Disaster Recovery Planning is the term used to describe the procedures in place to ensure that there is adequate backup of critical data, should there be a need to restore such data after a catastrophe such as a computer or server crash.
The term Business Continuity Planning takes Disaster Recovery one step further by ensuring that backed up data can be restored within a short period of time, to minimize business operation downtime.
Traditional data recovery of computer workstations typically takes several hours, to an entire day, if the whole system has to be restored. Server recovery can take days. In today’s fast-paced work environment, hours or days of downtime is becoming increasingly more unacceptable.
Fortunately, there are tools available that can significantly cut downtime, from hours or days, down to as little as 15 to 45 minutes. More businesses today are moving away from the standard data backup model to a process called Disk Imaging, where the complete computer system (Operating System; programs; data; customizations) is imaged (or copied), similar to a snapshot being taken. This means that after a critical crash, the entire system can be restored in mere minutes with a click of the mouse, rather than incrementally over a period of hours or days. Disk Imaging tools range from versions suitable for small offices, to enterprise models. Choose the product most suitable to your business size and needs.
In today’s high-paced business environment, decision makers are moving away from basic Disaster Recovery, to complete Business Continuity models.