The words “opportunity” and “disaster” are rarely used together, but from every solid DR plan opportunities arise. The reality is that disaster recovery planning has a beneficial side few companies even begin to consider. Wondering what kinds of positive aspects can really come out of planning for the worst possible day of your company’s existence? Take a quick look:
Meet Compliance Standards
Compliance standards can be a headache, but these days, meeting them is an absolute must. Disaster recovery planning means that you’ll finally “join the club”, clearing at least one thing off your to-do list. Whether it’s a global standard like ISO, COBit, GRI or SSAE, you have to meet or one you simply aspire to, this is the chance to reduce your risk while building a strategy that puts your company in a stronger position.
Move a Step Ahead of Your Competition
There are a variety of readiness standards your company can adopt right now that will put you at least one step ahead of your competitors. Having the ability to confidently position yourself for new business opportunities or respond to key customer service commitments is a good thing. Disaster recovery planning can help you provide assurances to your customers that you are making the right investments and you will be there to serve them when you need each other the most.
Begin to Imagine the Possibilities
If you’ve ever thought there were ways your company’s infrastructure or operations could be more cost-efficient, this is the time to address that in a comprehensive manner. Disaster recovery planning gives you the chance to view and evaluate a number of aspects of your company that you would rarely even consider. The end result? A unique opportunity to standardize, consolidate and simplify your technology-enabled business processes to help you move forward with cost savings.
Avoiding Other Problems
This planning process isn’t just going to ensure you can recover from a serious incident. It’s also going to reveal the weak spots in your capital investment and operating plans. If you’re not making the right focus on your most critical systems, then how do you ensure the appropriate performance, availability and responsiveness of your most important business functions? By paying more attention to the key systems in your company, you can better direct scarce resources to under-served areas, giving you the chance to address them before they become a nagging issue or even cripple your company.
You may only be thinking about tragedy when you contact a consultant to help you handle your disaster recovery planning, but the benefits of the process are far greater than the simple pursuit of planning for the worst.
