Disaster Recovery solutions important for Enterprises

Disaster recovery and business continuity can be touchy subjects for some companies, as many rely on small staff or plans that are not tested often enough, either due to time or budgetary restrictions. In the face of this, many businesses still feel their plans for business continuity will be insufficient in the event of adverse circumstances. According to a recent poll by Storage Magazine, more than half of respondents felt their disaster recovery plans could cover their company. One way of ensuring smooth recovery if disaster were to strike is to back up servers and data storage, according to experts. "Technology is vital to the operation," independent business continuity consultant Harvey Betan said. "Without a robust disaster recovery plan, an interruption in technology could bring business to a halt. An untested disaster recovery plan is a serious risk, since many things can occur that one would not think are issues." According to the Search survey, one-third of the 50 per cent who felt confident in their disaster recovery plans had never tested them. However, Betan suggested such plans should be tested often, due to changing technology. "Technological environments change often," Betan said. "If these changes are not addressed within the DR plan, one cannot be sure the environment will respond as expected." Testing a disaster recovery plan after changes in technology - which Betan chalked up to changes in personnel, software upgrades and new networks - lessens their negative impact on the plans. The expert added that it also "gives you a better chance of full timely recovery."