Every company progresses differently in its strategy for backing up and protecting its digital data. Some already have a DRP associated with a BCP, others have initiated preliminary steps with specialised providers, and others are simply assessing at this stage the relevance of a DRP / BCP for their organisation.
Regardless, it is essential to be able to regularly ask certain questions, in order to guarantee the reliability and performance of your DRP solution if you have one.
From what perspective should the relationship with a potential IT service provider guaranteeing a DRP be considered?
What level of responsiveness and availability can be expected from the provider?
What are the elements that must be handled by the provider and documented in the business continuity plan contract?
In the event of an outage, what guarantees exist for recovering services and data, and within what timeframe?
What is the provider's long-term capacity to alert the company about risks to monitor and those it may face in the future?
Whether we are talking about an on-premises disaster recovery plan, one hosted in a datacenter or with a Cloud provider, the transparency of information and the nature of communications between the service provider and the company are essential components for maintaining a high-performing and flexible DRP throughout the duration of the contract.