{"id":46066,"date":"2021-01-08T00:42:58","date_gmt":"2021-01-08T00:42:58","guid":{"rendered":"\/us\/en\/blog\/?p=46066"},"modified":"2024-10-28T22:45:39","modified_gmt":"2024-10-29T05:45:39","slug":"what-is-disaster-recovery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/us\/en\/blog\/what-is-disaster-recovery\/","title":{"rendered":"What is disaster recovery?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Businesses have to be prepared for every eventuality.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are plenty of situations that can be safely predicted. Employees will leave, the market will change, technology will advance. That\u2019s just the way business works, and you\u2019ll have effective procedures in place for when this happens.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But what do you do when the unexpected happens?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In many instances, businesses are far less prepared than they should be, especially when it comes to IT. In fact, a survey by Evolve IP revealed that just <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.evolveip.net\/resources-library\/2018-draas-survey\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">47.5%<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of people said they are \u201csomewhat prepared\u201d to recover their IT systems in the case of an emergency.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And a further study by Gartner <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gartner.com\/en\/documents\/3834668\/survey-analysis-it-disaster-recovery-in-2017\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">showed that 80%<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of survey respondents reported an incident in the past two years that required an IT disaster recovery plan. Just imagine if they hadn\u2019t already created a strategy for dealing with such disasters, the results would have been catastrophic.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In this guide, we will show you how to create an effective disaster recovery strategy that could save your assets in a crisis.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><strong>What is disaster recovery (DR)?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Disaster recovery is all about how your business would cope if disaster strikes. It\u2019s an organization&#8217;s plan of how they\u2019d keep all aspects of the business running if a disaster occurred. This includes regaining access to data, handling <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/us\/en\/blog\/operating-expenses\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">operating expenses<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, IT infrastructure, and sensitive information.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">DR is often part of a business continuity plan\u2014when a business sets out the processes, procedures, and decisions to follow if a disruptive event occurs in order to keep the business going.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So, what kind of catastrophes call for a disaster recovery plan? Disasters can include:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Natural disasters such as tornado, hurricane, volcano<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Power outages\/failure<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hardware failure<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Human error, e.g., accidentally erasing data<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Cyberattacks<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Criminal or military attacks<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Malware or ransomware\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A variety of techniques need to form a disaster recovery strategy, as, until something happens, it\u2019s difficult to know the best way to tackle it. One hugely important part of disaster recovery is IT, because nowadays most data is stored digitally.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once upon a time an office may have stored all of their important documentation and paperwork in a filing system. In this day and age, hardware is rarely used. It\u2019s mainly stored online or in cloud-based systems.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Of course, this presents a new problem\u2014what would happen if there was a cyberattack? Because there are always going to be threats to data, no matter where or how it is stored. Having measures in place that could minimize or even prevent data loss is vitally important.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-46072\" src=\"\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/disaster-recovery-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"720\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/caylent.com\/the-importance-of-planning-for-disaster-recovery\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Source<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<h2><strong>What is a disaster recovery strategy?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Think of it as a contingency plan. It\u2019s your organization\u2019s method of how you\u2019d prevent or minimize damage caused by a disaster.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Crisis management is at the forefront of a disaster recovery strategy. Some organizations employ a team that offers disaster recovery as a service (DRaaS) and specifically designs and maintains an effective strategy. But that\u2019s not always necessary if you know the essential points to cover.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A disaster recovery strategy usually includes:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Emergency procedures for employees<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Critical IT assets and their maximum outage time\u2014RTO and RPO<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Contact information for disaster recovery teams<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/us\/en\/blog\/business-communication\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">communication plan<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tools that can help the recovery<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>What is RTO and RPO in disaster recovery?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Recovery time objective (RTO) and recovery point objective (RPO) are important elements of a DR strategy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The recovery time objective refers to the maximum amount of time it may take to get your systems restored and running after a disaster.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The recovery point objective is the amount of data you could afford to lose if there was a server failure. Most businesses want to keep this as short as possible, so they back their data up every 24 hours. That means in the case of an emergency, they&#8217;d only lose 24 hours worth of data.