07 Jul 2009

When IT changes, 'a DR plan needs updating'

Whenever an IT environment changes, a disaster recovery (DR) plan must be altered accordingly, it has been advised.

The In Technology blog on ZDNet noted that while cost-effectiveness may be important to businesses, this should never be the top priority when preparing a DR plan.

Rather, best practice should be at the forefront of a company's mind, which can be done by integrating a DR response into daily operations so it is not seen as a burden.

Firms which have limited time, money and human resources to contribute to DR may find utilising Microsoft Hosted Exchange proves to be a support. As well as improving performance management, Hosted Exchange could also boost data backup and recovery, as well as supporting DR.

"The dynamic nature of IT environment ensures that the DR plan will fail if the management of the plan is not part of change management," the blog stated.

As well as improving DR, hosted exchange technology could also improve the file sharing efficiency of small and medium-sized businesses, Russ Madlener, director of the Windows Server Solutions Group at Microsoft, said.