Disaster Recovery & You: The Gift of Paranoia - Valerie Regas

Create a comprehensive disaster recovery plan with your dedicated team, prioritizing human factors, automation, and employee well-being while considering various scenarios and testing regularly.

Key takeaways

Create a dedicated disaster recovery (DR) team and include both technical and non-technical staff to ensure a comprehensive plan.
Define what is allowed to be considered as a problem and identify areas where improvement is needed.
Write a plan for data recovery and disaster scenarios, including testing and frequent updates.
Consider the “human factor” and prioritize tasks that impact end-users’ experiences.
Designate a backup in case the primary person responsible for a task is unavailable.
Include periodic testing, updates, and simulations to ensure plan effectiveness.
Make sure team members know the plan and are empowered to act without needing approval.
Ensure all employees know what to do in case of an outage and how to communicate with each other.
Designate a backup vendor in case the primary vendor is unavailable.
Include provisions for employee well-being and mental health in disaster scenarios.
Prioritize tasks that can be automated and streamline workflows.
Create a list of tasks with granular details and identify critical components.
Consider multiple scenarios and think about what can go wrong and how to mitigate it.
Don’t assume that only one person is responsible for a task.
Encourage communication and collaboration across the organization.
Test the plan in simulation exercises and adjust as needed.
Update the plan regularly to reflect changes in the organization.
Make sure to allocate time and resources for disaster recovery and plan updates.
Consider creating a press release template and identifying the main point of contact for media inquiries.

Disaster Recovery & You: The Gift of Paranoia - Valerie Regas

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