12-27-21 | Blog Post
The world is a dangerous place, and it’s even more dangerous for your data. How can you be sure that your company’s data will be safe if a disaster strikes, and that your Disaster Recovery (DR) plan will prove effective? There are a lot of misconceptions surrounding the importance and the effectiveness of DR plans and services.
Let’s debunk five of the most common myths surrounding Disaster Recovery.
False. Disasters can happen anywhere, any time. Even if your business is located in a temperate climate where the chance of a natural disaster occurring is low, your business is still equally susceptible to a type of disaster that could very well be more damaging to your data than a tornado carrying it away – disasters of human error. Human error is now considered the primary contributing factor to most data breaches and data loss in a business. From accidental file deletion to phishing scams, human error is the one threat that all businesses are susceptible to. However, the probability of a an accident stemming from human error can be mitigated through proactive planning and prevention.
The chance of certain types of disasters striking your business may be low; however, the possibility of disasters in general striking your business is inevitable.
False. This is a very dangerous DR myth. Assuming the safety of your business is often the first nail in your business’s coffin. No business is insulated from a disaster without extensive planning ahead of time. Ask yourself where the biggest vulnerabilities in your Disaster Recovery plan are, and run a Business Impact Analysis to determine the damage a disaster would do to your company. Assess the risks of a loss of data in your business and how you can most effectively navigate or avoid those risks.
No business is “fine” after a disaster without extensive planning ahead of time. Even then, you can never let your guard down.
False. No DR plan is “airtight”. Your plan may be incredibly comprehensive and cover all the bases, however, by definition, a disaster is unpredictable and mistakes happen. Explore all the possibilities and every strategy when building your Disaster Recovery Plan.
Developing a plan is only part of the path toward complete disaster security. Run tests on the efficiency and effectiveness of the plan and analyze what areas fell through the cracks; it’s far better to patch up the holes in your plan before the flood than to realize that your plan is going to sink along with all your data.
False. Can you put a price on peace of mind? Yes, you can. DR is the insurance policy put on your data and, contrary to popular belief, it doesn’t cost an arm and a leg to implement and maintain. By partnering with a DR Service provider, your company can dramatically reduce hardware and man-hour costs and guarantee low latency for the recovery of your data in case of a data disaster.
Ask yourself, how much is your company’s data worth? In many cases, a company’s worth is determined by its data. If your company lost even 20% of its data, the downtime that loss would cause could be extremely damaging on its own. When it comes down to it, the ROI for DRaaS may amount to the survival of your company.
False. There is a saying that the safest hands are your own, but in many cases, wouldn’t the safest hands be the hands of an experienced and well equipped third party? Most companies don’t have the means to adequately implement a DR Strategy into their business. If your business has the hardware, software, and knowledge required for effective and fast disaster recovery, use it. However, if you’re looking to cut down costs but aren’t willing to sacrifice on quality of service, find a DRaaS provider who is up to the task of keeping your data secure and remains available during the worst of situations.
This is by no means an exhaustive list of the myths surrounding DR. Any question or unsupported assumption regarding disaster preparedness needs to be questioned, fact checked, and questioned again. The key to effective DR is constant planning, troubleshooting, and time investment. In today’s rapidly changing physical and technological environments, businesses cannot afford to leave their data unprotected and unsecured.
