A disaster recovery (DR) plan is critical to maintaining business continuity in the face of unexpected disruptions. It addresses incidents such as system failures, cyber-attacks, natural disasters, human error, and data centre outages.
Effective DR plans significantly reduce the impact of such events, facilitating a swift recovery with minimal disruption to business operations.
However, there are several common mistakes that can weaken a business’s DR plan. Therefore, this article explores these typical errors so businesses in Malaysia can avoid jeopardising their DR strategy.
5 Common Mistakes That Weaken A DR Plan
1. Untested DR Plans
Organisations often overlook testing DR plans due to their complexity and constraints on time and resources.
This neglect can result in unpreparedness during actual disasters, causing confusion and prolonged downtime that hinders recovery efforts.
Hence, regular DR Drills are crucial to ensuring that employees understand their roles during a disaster. Testing also refines the DR plan by identifying configuration errors, recovery role omissions, application oversights, and site-specific issues.
Read more: Disaster Recovery Plan for Small Businesses in Malaysia
2. Lack of Documentation and Updates
A well-documented DR plan is fundamental to its successful execution.
Comprehensive documentation should include all recovery plan details and be regularly updated to reflect plan adjustments, changes in the digital infrastructure or emerging threats.
Consistent updates are vital to maintaining the plan’s relevance and guiding recovery efforts effectively and quickly.
In contrast, inadequate documentation can cause significant delays, hindering the restoration of normal operations.
3. Vulnerable Backup Data
Backups are a core component of a DR plan, enabling data retrieval if the original data is compromised or lost due to a disaster.
However, backup data can be susceptible to various vulnerabilities.
- Low frequency: Infrequent backups can result in substantial data loss between backup intervals.
- Inaccessible backup: Backups can become inaccessible due to lost credentials or cyber-attacks.
- Damaged backup: Damaged backups can go unnoticed if not checked regularly, and issues may only be discovered when a disaster strikes.
Thus, employing a reliable data backup service provider ensures that the backup process is smooth and reliable, providing confidence in data recovery when needed.
4. Not Following 3-2-1-1 Data Protection Rule
This rule has been the standard for data backup and is essential for enhancing the data protection strategy and strengthening the overall DR plan.
It involves creating 3 copies of data stored on 2 different media, with 1 copy offsite and 1 copy offline. Adhering to this rule ensures data redundancy and protection against various threats.
While neglecting the 3-2-1-1 rule heightens the risk of data loss and weakens cyber resilience, Aegis offers superior protection with its enhanced 4-3-2 backup rule.
5. Picking the Wrong Provider
Lastly, choosing the right DR service provider is crucial for developing a DR plan that meets your business’s specific needs.
Look for a provider that provides comprehensive support and regular drills to ensure your DR plan remains effective. They should have a proven track record of reliability and expertise in disaster recovery.
Aegis offers Disaster Recovery-as-a-Service (DRaaS) to help manage and ensure the effectiveness of your DR plan.
Read More: Ensuring Your Disaster Recovery (DR) Strategy Doesn’t Fail
Strengthen Your Cyber Resilience with Aegis
While having a DR plan is essential for business continuity, it is equally important to avoid these common mistakes.
Aegis, as a certified disaster recovery expert, provides various cloud disaster recovery services designed to support your business’s cyber resilience and ensure worry-free business operations.
Aegis’ backup and disaster recovery service is ISO 27001: 2022 certified, providing you with the highest standard of data protection.
Contact us for a tailored DR plan and backup strategy that enhances your cyber resilience.
Plan effectively—don’t wait until it’s too late!
