Imagine your business losing $5,600 every minute that your IT infrastructure is down. Unfortunately, that’s the reality for many businesses when disaster strikes. According to Gartner, the cost of IT downtime averages $5,600 per minute, yet only 2% of companies can restart operations within an hour after a disruption.
While this statistic is alarming, your organization doesn’t have to be vulnerable. With a proactive approach and the right disaster recovery strategy, you can mitigate the risk and bounce back fast.
In this article, we’ll explore the four essential components of a disaster recovery (DR) plan that every business should implement.
Before we dive in, let’s clarify the difference between a backup plan and a disaster recovery plan—two concepts that are often used interchangeably but serve different purposes.
A disaster recovery plan outlines how your organization can resume operations following an unexpected event that impacts applications, systems, or data. This includes weather events, hardware failure, or cyberattacks that threaten business continuity.
A backup plan is the process of securely storing your organization’s data—including files, software, and configurations—in a geographically separate location. Backups ensure critical data can be recovered quickly in case of loss or damage.
Together, these strategies form a comprehensive approach to minimizing downtime and expediting recovery.
The worst time to create a plan is after a disaster has occurred. A well-structured disaster recovery plan should be documented, communicated, and regularly tested to prepare your organization for any eventuality.
Your first step should be to conduct a system and data inventory, identifying all applications, hardware, software, configurations, databases, and batch processes.
From there, prioritize systems based on how critical they are to business operations. Determine:
Resource: Need help building your backup strategy? Download our Data Security Guide to learn how to prevent, detect, and contain security incidents.
Not all threats are predictable. Earthquakes, fires, and cyber intrusions can occur without warning.
Your DR plan should include:
By understanding how to detect and respond to threats quickly, your organization can minimize damage and downtime.
Containment is about acting fast to stop the spread of damage.
In the event of a cyberattack, this may include:
For natural disasters, prioritize employee safety:
Collaboration between IT and business leadership is critical to ensure alignment and preparedness.
Your DR plan should evolve alongside your business.
Changes in systems, applications, or infrastructure require regular reviews to keep your strategy up to date. A good rule of thumb:
An outdated plan is nearly as risky as having no plan at all.
Effective disaster recovery and backup planning is no longer optional—it’s a business imperative.
By focusing on the four core components:
...your organization will be equipped to minimize losses and accelerate recovery.
A well-prepared DR strategy ensures business continuity, protects your reputation, and keeps you competitive in the face of the unexpected.
Looking for expert support? FNTS offers Business Resiliency and Continuity services designed to help you develop a recovery strategy tailored to your environment. From infrastructure design to proactive security planning, we’re here to help you plan with confidence.