Ten Steps for a Sound Disaster Recovery Plan

In the post-Katrina discussions around business continuity, many companies found that their disaster recovery plans didn’t quite work the way they’d hoped. While disasters like Katrina help highlight the need for good DR, do some companies need a refresher?

In an article on the availability.com website, IT expert Alan Sugano says that while most companies probably already have a DR plan in place, it’s still wise to review and update your plan from time to time to accommodate any changes to the business. He draws on his own experience to offer up a list of 10 steps any organization can follow when either creating or updating a DR plan.

Sugano’s 10 steps include:

1. Reviewing your backup strategy
2. Making lots of lists to adequately document equipment, network, layouts, etc.
3. Diagramming your network
4. Going wireless
5. Assigning a disaster recovery administrator
6. Assembling teams for communicating during a crisis
7. Creating a disaster recovery website
8. Testing the recovery plan
9. Developing a hacking recovery plan
10. Making the plan a “living document” and reviewing it at least once a year