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-46071 aligncenter\" src=\"\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/disaster-recovery-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"575\" height=\"234\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.enterprisestorageforum.com\/storage-management\/rpo-and-rto-understanding-the-differences.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Source<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<h2><strong>Critical elements in a disaster recovery strategy<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Your disaster recovery plan needs to cover what you would do in any disastrous eventuality. Although you\u2019re not going to be able to plan outcomes for every single potential disaster, there\u2019s certainly a rule of thumb to follow.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here are five major elements of a typical disaster recovery plan.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>1. A recovery time objective (RTO) and recovery point objective (RPO)<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The recovery time objective and recovery point objective are two very important steps in the plan. Setting up an RTO will help you establish how much time, effort, and funding should be spent on disaster recovery planning.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To establish an RTO, you need to analyze what\u2019s possible by your IT department and gather a greater understanding into restoration speeds. For instance, an RTO of 30 minutes isn\u2019t possible if restoration takes an hour. You can then use this information to create a realistic RTO.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Your RTO and RPO depend on your business. For example, a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/us\/en\/blog\/how-to-grow-a-small-business\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">small business<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> like a boutique clothing store may allow up to 48 hours for their RTO, meaning they only require a small budget. On the other hand, a large app developer company may have to meet an RTO as short as 20 minutes. Therefore, they are going to need a much higher budget.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Indeed, your RPO also needs to be proportionate to your business\u2019s practices. Those in the healthcare industry, for instance, rely on their data being backed up more frequently, than say, a toy retailer. A toy retailer might be able to cope with losing 24 hours of data, whilst a healthcare provider might need to back up every 6 hours to be safe.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Make sure you\u2019re realistic when setting your RTO and RPO because they are the starting point for the rest of your disaster recovery.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>2. Communication plan<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This section of your disaster recovery solution involves assigning roles and responsibilities. Consider the most important jobs in your business processes, and work your way back from there. Also, ensure each role has a backup person, in case your chosen employee isn\u2019t there on the day of the emergency.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Create a list of all the roles and responsibilities, and include them in a handout to your employees to let everyone know their role. Don\u2019t forget arguably the most important role\u2014assigning the person (or people) who will declare the emergency and contact your IT service provider, contractors, accountants, and suppliers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The communication plan should include the following:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Roles and responsibilities<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Guidance on who to report to<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Contact information to key personnel<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How duties may change during disaster recovery<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Any precautions employees may need to take<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Client communication plan<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This vital step in your disaster recovery plan will allow you to execute your strategy as smoothly as possible. Include this information in employee contracts and your employee handbook, so they know how you handle situations if a disaster occurs.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-46070\" src=\"\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/disaster-recovery-3-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1358\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In some situations, working on-site may no longer be an option and employees may have to temporarily <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/us\/en\/blog\/5-steps-to-sustaining-a-hybrid-or-remote-workforce\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">work remotely<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. If this happens, you need to ensure you\u2019re using software that can also be accessed remotely.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">RingCentral is a platform specifically intended to help those who need to work away from the office. You can still connect with the team through <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/teams\/overview.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">team messaging<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, phone and <a class=\"waffle-rich-text-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/video-call.html\">video calls<\/a> with this powerful tool. Consider having such a system in place already, so when an emergency does strike, the team isn&#8217;t tasked with adapting to a new work system in the middle of a crisis.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"rc-bottom-cta rc-bottom-cta__landscape\" style=\"background-image: url(\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/themes\/ringcentral\/assets\/images\/temp\/rc-bottom-cta-bg.png);\">\n<div class=\"bottom-cta-img\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"533\" height=\"399\" src=\"\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/seven-layers-of-security.png\" class=\"responsive-image\" alt=\"Work together ...\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"bottom-cta-copy\">\n<div class=\"rc-bottom-cta__text\" style=\"\">\n<h3\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"rc-bottom-cta__title headline-copy\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tstyle=\"\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t>Work together through any outage or emergency with 99.999% uptime SLA <\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"rc-bottom-cta__btn-wrapper\" style=\"\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"btn btn-primary btn-lg rc-bottom-cta__link\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\ttitle=\"Learn More\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/technology\/reliability.html\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tdata-dl-name=\"Learn More\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tdata-dl-element=\"button\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tdata-dl-additional-info=\"bottom cta banner\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tdata-no-auto-dl=\"true\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tstyle=\"\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tonmouseover=\"\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tonmouseout=\"this.style.backgroundColor='';this.style.borderColor='';this.style.color='';\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t>Learn More<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<h3><strong>3. Backup check for a business continuity plan<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Business continuity planning is the main goal of a disaster recovery strategy. You need to plan well enough that your business can bounce back and recover as much as possible. To ensure this is the case, you need to run frequent backup checks.