Planning for disaster in the business world is just like planning for disaster in any other sense – if you leave it until “time-of-disaster”, things are not likely to go smoothly. If, on the other hand, you’ve planned ahead, kept your strategy current and usable, and ensured everyone involved knows their role, then getting things back on track is just a matter of time.
Complete preparation, however, is not just something an organization can achieve in one fell swoop. It is an investment that requires advance preparations, continual attention, communication, updating, and budgetary support.
When it comes to providing for the plan, there are three main options an organization can take:
- Purchase products and services ahead of time – This means having a recovery site ready to go (i.e. “hot”), having the capacity to get it live instantaneously, and being able to activate equipment on a moment’s notice. Fulfilling this agenda requires an upfront investment and series of monthly payments.
- Set-up products and services in a passive state – This means contracting an external partner to trigger all necessary equipment and services at a moment’s notice. It puts everything in place before a disaster strikes and becomes pay as you go once activated.
- Acquire products and services when the disaster occurs – This means having little in place until a disaster is imminent, which usually means prolonged recovery times. Payments are made when and if products and services are needed.
Of the three routes to preparation, waiting until a disaster occurs is, of course, the most dicey. Still, some organizations rely on it in favor of the other aforementioned options with the intention of saving capital. This can, however, backfire in a big way.
If disaster does strike and there is no infrastructure in place to help an organization cope, the cost of recovery is multiplied by the premiums paid for “last minute shopping” and the business losses suffered from the extended operational down time. That is why planning ahead, (even if you selectively vary your advance provisioning by application importance or recovery tier), in spite of any accompanying costs for doing so, is always the best way to go.
