Disaster Recovery Planning

Disaster Recovery Planning or contingency planning or business continuity planning as it may be called consists of several measures. For disaster recovery planning, it is important that the given concern/ company should first assess the risks involved in losing a given database. It is important to have a clear picture of the impact that the loss of such data may entail.

Thereafter the company should develop a framework for disaster recovery. It must give due weightage to the various operating data on different counts. One is the amount of time that may safely lapse between a loss of data or a data disaster and resumption of smooth functioning. The second point of consideration should be as to how many old files need a backup.

Only after having done the above-mentioned spadework should the company go in for actual implementation of various forms of contingency planning. That is, after having thoroughly studied its needs of the same, should the company finalise the form that its disaster recovery programme should take.

A data recovery strategy should be put into place that must address the key issues of concern to the company. As already mentioned this must include parameters related to time lapse between the disaster and the recovery period and also the fact of how much of the old data is of importance to be secured.

A major issue that has to be followed by the companies is storage of back up data at a site which is physically / distinctly away from the original. Otherwise in case of a natural disaster such as a flood or in case of a fire, both the original data and its back up will be at an equal risk of destruction.