Why Test an IT Disaster Recovery Plan: Reducing Downtime Risks

Picture this…

A data breach occurs involving a third-party company you work with. You have a disaster recovery plan in place – but it's from several years ago and hasn’t been recently looked at. This pairing of a major IT disruption with a poorly designed or reactive disaster recovery plan creates a perfect storm that could cripple your business and have ripple effects for years to come.

In this article, we’ll discuss the basics of an IT disaster recovery plan and why testing it before disaster strikes is important.

What is an IT Disaster Recovery Plan?

First, let’s start with the basics – what is an IT disaster recovery plan (DRP)? 

It’s a structured approach that prepares your organization to handle unexpected disruptions, helping you minimize downtime and maintain critical operations. 

Though no company is immune from attack, a disaster backup and recovery strategy can help contain the damage and prevent issues from escalating. Unfortunately, simply having a disaster recovery plan doesn’t guarantee the safety of your data. Without testing, your ability to recover essential IT systems might be compromised. 

3 Reasons to Test Your IT Disaster Recovery Plan

This article will dive into the top three reasons why it’s important to test an IT disaster recovery plan:

1. Protecting your brand during outages
2. Safeguarding operations
3. Mitigating financial losses

1. Protecting Your Brand During Outages

News can travel quickly, especially during data breaches or cybersecurity threats that disrupt operations. As customers and suppliers run into roadblocks trying to communicate with your organization and employees scramble for directions, your brand’s reputation may be attacked immediately.

After the news of the breach spreads, customers will worry about the safety and retention of their data, the status of their orders, payment methods, or other concerns, which could jeopardize their relationships.  

Additionally, if news of a mishandled event spreads, potential customers and future employees could leave your organization in the long run.

2. Safeguarding Operations

When a disaster strikes, your organization will race the clock to safeguard operations. The primary goals include:

1. Minimizing employee downtime: Employees may need more time to perform tasks.
2. Reducing data loss: Businesses can temporarily or permanently lose data when disaster strikes.

3. Mitigating Financial Losses

An ITIC 2024 report reveals that 90% of businesses estimate hourly downtime costs to exceed $300,000, with 41% estimating losses between $1 million and $5 million per hour. 

Another ITC 2024 report states that 97% of enterprises with over 100 employees lose over $100,00 each hour since the downtime. This demonstrates the severe financial impact IT disasters can have on organizations, particularly during extended outages.

This study emphasizes the financial risks organizations face when IT systems fail, especially during extended outages. Without a well-structured disaster recovery plan, these costs can spiral, involving lost revenue, productivity, customer trust, and potential fines for non-compliance. 

A comprehensive DR plan reduces these losses by enabling businesses to recover critical systems quickly, minimize downtime, and safeguard operational continuity.

Tying It Altogether: Testing Your IT Disaster Recovery Plan

The benefits of implementing a solid disaster recovery plan are undeniable. Organizations prioritizing disaster recovery can safeguard business continuity, minimize financial impact, preserve data and assets, comply with regulations, and improve their reputation. 

Regularly testing and updating the DR plan to address evolving threats and technological changes can ensure that companies are well-equipped to handle unforeseen events and maintain operations even in a disaster. 

Elevate Your Disaster Recovery Strategy with FNTS

To improve your disaster recovery efforts, FNTS offers tailored services to help you implement, test, and continuously update your disaster recovery plan. Partnering with FNTS ensures your organization has scalable, cloud-based solutions to minimize downtime, protect critical data, and maintain business continuity. 

Explore how FNTS can enhance your resilience and safeguard operations with customized disaster recovery strategies tailored to your business needs.