,
computer systems, records, vendors & suppliers, etc. to determine which are the
most critical to your business. I'll ask you "What if" questions to determine the
effect of losing each critical activity, resource or asset. For some
service businesses, loss of telephone service or the computer system for even a
day could cause a significant loss of revenue. For others, loss of one
particular machine or operation would cause significant problems and might take
months to recover. I'll help you decide how each of the potential disasters you
identified could result in the loss of these critical activities or assets.
This will help you spend your time and efforts on planning to recover critical operations and
assets rather than becoming overwhelmed by trying to address every potential
loss situation.
Develop Loss Prevention Measures
For many loss exposures or disasters there will
be loss prevention measures that can be implemented that will eliminate or
lessen the probability of losing a critical activity, piece of equipment,
building, or other essential asset or resource. Examples are fire
sprinkler systems, computer backups, alarm systems, fire prevention inspections,
control of flammable or other hazardous materials or processes, etc.
Wherever possible, I'll suggest the implementation of preventative measures that will reduce the
likelihood of a disaster rather than just plan for how to recover from it.
Develop Recovery Strategies
For each potential loss of a critical activity,
resource or asset, I'll develop a plan of action that addresses:
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What is the potential loss?
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What resources will be needed to recover?
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Suppliers
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Vendors
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Contractors or repair services
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Personnel needed
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Alternate equipment or locations
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Who will do what?
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When will they do it?
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How will they do it?
Your Disaster Recovery Plan
Now I'll put your plan in writing. It will
include at least the following:
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Potential disasters covered by the plan.
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Assignment of responsibilities.
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List of all management and staff with home phone numbers, addresses, and who to notify in the event of an emergency.
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List of critical vendors, suppliers, and subcontractors with full contact information.
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Inventory lists of all critical equipment with description, possible sources of replacement, how long it would take to get a replacement installed, etc. Include photographs of all equipment.
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Specifications and sources of replacement for computer equipment and telephone systems.
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List of possible alternative locations where the business could re-locate and operate from temporarily until the building is rebuilt.
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List of competitors or other businesses to whom work could be subcontracted while recovery is in progress.
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List of contractors, repair services, or disaster recovery services that can be accessed quickly to respond to damages.
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Insurance information including names and telephone numbers of insurance agents, insurance company claims contacts, outline of insurance coverage and policy numbers, etc.
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A specific recovery strategy for each potential loss of a critical activity, resource or asset, with a plan of action that addresses the potential loss, what resources will be needed to recover, who will do what, and how they will do it.
Once the plan is developed, I'll review with all managers and others who will have any responsibilities under the plan. I'll distribute copies to all managers and other affected employees. Copies kept in the office won't be of much use if the building burns to the ground or access to your business is blocked by authorities!! Each person with a copy should have it in their home and/or in the trunk of their car so that they can access it when they are away from the business.
Conduct A Trial Run/Simulation
The only way to know if your plan contains the
information necessary or that you have done adequate planning is to test the
plan. I can help you conduct a drill or simulation for various loss scenarios.
We can hold a brainstorming sessions in which you assume that a specific disaster has
occurred (e.g., fire has destroyed entire building) and we can go through the steps to
see if the plan covers what you need to recover. I'll then revise the plan if there
are any apparent deficiencies revealed by the testing.
Plan Maintenance
A plan is of no use if it is out of date. It just can not sit and
collect dust. It must be updated often with the most current
information. I'll return to your location to go over your plan to
ensure the information is exactly what you would need to recovery your
business. This should be done at least every year, or when changes
to your business warrant that your plan be updated.