Great DR plans are a great fit to the unique needs of the organizations implementing them. Different options can serve different organizations equally well. One of the most important decisions you have to make is to choose the right DR planning software. How can you determine which product will adequately cover the needs of your business? Assess it against this rubric:
1. Cost Structure
As you decide which license to acquire, consider how the software costs will be distributed. Inquire whether you will be charged a one-time set-up fee or an ongoing subscription, or both. You want to have the flexibility to change the parameters when necessary, and yet you also want a reasonable prediction about the direction of future costs.
2. Reputation
Look for a software provider that has a proven track record with customers, or third-party certifications for their products. Review their references and do your own assessment of their merits by talking to them and asking detailed questions about their experience and satisfaction with the services provided.
3. End-of-Life Risks
Make sure the maker of your disaster recovery planning software continues to invest in its product research and development team. You don’t want the software to be discontinued a couple of years down the line, forcing you to start over. Your DR planning software should come from an organization that is committed to the long-term growth and success of their customers.
4. Ongoing Training
Does the software maker provide educational support for their product? Ideally, they will provide a combination of self-directed training, as well as optional instructor-led support. The best kinds of training also involve “self-certification” tracking so that users can learn and pass milestones at their own speed.
5. Technical Support
Disasters can happen at any time; nothing less than 24/7 support will do. You’re not just looking for call center support, but also web chat and user forums to support your staff when they’re working through tough challenges.
6. Flexible Options
Sometimes you’ll want to run your tools on-site, other times, you’ll want to run them in the cloud. Make sure the software is available in either scenario. You should be looking for guarantees of availability for both your data and their software if/when it is running in the cloud.
7. User Interface
Your disaster recovery planning software should be intuitive and easy to use, since your DR “A” team members might not always be available when you need them. In addition, it should have a mobile interface for access from the field.
8. Data Migration
You must be able to move your data in and out of the planning tool as circumstances dictate. The DR software should be able to support universal formats in order to ease data migration. (Typically DR plans are highly dependent on feeds of information from existing IT databases and files.)
9. Functionality
Is the software sophisticated enough to support your DR plan throughout its life cycle: from the planning/strategy stage; to building the plan; and its ongoing maintenance. For each stage, you will want it to suggest how-to procedures and templates, with examples.
10. Integration Abilities
At a minimum, your disaster recovery planning software needs to integrate the planning and loading of a DR plan from all key IT processes, including asset and configuration management including the system, server, and equipment inventories. It must maintain linkages to project management in order to adapt to changing elements of your plan. Finally, in time of disaster, it needs to accommodate a seamless management transition from the reporting of an outwardly minor alert, through to declaring and invoking main disaster recovery processes. Serious events could evolve from minor changes or incidents.
Your disaster recovery planning software needs to be robust and comprehensive, but at the same time it must be nimble and flexible enough to adapt to changing plans and circumstances. Use this rubric to guide your decision-making, and you’ll be able to choose DR software that meets your needs.
