26 Nov 2008

Disaster recovery 'a continuous process'

Companies need to continuously review their disaster recovery plan to ensure they mitigate risk and build business continuity within their organisations, an expert has said.

Forrester Research's Rudiger Krojnewski has advised firms that changes in business activity or operations in different supporting environments can create new risks, reports Computing.co.uk.

Therefore, firms should regularly review and update their disaster recovery plans to ensure they are best protected, he argued.

Disaster recovery might appear a complex issue to some organisations, but Mr Krojnewski offered some management advice.

One disaster recovery manager should be appointed within a firm, which selected personnel from each department or branch should communicate with.

"Membership of this group needs to be documented in detail and communicated well," Mr Krojnewski added.

Smaller firms might consider hosting their data using Microsoft's cloud computing technology.

Because industry experts can manage a firm's data round the clock, such a set up can provide better security for smaller firms than if they used storage facilities in their own offices, according to Dot Net Solutions chief executive Dan Scarfe.