Disaster Recovery Plan (DRP)

In essence, Disaster Recovery is the process of recovering the ICT facilities in the event of disruption and restoring data from a back-up. These are often the first, essential steps towards getting on top of a crisis. In a Disaster Recovery Plan (DRP) an organisation records the IT systems and IT dependencies, as well as the Recovery Time Objective (RTO) for the critical applications and the Recovery Point Objective (RPO) for the critical data.

A Disaster Recovery Plan is, of course, part of the COIN concept and COIN offers a separate service for preparing a DRP

A Disaster Recovery Plan is prepared in conjunction with your own IT Department, because that department is aware of all the IT systems present that are required for shaping the plan. In practice, a DRP consists of annexes from the various suppliers. In the event of disruption to the IT infrastructure such a plan will not result in an efficient recovery, only the recovery of the individual systems.

The DRP is specifically intended for getting the IT infrastructure operational again in the shortest possible time so the business activities can continue. Dependencies between systems are of major importance so that restoring data from the back-up tapes for example can be undertaken in a logical sequence.

Practical and effective

A DRP should be a practical, documented process that can be used in the event of a disaster to efficiently recover the IT systems so the organisation’s infrastructure becomes operational again. It goes without saying that the DRP must be tested periodically because the infrastructure is subject to continuous change.

Personal help and a pragmatic approach

Basically, a company can prepare a DRP itself, however, it is often unclear where to begin, what should and what should not be included, and how the organisation can ensure the DRP does not get bogged down in a consensus plan that is no longer workable.

DRP consultancy

COIN’s experienced consultants can help your IT staff and coach them in preparing a DRP. They provide points of reference for ensuring a concise and well-organised document that allows you to deal with every IT crisis. Back to work again immediately with your own DRP? Also see: Disaster Recovery Plan Checklist for practical information.