8 Best Practices for Backup and Disaster Recovery Planning

Taking a proactive approach to backup and disaster recovery planning will safeguard business continuity in the event of an unforeseen incident. With the ever-increasing role of data in businesses today, it is important to make sure that data is being backed up regularly, securely, and in multiple locations. For World Backup Day, we’ve curated a list of best practices and resources to create a solid backup and disaster recovery (BDR) plan.

Does every business need a backup and disaster recovery plan?

In today’s world, organizations across every industry rely heavily on data to run at full capacity. If an IT infrastructure is compromised in any way, downtime or loss of data can result in severe financial deficits and even shut down a business. Common causes of data loss include human error, cyberattacks, outages, hardware failure, and natural disasters.

Backup and disaster recovery planning is both the process of backing up important data and the actions to take in recovering lost data. Like a good insurance policy, BDR is an essential part of a company’s overall business continuity plan. Without this, a business takes an enormous risk of potentially suffering a disastrous loss.

According to a University of Texas study, 94% of companies do not survive more than two years after experiencing a catastrophic data loss. Before disaster strikes, businesses must plan ahead so they can bounce back as quickly as possible.

What are the best practices for backup and disaster recovery planning?

It can be challenging to put together a comprehensive and effective BDR plan but should be a high priority for businesses who either haven’t done so already or haven’t reviewed it in a while. Here is a top-level checklist of best practices for efficient BDR planning:

• Assume that disaster can strike at any time: Understanding the risks associated with not having a fast disaster recovery plan in place and addressing these will help you prepare.
• Identify key components: Consider all aspects of the business and what is required to keep daily activities running. These include assets, personnel, systems, data, and other resources.
• Evaluate your RTO and RPO: Recovery Time Objective (RTO) is the amount of time your business can survive during downtime. Recovery Point Objective (RPO) refers to the amount of data you can afford to lose before losses become unacceptable. Knowing these metrics will allow you to build a solid BDR plan around your business needs.
• Implement reliable backup tools: These solutions should align with your company’s needs and compliance requirements.
• Backup data regularly: Data should be securely encrypted and backed up at least daily (more frequent increments are highly recommended).
• Invest in virtualization: Backups should be saved in multiple places, including the cloud. According to Ponemon Institute and IBM’s Cost of a Data Breach Report 2021, organizations with more advanced cloud modernization strategies contained a data breach 77 days (about 2 and a half months) faster than those in the early stages.
• Create clear policies and processes: Document your emergency response procedures and communicate them to your team. Every employee should know what their role is during the recovery process to take efficient, immediate action in the event of a disaster.
• Perform continuous testing: Review your policies and backups often. Performing daily test restores confirms there is no data corruption.

5 Resources for Backup and Disaster Recovery Planning

Want to learn more? Here are some additional helpful resources:

1. What is Backup and Disaster Recovery?
2. 5 Steps to Creating an Infallible Disaster Recovery Plan
3. 5 Risks You Take When You Forego Fast Disaster Recovery
4. Recovery Time Objective (RTO) Calculator
5. Preparing for the Worst-Case Scenario: Backup & Disaster Recovery Planning for Your Business

Get Prepared and Plan Ahead

Partnering with a Managed Security Services Provider (MSSP) gives your business the advantage of experienced IT and cybersecurity professionals who can keep your organization safe and efficient. To learn more about how Valeo Networks can provide next-gen solutions and customize backup and disaster recovery planning for your business, reach out today to request a free consultation.