1. Develop and Document a Disaster Recovery Plan for the Small Enterprise
Strategy
Infrastructure
Applications
Security
For small and medium enterprises
Develop and Document a Disaster Recovery Plan for the Small Enterprise
Show the business you are ready to handle a crisis.
Info-Tech's products and services combine actionable insight and relevant advice with ready-to-use tools and templates that cover the full spectrum of IT concerns.© Info-Tech Research Group

2. An effective disaster recovery plan (DRP) addresses common outages such as hardware and software failures, as well as regional events, to provide day-to-day service continuity. It’s not just an insurance policy you might never cash in.
Customers are also demanding evidence of an effective DRP. Organizations without a DRP will risk impact not only from extended outages but also from lost sales.
Frank Trovato
Director, Infrastructure
Info-Tech Research Group

3. SMBs understand the importance of an effective DRP, but have trouble putting one into action
Unplanned data center outages cost an SMB
an average of $8,000 an hour.1
40% of organizations rate their disaster recovery capabilities as “fair” or “poor”.1
75% of organizations get a failing grade for their disaster recovery capabilities.1
Disruption lasts
an average of 18.5 hours in length before recovery.1
Average cost per incident
36% of organizations with a DRP in place feel that their plan is incomplete.1
$148,200
Sources |
1 – Infrascale, 25 Disaster Recovery Statistics for 2015

4. Use this research to develop and document the DRP
Intended Audience
IT leaders and employees that need to carry out initiatives to improve DR capabilities.
Business leaders who want to minimize business downtime.
This Research Includes
Guidance on how to create and document a DRP.
Tools and instructions on how to perform a business impact analysis.
Expected Benefits
Identification of which applications are critical to business operations.
Pinpointed set of recovery time and point objectives for critical applications.
Initiatives to improve DR capabilities.
Repositioning DRP as a key component of your business strategy.
WALK AWAY FROM THIS BLUEPRINT WITH:
A comprehensive DRP that covers a diverse range of situations.
An overall increase in organizational resiliency.
A comprehensive set of deliverables to assist you in the creation and maintenance of your DRP.

5. Is this research right for you?
Research Navigation
Creating a DRP is the first step to achieving service continuity. Answer the following questions to determine whether the activities in this deck are relevant to your DRP needs.
Question
If you answered no
If you answered yes
Do you have less than 15 staff currently in IT?
Review Info-Tech’s Create a Right-Sized DRP blueprint
Follow the guidance in this blueprint.
Does the organization need to create a DRP?
Review Info-Tech’s other disaster recovery offerings.
Small Enterprises: Follow the guidance in this blueprint.
Does the organization lack documented agreement on how much downtime and data loss would be tolerated by the business?
Small Enterprises: Follow the guidance in this blueprint.
Large Enterprises: Review Info-Tech’s Create a Right-Sized DRP blueprint.
Is there a lack of DR documentation?
Large Enterprises: Review Info-Tech’s Document and Maintain the DRP blueprint.

7. Table of Contents STREAMLINE YOUR SEARCH
Use these navigation shortcuts to find the guidance that best aligns to the organization’s DRP needs.
Section 1: Define parameters for the DRP
Activity 1.1 Get to know what’s important to the business
Activity 1.2 Inventory critical business applications (Part A/B)
Section 2: Determine impact of downtime
Activity 2.1 Estimate and document the impact of downtime for each application
Activity 2.2 Perform a vulnerability assessment on critical applications
Activity 2.3 Determine desired failover and failback for RTOs and RPOs
Section 3: Determine recovery workflow and gaps
Activity 3.1 Initiate the tabletop planning process
Activity 3.2 (A) Identify notification and declaration activities
Activity 3.2 (B) Recover, restore, and return operations
Activity 3.2 (C) Determine desired failover and failback for RTOs and RPOs
Activity 3.3 Develop the project roadmap to address RPO and RTO gaps
Section 4: Create recovery procedures and document
Activity 4.1 Develop a system recovery checklist to supplement the flowchart
Activity 4.2 Create a client-facing DRP summary document
Appendix Evaluate Your Co-Location Options Company Overview Guided Implementation Overview Bibliography
Is the organization looking for immediate advice on how to inventory and classify applications?
Review Activity 1.2
Are you looking to determine desired recovery time and recovery point objectives?
Determine desired failover and failback for RTOs and RPOs
Does your organization need to test the effectiveness of your DRP?
Work through the tabletop planning activity
Is your organization looking to document and summarize the DRP?
Review Section 4

8. Start with disaster recovery and move to service continuity
Disaster recovery plan (DRP)
Plans that consist of a set of procedures and supporting information that enables an organization to restore its IT services after a disruption.
Business continuity plan (BCP)
An outline of the essential resources needed to continue business operations, coupled with a set of response procedures that enable the organization to resume critical activities at a minimal level of operational acceptability following a notable business disruption.
Disaster Recovery Plan
Business Continuity Plan
Regardless of your size or industry, the end goal in any DRP is to work towards constant service continuity.
Darin Stahl
Senior Director, Infrastructure
Info-Tech Research Group

9. DR Myth Busting MYTH FACT
Disaster Recovery Plans
DR Myth Busting
The value of a DRP:
The operational and financial impact of an unplanned business disruption is minimized (e.g. a loss of a utility service or a catastrophic event).
DRPs enable IT services to be restored as quickly as possible.
MYTH
FACT
DRPs need to focus only on major events such as natural disasters or other highly destructive incidents.
The most common threats to service continuity are hardware and software failures, network outages, and power outages.
Effective DRPs start with identifying and evaluating potential risks.
Effective DRPs focus on recovery regardless of what causes the outage.
DRPs are a separate entity from average, day-to-day operations.
The DRP serves to enhance day-to-day operations.
The DRP must accomplish the following:
Ensure that the business is able to quickly respond and minimize losses or impact (e.g. revenue loss, data loss, ensure personnel safety).
Drive efficient and coordinated recovery, while also defining clear escalation and assessment guidelines to avoid unnecessary delays in plan execution.
Be presented and documented in a concise, usable manner, written with an IT audience in mind, and be easy to maintain.

10. Define parameters for the DRP
Determine impact of downtime
Define parameters for the DRP
Determine recovery workflow and gaps
Create recovery procedures and document
STEP 1
Define parameters for the DRP
This step provides context for the entire DRP. You will identify the factors that are driving the DR project. As well, you will determine which business functions and supporting systems will be the focus of the business impact analysis.
Section Activities
Inputs
Outputs
1.1 Discuss and identify the core business drivers
1.2 Define critical applications and dependencies
Business context
Business functions and supporting systems
Business impact analysis

11. Info-Tech Research Group Helps IT Professionals To:
Quickly get up to speed with new technologies
Make the right technology purchasing decisions – fast
Deliver critical IT projects, on time and within budget
Manage business expectations
Justify IT spending and prove the value of IT
Train IT staff and effectively manage an IT department
Sign up for free trial membership to get practical
solutions for your IT challenges
“Info-Tech helps me to be proactive instead of reactive – a cardinal rule in a stable and leading edge IT environment.
- ARCS Commercial Mortgage Co., LP
Toll Free: