Why Your Small Business Needs a Disaster Recovery Plan (Before You Need It)
Introduction
It’s not a matter of if something will go wrong with your IT systems—it’s when. From natural disasters to ransomware attacks, an unexpected outage can grind your business to a halt. Without a disaster recovery plan (DRP), recovery can take days or weeks, costing you revenue and customers.
- The Real Cost of Downtime
Every hour of downtime can cost hundreds or thousands of dollars in lost sales, missed opportunities, and wasted payroll. And that’s before you factor in reputation damage. - What a Disaster Recovery Plan Covers
A DRP outlines how your business will restore systems, recover data, and resume operations after an incident. Key components include:
- Critical systems list
- Backup schedules and locations
- Recovery time objectives (RTO)
- Recovery point objectives (RPO)
- Communication protocols
- Cloud-Based Recovery vs. On-Premises
Cloud recovery offers speed and flexibility, while on-premises backups can provide faster restores for large files. The best plans use a hybrid approach. - Testing Your DRP
A plan that’s never been tested is just a document. Run simulations at least twice a year to ensure your recovery times are realistic. - Including Cybersecurity in Your DRP
Many DRPs focus on physical disasters but ignore cyber threats. Include steps for isolating infected systems, notifying clients, and restoring from clean backups. - The Role of Your IT Partner
An experienced MSP can help create, implement, and maintain your DRP so you’re never caught off guard.
Conclusion
A disaster recovery plan is like insurance—you hope you’ll never need it, but when you do, it can save your business. The time to prepare is before disaster strikes, not during.
