Disaster Recovery - Importance, Control Strategies and Measures

This article discusses the importance of disaster recovery, control strategies and measures for IT systems. It covers IT Service Continuity, classifications of disasters, and the need for disaster recovery plans. Suitable control measures are also discussed.

Running head: DISASTER RECOVERY
Disaster Recovery
Name of the Student
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Table of Contents
Introduction..........................................................................................................................2
Discussion............................................................................................................................2
IT Service Continuity......................................................................................................2
Classifications..................................................................................................................2
Importance of Disaster Recovery....................................................................................3
Control Strategies and Measures.....................................................................................3
Conclusion...........................................................................................................................3
Bibliography........................................................................................................................4

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Introduction
The concept of disaster recovery can be defined as a set of procedural policies and tools
that help in enabling the vital technological systems continuation and recovery of the
infrastructures. Mostly, the disaster associated with these technological system are either human
induced or natural. The prime focus of disaster recovery is to deal with the challenges faced in
terms of IT systems that play a vital role in several business functions.
Discussion
IT Service Continuity
ITSC, which is often referred to as IT Service Continuity can be stated as the subset of
BCP (Business Continuity Planning). The key purpose of ITSC is to encompass the recovery
planning along with a wider resilience planning. In addition to that, proper incorporation of
communication related IT services and infrastructures is also supported within the framework of
ITSC. RTO (Recovery Time Objective) and RPO (Recovery Point Objective) are the two key
elements that are reflected by the ITSC planning model. RTO defines the particular time period,
within which a business process must be recovered after the occurrence of the disaster in order to
avoid the harsh consequences that may result in breakage of the business continuity model. On
the other hand, RPO reflects the maximum time period which may result in the potential loss of
certain IT services. This loss is usually a result of major incidents that occur in an organization.
The concepts of RPO are thoroughly defined under the business continuity planning.
Classifications
There are two broad categories that are classified under disaster recovery, namely natural
disasters and man-made disasters. The first category involves the potential occurrence of

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earthquakes, tornadoes, floods and hurricanes that cannot be pre estimated. Therefore, proper
risk management measures can help in dealing with these threats. The second category involves
all the human induced disasters such as bioterrorism, failures in terms of infrastructures and
other IT related bugs. Surveillance, mitigation planning and testing are of no value in such cases.
Importance of Disaster Recovery
IT systems play a vital role in ensuring the smooth workflow of an organization. With the
increase in IT necessity within the organizations, the necessity for implementing rapid recovery
along with continued operation have also subsequently increased. Therefore, in order to avoid
severe consequences and losses it is immensely necessary to incorporate proper disaster recovery
plans within the organizational frameworks.
Control Strategies and Measures
Control measures can be defined as the mechanisms and steps that help in reducing or
completely eliminating several threats for an organization. After building a proper checklist of
the potential measures, suitable strategies are to be incorporated by the disaster recovery planner.
The control measures for an IT related disaster can be categorized into three main types, namely
preventive, detective and corrective measures.
Conclusion
To conclude, disaster recovery forms the basis of IT security foundations. In case of
negative events, such as cyber-attacks, system failures and natural disasters a disaster recovery
plan helps the organizations to minimize the impact by incorporating certain strategic measures.
Business impact analysis and risk assessment are needed to be completed in order to design a
proper disaster recovery strategy. It ensures business continuity even during disaster occurrences.

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Bibliography
Cook, J. (2015). A six-stage business continuity and disaster recovery planning cycle. SAM
Advanced Management Journal, 80(3), 23.
Phillips, B. D. (2015). Disaster recovery. CRC press.
Sahebjamnia, N., Torabi, S. A., & Mansouri, S. A. (2015). Integrated business continuity and
disaster recovery planning: Towards organizational resilience. European Journal of
Operational Research, 242(1), 261-273.
Wallace, M., & Webber, L. (2017). The disaster recovery handbook: A step-by-step plan to
ensure business continuity and protect vital operations, facilities, and assets. Amacom.