When businesses search for the right recovery site to meet their needs, there are a variety of factors to take into consideration. Disaster recovery efforts are nothing short of demanding, but the right recovery site can make the process quite a bit easier. Before you pick a site (that you think meets your needs), make certain you ask yourself these questions.
- What are the true costs of using the site? Budget will continually creep into your disaster recovery set-up plans. You have to look carefully at all the costs of the site to make certain it’s going to meet your ongoing needs before you make a decision. Don’t forget that your costs here may not only involve initially contracting for services at the site, but also preparing it as well.
- What are the vulnerabilities of the site? As you select a site to meet your needs, you also want to make certain that it’s not exposed to the same threats that your primary or home site might be. Take a fairly common threat like storm damage and flooding, for example. If you’re setting up disaster recovery efforts, you would want them to be out of a hurricane zone.
- Where is the site located? Along with ensuring the site isn’t vulnerable to many of the things your home site is, you need to make a much deeper consideration of location. You have to think about exactly where the site is and whether it’s easily accessible to your key IT or partners’ staff. In some cases, manual processes will have to be initiated in your “hot” site recovery after a disaster or an outage, and if it’s not in a location that can be easily reached or you’re going to be having to travel long distances or through extensive traffic to get there, your recovery timeline could be jeopardized.
- Do I have a natural choice I’m overlooking? Many companies have the best alternative staring them in the eye. If you have other locations or branches that might make good recovery sites, consider looking at those. Even if you don’t have a seemingly natural choice, take a moment to think through your IT suppliers. Do any of them have offerings or facilities that with a bit of extra contracting could serve as your disaster recovery location? If so, it may be a better choice than seeking out a high-priced, specialized provider that only focuses on recovery services.
While disaster recovery planning may seem overwhelming, ensuring you have the right place prepped and ready in the event of a disaster can go a long way toward peace of mind.
