What Are the Different Types of Disaster Recovery Plans?

Founder & CEO at Dynamix Solutions

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Whether there’s a flood, ransomware attack, or global pandemic, organizations face disasters every day that can take down their operations. The difference between staying resilient or suffering a business closure is preparedness.

Disaster recovery planning is vital to ensuring your business stays operational and mitigates costs in the case of the unexpected, and there are several ways you can do this.

We’ll review the most common disaster recovery plans below and tell you how to decide which is best for you.

Data Center Disaster Recovery Plans

A disaster recovery plan for a data center has to take into consideration the services provided by the data center and not just the company itself. Most large data centers will be housing processes and storage used by multiple other companies. Basically, the entire “cloud” runs from data centers across the world.

Features of a disaster recovery strategy for a data center include the following:

  • Server security (24/7 monitoring, firewalls, threat response, etc.)
  • Physical security (access controls to the building, security cameras, etc.)
  • Support personnel (technicians on-site at all times to address any problems)
  • Backup systems (power, ISP, HVAC, etc.)
  • Distanced redundancy (mirrored backups to servers in other locations)

The benefit of having disaster recovery solution providers put a solution in place for a data center is that all clients of the data center are protected, rather than just the organization running the data center. 

This ensures continuity of services and operations for multiple users of the servers inside that data center.

Data Back-up Disaster Recovery Plans

The most basic type of disaster recovery services you can use is for data back-up and recovery. All companies, no matter the size, need to have a complete copy of data stored offsite that can be restored in the case of an emergency. 

This is especially important due to the rise of ransomware. Remediation costs for ransomware have more than doubled in the last year and far too many companies (57% on average) pay the ransom because they don’t have an easily restorable backup of their data.

Features of a data back-up disaster recovery plan include:

  • Using the 3-2-1 backup rule (keep 3 copies of your data, keep 2 copies on different backup mediums, keep 1 copy offsite)
  • Ensuring that backups are regularly monitored 
  • Testing data restoration regularly
  • Backing up all devices (including smartphones and tablets)
  • Backing up cloud services (Microsoft 365, etc.)

The benefits of working with IT disaster recovery companies to come up with a strategic back-up disaster recovery plan include ensuring that all data is captured as it should be and that backups are verified regularly.

The average failure rate of backing up all data is 75%.

IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS:

Simply call us at our Toronto office (416) 657-2449 or our Calgary office (403) 456-2183.

Virtual Disaster Recovery Plans

The virtual disaster recovery plan takes data back-ups a step further. Instead of only backing up your data, your entire IT infrastructure is backed up on cloud servers.

Features of the virtual disaster recovery plan include:

  • Replication of your entire IT infrastructure (servers, storage, operating systems, software, apps, and data)
  • Use of virtual machines that allow your infrastructure to run from anywhere
  • Operations are less reliant on hardware to run
  • The virtual environment can be restored to devices at any location

The benefit of working with disaster recovery solution providers on this more robust form of backup and recovery is the ability to quickly pivot to another location to continue running your business should your physical location suffer physical damage or a cyberattack.

Disaster Recovery as a Service (DRaaS)

DRaaS is somewhat like a virtual disaster recovery plan, but in this case, everything is packaged and taken care of for you. You do not have to separately source backup applications or mitigation solutions, it’s all taken care of by the disaster recovery as a service provider.

DRaaS features a complete copy of your IT infrastructure in a 3rd party cloud environment. All verifications of backups and security are handled for you, and you don’t have to purchase any systems separately.

The benefits of using DRaaS include being able to focus completely on your business and knowing your operations are protected from natural disasters, equipment failures, and cyberattacks.

Hot Site Disaster Recovery 

For certain types of organizations, like medical facilities, nursing homes, and financial institutions, being down even for a few hours can be devastating. They can’t really afford any downtime as it will impact multiple other people that they serve.

Hot site disaster recovery is a form of DRaaS that includes setting up a second physical facility filled with identical IT infrastructure. This is a higher cost but more complete protection from downtime.

The benefit of setting up a “hot site” that you can use in the case of a disaster is that downtime can be nearly eliminated as the other site is on standby and ready to be used at any time. Data and devices have already been connected to the necessary systems and infrastructure are in place.

IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS:

Simply call us at our Toronto office (416) 657-2449 or our Calgary office (403) 456-2183.

Cold Site Disaster Recovery

A slightly less-expensive alternative to a hot site is cold site disaster recovery. This involves renting space that can be used if needed. The space will already have servers and other infrastructure in place but won’t be set up and ready to go.

The cold site takes a little longer to get up and running with your processes and data but offers an important alternate location to use if something happens to your physical location.

How to Pick the Right Plan

Several factors should be weighed when choosing the right disaster recovery plan for your business. It’s best to work with a trusted disaster recovery solution provider so you can fully understand your options and what’s involved with each one.

You’ll want to look at the cost of the solution and the cost of downtime for your organization to balance the two and land on the best protection for your business.

Work with Dynamix Solutions to Stay Protected from Disasters

Dynamix Solutions can work with your Toronto or Calgary organization to review your risks and each disaster recovery option. We’ll help you come up with a cost-efficient plan that keeps you better protected.

Contact us today to schedule a consultation! Call Toll Free: 1 (855) 405-1087.

Dynamix Solutions is CyberSecure Canada Certified by the Canadian Federal Government.

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