- Data Asset Inventory Key Management: When it comes to backup and recovery you need to understand the equipment inventory and have it documented. This helps to identify all the equipment in your environment. So if there is a small or large problem, spare equipment is quickly accessible and configurable. Good asset management helps prevent employee theft, which can certainly happen at any organization. In broad terms, you need to determine the recovery point objective (RPO) and recovery time objective (RTO) for different parts of the business and put together an effective data protection plan to achieve this.
Network DRP: To manage a network successfully you need to have detailed documentation to know everything about the network. A backup and recovery plan documentation helps you understand how a network is functioning and allows you to not only identify gaps but fix all the issues. You can handle any kind of problems including interruptions due to loss of voice or data connectivity as a result of network provider problems or disasters caused by nature or human activities.
- Cost Savings: Proper documentation can result in better management and helps you find where you can save money. For example if you need to save money on hardware why run three separate servers when you can run three virtual servers on one physical server or move some of your environment to a hosted solution?
- DRP testing: When you have a disaster recovery plan you will need to run drills and identify gaps and test your recovery objectives. One of my favorite solutions utilizes Veeam Backup and Replication. It also allows you to see your recovery plan in action. Running these drills also allows your IT staff to build a trust relation with your end users. Disaster Recovery has become tougher due to constantly changing IT environments. Ensure your disaster recovery plan tests are done frequently and runs smoothly with the help of DR monitoring tools.
There are a lot of benefits to having a disaster recovery plan. It provides businesses the peace of mind in the event of a disaster. Your IT environment can be turned on in another location and in some instances with as little as one hour of downtime. This keeps a business running and significantly limits their down time. If you are looking for Outsourced IT Services in Toronto make sure you contact a Certified Partner like System Architects.
Written by:
Rabih Nassif
System Architects Inc.
