Disaster Recovery Plan Business Impact Analysis

Developing a Disaster Recovery Plan
Asa J. Peterson
It is impossible to predict when or where a disaster will occur, be it man made or natural. Therefore, how does an organization go about protecting itself in the event of a disaster? A disaster recovery plan outlines the steps that are to be taken by an organization in the event of a disaster. The development of the disaster recovery plan is a detailed process that should be conducted by an organization early on in their history. An essential step in the development of a disaster recovery plan is a business impact analysis. As part of the impact analysis, a vulnerability assessment should also be conducted against the organization. Knowing who to contact and their information must also be included in the recovery plan. Finally, the organization must develop their disaster recovery policies and then implement them.

The disaster recovery plan is a step by step process for responding to a specific event. The procedures should be detailed but still easy enough for everyone in the organization to have a basic understanding of. When developing recovery plans, an organization must also consider which, if any government or regulatory agencies need to be involved in the disaster recovery process (fema.gov). Another factor that needs to be considered when writing the disaster recovery plan is how the organization will communicate during the disaster. The organization will need to identify its core communication infrastructure in the plan, with alternative means of communication if the main communication method is unavailable (fcc.gov). An emergency contact list also needs to be included in the plan. Whomever needs to be notified and kept in the loop should have multiple means of contact listed in the plan prior to its implementation. The contact list will need to be updated as soon as a change is