Rescue team making recovery efforts after earthquake showing importance of data recovery and protection planning
Defending Key Assets via Data Recovery and Protection Planning by Zehra Ali, Editor at PrivacySniffs

Defending Key Assets via Data Recovery and Protection Planning

Data protection and disaster recovery planning is a crucial task and responsibility for any data center manager, and it is important in creating buoyant infrastructures. If there is no data recovery and protection planning, then whether it’s a large or small firm, all kinds of operations will come to a standstill.

For example, if a firms’ website comes down or is not functioning properly to let customers access information on any services; the marketing team cannot access details to customers, and finance couldn’t make entries along with a budget balancing.

IT is unable to predict when such problems may happen. Even though various natural disasters are predictable to a certain extent, data center failures associated with malevolent acts or regular human errors can be sudden and unpredictable. For instance, weary IT staff who is on double shift duty could mistakenly push a button which causes immediate power loss of the main servers.

IT managers can easily create a buoyant infrastructure with data recovery, disaster protection planning and replicated technologies along with computerized DR solutions. This practice will ensure that all data and applications are made available to the working staff in case of an emergency or crisis and will prevent downtime.

In this regard, it is important for small organizations to learn some lessons from larger companies because big corporations started small and they must have done some planning along the way.

According to a Enterprise Strategy Group survey, 53% of companies can stand less than an hour of downtime afore they undergo a major and substantial profit loss or any other business impact.

Every company should have an overall marketing and business plan which will provide them with a roadmap for more profit and development. Similarly, companies of all kinds and sizes should have some strategies for protecting and securing data.

The following steps can be considered while designing a data recovery and protection plan:

1. Formulate an explicit plan

The first and most important step is to acknowledge the significance of a plan. Then make sure you give yourself time to create an official written plan. You also need to add some formality to the process. This means you and your team needs to take the planning process seriously and hold themselves responsible for the plan’s needs and obligations.

For the first draft, set an assertive plan. Try to involve everyone in the company so that they can help you to put the plan into action.

2. Collect and assemble vital data

A fundamental part of your plan must include how you will collect and assemble all the company’s pertinent and important data. Don’t ignore or miss any data sources, which can later turn out to be helpful and precious in many aspects. Also, remember to consider data retention and deletion, which you might think is not at all important. In particular, you should pay close attention to client’s data including their personal information – address, payment data, and contact details.

You need to collect data from every source including the email contact system, surveillance cameras, and others too. Decide and arrange how data should be moved to storage. Moreover, collect and assemble the data in a way, which shows how your business operates.

Everyone in the company should provide their data to a central location. A protected and secure cloud service may be the best option. This is because cloud storage service is cheap and provides remote access to the team. Also, it can protect your data from site-specific dangers like floods or fire. Besides, cloud storage could provide data backup if you need to take down any system immediately to avoid malware spreading.

3. Manage insiders and their access

Most compliance violations and data breaches occurs not because of technology elapses but because of human mistakes and flaws. To avoid such incidents, it is vital to manage how people within the company access, store and send your data. When your business expands, you need access to monitoring and management tools. These tools send you alerts whenever unauthorized people try to access confidential data. They also play a vital part in protecting financial data and in managing the access of outside vendors.

4. The quest for a recovery expert

At times unfortunate incidents do happen such as, an employee might spill coffee on the computer containing information about the clients. Also, a power surge could affect every computer in your organization.

To avoid these types of data losses, the company should have access to a data recovery expert. In this regard, you need to research and find a data recovery firm which has experience with an extensive variety of devices and data losses circumstances.

A data recovery and protection plan is crucial and vital for both small and large-scale businesses to avoid potential data loss. The plan shows how much you care about protecting your data and the success of the business. After all, an active and effective data management plan is one of the best way to avoid data loss and supports your business growth and development.