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you backup your data on-site, there\u2019s a chance that it could get damaged or be unrecoverable depending on the emergency. Backup your data in accordance with your RPO, and aim to store it on an off-site location data center that\u2019s accessible in a crisis.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Follow the \u201c3-2-1\u201d data backup rule:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">3: Keep three copies of data<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">2: Store two copies on separate media<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">1: Copy located off-site<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">By adhering to this backup rule, you\u2019re securing your data in the best way possible. You can\u2019t always rely on the first on-premises backup, but a second and third is (almost!) guaranteeing safe data recovery.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You might also choose a cloud-based system for your off-site data. Cloud storage is stored on remote servers, but still easily accessible. It can be maintained, managed, and backed up whenever necessary.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>4. Testing with replication drills<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-46069\" src=\"\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/disaster-recovery-4-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1365\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Testing your disaster recovery solution with regular drills is important for checking that the plan is effective and that your critical IT assets are covered. You should be running tests of your disaster recovery at least twice a year.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here are some examples of how you may test your DR:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Walkthrough test. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is where you gather the team to walkthrough the key roles and responsibilities that would come into play on the day of an emergency. It ensures that the team is kept up to date on any changes in procedures and that they all understand their role.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Team test.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> A team test will need all key figures from each department. You will then propose a hypothetical disaster scenario that affects critical systems. The team leaders can then explain what they would do in this situation. This is your opportunity to iron out any discrepancies in your plan.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Restoration test.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> This goes one step further than a hypothetical team test. Here you will evaluate how well the system would respond to an emergency and how it will be restored. You can use a virtual machine to test this.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>A full drill.x <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is the closest to the real thing you can get. It involves some risk, as it could lead to some downtime. Best not to run this drill first thing on a Monday morning. Some businesses don\u2019t want to go as far as a full drill, so check with your IT team whether they believe this is necessary.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you\u2019re a larger business, you may want to run drills more often, particularly if you have considerable RPO and RTO costs. You need to conduct a business impact analysis after each full drill.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>5. Take inventory of all assets\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You need to take inventory of all assets as part of your disaster recovery plan. This includes:<\/span><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>Crucial assets for your business continuity plan. <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is the IT technology that is crucial for your business operations. This means your servers, key software, data, and network equipment.<\/span><\/b><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>Important assets. <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This includes assets that could be challenging for the business to have to work without but those that can be replaced if needs be, such as desktops, mobile decides, and workstations.<\/span><\/b><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>Other assets. <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you were to lose these assets, it wouldn\u2019t have a drastic effect on your business continuity. For example, television screens in the break room.<\/span><\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>Bonus: Use software that can aid recovery<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is the part of a disaster recovery plan that many businesses fail to organize, even though it\u2019s a key factor in business continuity. The systems have gone down, and you\u2019ve got a team working on restoring it. But what happens to the rest of your workforce and, importantly, your clients?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Your workforce may need to work remotely, and this could have a direct impact on productivity. Make sure you\u2019re using a great communications software to combat this. RingCentral has been designed with remote work in mind. This tool will let your employees conduct meetings, performance reviews, and conferences in real time with <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/online-meetings\/overview.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">video conferencing<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, even when they\u2019re not in the office.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-46068\" src=\"\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/disaster-recovery-5.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"930\" height=\"700\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ensuring that your team is still able to work efficiently and effectively through an emergency is important for your business, team morale, and client satisfaction.