- [Instructor] Business continuity programs
are designed to keep a business up and running
in the face of a disaster,
but unfortunately they don't always work.
Sometimes, continuity controls fail,
or the sheer magnitude of a disaster
overwhelms the organization's capacity
to continue operations.
That's where disaster recovery begins.
Disaster recovery is a subset
of business continuity activities
designed to restore a business to normal operations
as quickly as possible following a disruption.
The disaster recovery plan may include immediate measures
that get operations up and running again temporarily,
but the disaster recovery effort
is not finished until the organization
is completely back to normal operations.
The initial response following an emergency disruption
is designed to contain the damage to the organization
and recover whatever capacity may be immediately restored.
The activities during this initial response will vary widely
depending upon the nature of the disaster
and may include activating an alternate processing facility,
containing physical damage,
or calling in contractors to begin an emergency response.
During a disaster recovery effort,
the focus of most of the organization
shifts from normal business activity
to a concentrated effort to restore operations
as quickly as possible.
From a staffing perspective, this means that many employees
will be working in temporary jobs that may be
completely different from their normally assigned duties.
Flexibility is key during a disaster response.
Also, the organization should plan out
disaster responsibilities as much as possible in advance
and provide employees with training that prepares them
to do their part during disaster recovery.
Communication is critical to disaster recovery efforts.
Responders must have secure, reliable means
to communicate with each other
and with the organization's leadership.
This communication includes the initial communication
required to activate the disaster recovery process,
even if the disaster occurs after normal business hours.
It also includes regular status updates
for both employees in the field and leadership,
and it should include ad hoc communications capabilities
to meet tactical needs.
After the immediate danger to the organization clears,
the disaster recovery team shifts
from immediate response mode into assessment mode.
The goal of this phase is simple,
to triage the damage to the organization
and develop a plan to recover operations
on a permanent basis.
In some circumstances,
this may also include intermediate steps
that restore operations temporarily
on the way to permanent recovery.
There are two metrics used
to help an organization plan disaster recovery efforts.
The recovery time objective, or RTO,
is the targeted amount of time that it will take
to restore a service to operation following a disruption.
The organization must also think about the amount of data
that it needs to restore as well.
The recovery point objective, or RPO,
is the maximum time period from which data may be lost
as the result of a disaster.
Together, the RTO and RPO
provide valuable information to disaster recovery planners.
After developing a plan, responders then execute that plan,
restoring operations in an orderly fashion.
Remember, the disaster recovery effort only concludes
when the organization is back to normal operations
in the primary facility.
Training and awareness efforts are critical components
of a disaster recovery plan.
All personnel involved in disaster recovery efforts
should receive training about their role in the plan
on a periodic basis and also engage
in more frequent awareness programs designed to keep
their disaster recovery responsibilities top of mind.