IT Disaster Recovery versus Business Continuity

Nicola Moss
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When considering IT Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity, there are comparisons to make. Business Continuity focuses on how well the business is operating during a disaster, whereas Disaster Recovery focuses on restoring access to data and IT infrastructure, after the disaster has taken place.

Young business professional seated at desk in modern office space using telephone looking concerned

What is an IT Disaster Recovery plan?

A Disaster Recovery plan is put together with detailed instructions on how to respond to unplanned incidents like cyber attacks or any other kind of IT disruptions. The plan will outline a strategy to minimise the effects of the disaster; this helps the company keep operating by dealing with the problem. Some operations may need to be taken out to help things stay afloat.

In a worst-case scenario, disruptions can lead to a loss in revenue, damage the brand, or lead to problems with customers. This is why a Disaster Recovery plan should be in place before anything happens. The best type of plan will lead to a rapid recovery and leave no damage.

IT Disaster Recovery best practices

When it comes down to IT Disaster Recovery best practices, there are a few different steps we take to help with this. They are usually in this order:

Once the disaster recovery team have all been assigned their roles and the plan has been updated and tested, the practice will be good to go. At Wanstor, we like to deal with IT disasters step-by-step to stay organised and tackle the problems in the best ways we can.

Why is IT Disaster Recovery important?

IT disaster recovery is very important as you obviously don’t want to end up with lost files or hacked documents, this can wreak havoc, especially if you have GDPR guidelines to abide by. Recovering from an IT disaster could possibly take some time; this is why having an effective strong cyber security or network security in place is crucial for most companies.

  • Assessing the risks to your data and operations
  • Developing a disaster recovery plan
  • Identify offsite backup locations
  • Plan to resume operations
  • Assign roles for the disaster recovery team
  • Update and test the plan

We hope you now understand the difference between IT disaster recovery and business continuity. If you would like to learn more about why you need Managed IT Services that are scaled to suit your business requirements, get in touch with us. Our packages are flexible and affordable so you can improve your business as soon as possible. We would like to help you avoid any IT disasters quickly and efficiently.