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You should also invest in <a href=\"https:\/\/heimdalsecurity.com\/blog\/best-cybersecurity-platforms\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">best cybersecurity platforms<\/a>, so any cyberattacks are prevented as much as possible. This is why many businesses prefer the option of cloud-based storage solutions. Cloud storage is housed in a data center with its own security in place. It\u2019s a cost-effective yet simple way of storing data. And, the provider will do all the maintenance and updates for you, freeing up time for employees to take on other tasks.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Remember: if you can prevent having to use your DR plan, it\u2019s worth it.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><strong>Create your disaster recovery strategy<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Disaster recovery plays an important part in the success of your business. It allows you to have a solid plan in place in emergency situations beyond your control and helps you resume normal operations as quickly as possible. The elements we\u2019ve covered will put you in good stead for when disaster strikes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To summarize:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Audit your current processes<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ascertain potential risks<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Establish critical points to include in your DR plan<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Share roles and responsibilities with the team<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Continue to test your plan<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Invest in video conferencing software that will help your business stay connected, prep your employees for their roles in a disaster, and, most importantly, be ready to assure customers that you\u2019re still able to look after their needs.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Business continuity is key, and you need to ensure your organization\u2019s ability to meet commitments despite setbacks.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While you can\u2019t predict when it happens, you can prepare for how your business responds to it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Businesses have to be prepared for every eventuality. There are plenty of situations that can be safely predicted. Employees will leave, the market will change, technology will advance. That\u2019s just the way business works, and you\u2019ll have effective procedures in place for when this happens.\u00a0 But what do you do when the unexpected happens? In &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":46067,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17901],"tags":[7911,1741],"class_list":["post-46066","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-leadership","tag-business-continuity","tag-disaster-recovery"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v19.3 (Yoast SEO v27.2) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>What is disaster recovery? | RingCentral Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Businesses have to be prepared for every eventuality. There are plenty of situations that can be safely predicted. Employees will leave, the market will\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/us\/en\/blog\/what-is-disaster-recovery\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What is disaster recovery?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Businesses have to be prepared for every eventuality. There are plenty of situations that can be safely predicted. Employees will leave, the market will\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/us\/en\/blog\/what-is-disaster-recovery\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"RingCentral Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ringcentral\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-01-08T00:42:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-10-29T05:45:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/What-is-disaster-recovery.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"930\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"700\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"RingCentral Team\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ringcentral\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ringcentral\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"RingCentral Team\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"11 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/what-is-disaster-recovery\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"\/us\/en\/blog\/what-is-disaster-recovery\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"RingCentral Team\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/65a168321317ffd562e0d77745f1b358\"},\"headline\":\"What is disaster recovery?\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-01-08T00:42:58+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-10-29T05:45:39+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"\/us\/en\/blog\/what-is-disaster-recovery\/\"},\"wordCount\":2257,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/what-is-disaster-recovery\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/What-is-disaster-recovery.png\",\"keywords\":[\"business continuity\",\"Disaster Recovery\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Business &amp; leadership\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"\/us\/en\/blog\/what-is-disaster-recovery\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/what-is-disaster-recovery\/\",\"name\":\"What is disaster recovery? | RingCentral Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/what-is-disaster-recovery\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/what-is-disaster-recovery\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/What-is-disaster-recovery.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-01-08T00:42:58+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-10-29T05:45:39+00:00\",\"description\":\"Businesses have to be prepared for every eventuality. There are plenty of situations that can be safely predicted. Employees will leave, the market will\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/what-is-disaster-recovery\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/what-is-disaster-recovery\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/what-is-disaster-recovery\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/What-is-disaster-recovery.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/What-is-disaster-recovery.png\",\"width\":930,\"height\":700},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/what-is-disaster-recovery\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"\/us\/en\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"What is disaster recovery?