Why do end-user customers of an MSP or DRaaS provider need disaster recovery planning?
A disaster recovery plan is a schedule that outlines what to do in the event of a disaster or any other cause of downtime.
Careful planning includes how your business will recover its lost data and network infrastructure, as well as what procedures the company must follow to return to normal operations.
Effective disaster recovery plans for your MSP clients usually include all the following six critical DR considerations. Generally, a Managed Service Provider or DRaaS provider only get involved in certain components of a company's disaster recovery plan.
1. Define roles and responsibilities
All stakeholders in the DR plan must be aware of the roles and responsibilities they have in carrying out the plan. They should have their contact information and everything they need to perform their respective tasks.
2. Consider storage requirements
Companies must identify the cost and storage utilization of an effective disaster recovery plan they need to implement. Then they can set aside the necessary resources to have the plan run as smoothly as possible.
3. Set RPO/RTO targets
RPO and RTO targets are based on Service Level Agreements (SLAs) and the total costs associated with your downtime. They must also be reasonable based on your disaster recovery needs.
4. Login management
If a disaster occurs, access is required to sensitive parts of your IT infrastructure, so having it highly secure is imperative. It's just as important for secure login information to be accessible to the right stakeholders.
5. Set a testing schedule
It's essential to set a regular testing schedule to ensure that the failover process from the primary environment and the failback capabilities are working as planned.
6. Compliance documentation
The status and location of sensitive information, essential documents, and other business data you require for compliance. You are then supposed to ensure that the BC/DR team can easily access these documents.