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"RingCentral Blog\",\"description\":\"Intelligent Communications\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"RingCentral\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/ringcentral-logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/ringcentral-logo.png\",\"width\":2048,\"height\":309,\"caption\":\"RingCentral\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ringcentral\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/ringcentral\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/ringcentral\/\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/ringcentral\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/65a168321317ffd562e0d77745f1b358\",\"name\":\"RingCentral Team\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9a8d989fa7e72af5bd5cf487cf7080318b695de4be89de382c5e64305dd0249c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9a8d989fa7e72af5bd5cf487cf7080318b695de4be89de382c5e64305dd0249c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9a8d989fa7e72af5bd5cf487cf7080318b695de4be89de382c5e64305dd0249c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"RingCentral Team\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\"],\"url\":\"\/us\/en\/blog\/author\/ringcentral-team\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What is disaster recovery? | RingCentral Blog","description":"Businesses have to be prepared for every eventuality. There are plenty of situations that can be safely predicted. Employees will leave, the market will","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/us\/en\/blog\/what-is-disaster-recovery\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"What is disaster recovery?","og_description":"Businesses have to be prepared for every eventuality. There are plenty of situations that can be safely predicted. Employees will leave, the market will","og_url":"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/us\/en\/blog\/what-is-disaster-recovery\/","og_site_name":"RingCentral Blog","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ringcentral","article_published_time":"2021-01-08T00:42:58+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-10-29T05:45:39+00:00","og_image":[{"width":930,"height":700,"url":"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/What-is-disaster-recovery.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"RingCentral Team","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@ringcentral","twitter_site":"@ringcentral","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"RingCentral Team","Est. reading time":"11 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/what-is-disaster-recovery\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"\/us\/en\/blog\/what-is-disaster-recovery\/"},"author":{"name":"RingCentral Team","@id":"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/65a168321317ffd562e0d77745f1b358"},"headline":"What is disaster recovery?","datePublished":"2021-01-08T00:42:58+00:00","dateModified":"2024-10-29T05:45:39+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"\/us\/en\/blog\/what-is-disaster-recovery\/"},"wordCount":2257,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/what-is-disaster-recovery\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/What-is-disaster-recovery.png","keywords":["business continuity","Disaster Recovery"],"articleSection":["Business &amp; leadership"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"\/us\/en\/blog\/what-is-disaster-recovery\/","url":"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/what-is-disaster-recovery\/","name":"What is disaster recovery? | RingCentral Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/what-is-disaster-recovery\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/what-is-disaster-recovery\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/What-is-disaster-recovery.png","datePublished":"2021-01-08T00:42:58+00:00","dateModified":"2024-10-29T05:45:39+00:00","description":"Businesses have to be prepared for every eventuality. There are plenty of situations that can be safely predicted. Employees will leave, the market will","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/what-is-disaster-recovery\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/what-is-disaster-recovery\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/what-is-disaster-recovery\/#primaryimage","url":"\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/What-is-disaster-recovery.png","contentUrl":"\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/What-is-disaster-recovery.png","width":930,"height":700},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/what-is-disaster-recovery\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"\/us\/en\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"What is disaster recovery?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/","name":"RingCentral Blog","description":"Intelligent Communications","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/#organization","name":"RingCentral","url":"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/ringcentral-logo.png","contentUrl":"\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/ringcentral-logo.png","width":2048,"height":309,"caption":"RingCentral"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ringcentral","https:\/\/x.com\/ringcentral","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/ringcentral\/","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/ringcentral"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/65a168321317ffd562e0d77745f1b358","name":"RingCentral Team","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9a8d989fa7e72af5bd5cf487cf7080318b695de4be89de382c5e64305dd0249c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9a8d989fa7e72af5bd5cf487cf7080318b695de4be89de382c5e64305dd0249c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9a8d989fa7e72af5bd5cf487cf7080318b695de4be89de382c5e64305dd0249c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"RingCentral Team"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com"],"url":"\/us\/en\/blog\/author\/ringcentral-team\/"}]}},"rc_img_url":"\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/What-is-disaster-recovery.png","rcblog_by_author":"<a href=\"\/us\/en\/blog\/author\/ringcentral-team\/amp\" data-dl-events-click=\"true\" data-dl-element=\"link\"><span class=\"image\"><img src=\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9a8d989fa7e72af5bd5cf487cf7080318b695de4be89de382c5e64305dd0249c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\" alt=\"\" width=\"30\" height=\"30\" layout=\"fixed\"><\/img><\/span><span class=\"by-author-name\">RingCentral Team<\/span><\/a>","rc_author_full_name":"RingCentral Team","rc_author_avatar":"\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/ringcentral-logo-new.png","rc_author_link":"\/us\/en\/blog\/author\/ringcentral-team\/amp","rc_post_categories":"<a href=\"\/us\/en\/blog\/category\/trending\/business-leadership\/amp\">Business &amp; leadership<\/a>","amp_link":"\/us\/en\/blog\/what-is-disaster-recovery\/amp","excerpt_title":"What is disaster recovery?","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46066","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46066"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46066\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46067"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46066"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46066"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46066"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}