Features

Features

• Ensure your DR strategy meets the challenges of a new decade

  Traditional disasters and new cyberthreats have organizations reexamining their DR plans to ensure they maintain high levels of availability and can restore operations quickly.  Continue Reading

• Preparing an annual schedule of business continuity activities

  Many activities comprise a business continuity plan, and the better you manage them, the more successful your overall business continuity program will be.  Continue Reading

• Free service-level agreement template for DR plans

  Download our free SLA template to help you get started planning the performance and response time requirements associated with disaster recovery activities.  Continue Reading

• 4 approaches to creating a business continuity and DR strategy

  Learn which approaches an organization can take -- including using a single provider, a managed partnership or DIY -- when implementing their business continuity and disaster recovery strategy.  Continue Reading

• Need a BC/DR plan? MSPs provide one source of expertise

  Smaller businesses may lack in-house expertise for developing a BC/DR strategy, but managed service providers may be able to lend a hand with the planning task.  Continue Reading

• Business continuity services, DR planning key to recovery success

  Although all-in-one options for business continuity and disaster recovery planning are lacking, organizations can create a system using the various services and tools examined here.  Continue Reading

• Top 5 disaster recovery and planning questions asked in 2019

  What were your top DR planning questions in 2019? While the cloud seems top of mind every year, newer trends like blockchain and orchestration also made the list.  Continue Reading

• Business impact analysis checklist: 10 improvements to your BIA strategy

  A business impact analysis is a critical part of disaster recovery planning. Avoid potential disruptions and smooth out the planning process with this BIA checklist.  Continue Reading

• Recovering from ransomware soars to the top of DR concerns

  Ransomware recovery may not have always been a featured topic in TechTarget's 20 years of coverage, but it's certainly made an impression in the last few.  Continue Reading

• Data replication technologies: What they are and how to use them

  Data replication can play a big role in a disaster recovery plan, so make sure you're familiar with the different types of replication and where they work best.  Continue Reading

• Free IT disaster recovery plan template and guide

  A DR strategy is the cornerstone to ensuring infrastructure and applications continue to operate when a major outage hits. Our free DR template outlines the needed steps.  Continue Reading

• Sample business continuity plan template for small businesses

  Our step-by-step business continuity plan for small businesses enables an organization to restore mission-critical operations during an unforeseen event.  Continue Reading

• What is a business resilience plan and why do you need one?

  Just like business continuity has become indispensable, having an IT resilience plan in place is crucial to keeping your business up and running today.  Continue Reading

• Disaster recovery for small businesses leaves no room for excuses

  Are you putting off investing in disaster recovery efforts for your small business? If your reasons include a lack of urgency and funds, we have some news for you.  Continue Reading

• Free cybersecurity incident response plan template

  Want to boost your organization's ability to fight cybersecurity threats? Learn the essentials to creating an incident response plan and download our free, editable template.  Continue Reading

• Ransomware attack recovery pointers for when you've been hit

  Ransomware recovery is a complex and expensive process, and an attack can happen to anyone. Taking precautions and acting early could save your data -- and a good amount of money.  Continue Reading

• Using the cloud for disaster recovery? You'll need these key terms

  If you're planning on implementing a cloud-based disaster recovery plan, be sure to familiarize yourself with core aspects of crafting a cloud DR plan and choosing a provider.  Continue Reading

• Natural disaster recovery planning: 4 frequently asked questions

  When crafting a disaster recovery plan, don't rule out natural disasters as a major threat. Don't let a storm catch you off guard after making your recovery preparations.  Continue Reading

• Words to go: Disaster recovery planning checklist

  Working on a disaster recovery plan? Don't forget to include these vital tests, exercises, plans and assessments when preparing for a disruptive event.  Continue Reading

• A condensed look at the IT resilience market

  A lot is going on in the market for resilience. Acquisitions, partnerships and other consolidations have bundled DR planning offerings, creating one-stop shopping experiences.  Continue Reading

• How to use AI for business continuity and disaster recovery planning

  Are you incorporating AI into your BC/DR planning? If not, there are multiple opportunities to include AI in the planning process, both before and after a disaster occurs.  Continue Reading

• BC/DR plan template: How to prepare for an active shooter event

  A standard BC/DR template typically covers weather, equipment failures and fires. In recent years, more organizations are naming active shooting scenarios as a BC/DR concern.  Continue Reading

• Disaster recovery plans, continuity take center stage in 2018

  Were you worried about your DR plan in 2018? You're far from alone. Preparation for ransomware and natural disaster threats loomed over the heads of DR planners in the past year.  Continue Reading

• Developing an emergency communications plan: A template for business continuity planners

  Effectively communicating information in a crisis is an important part of business continuity planning. Get the steps to follow in our emergency communication plan template.  Continue Reading

• Using a business impact analysis template: A free BIA template and guide

  If you need to perform a business impact analysis, this guide and our free, downloadable BIA template will assist you in your business continuity planning.  Continue Reading

• A free business continuity plan template and guide

  A business continuity plan is critical for an organization when an unplanned event occurs. Follow this template and BC planning guidelines to get on the right path to resilience.  Continue Reading

• Test your ransomware recovery plan to safeguard data

  Testing your restore process prior to an attack is a major part of surviving a ransomware infection. Reduce recovery time and ensure data is secure with planning and preparation.  Continue Reading

• Disaster recovery for cloud computing: Burning questions

  Disaster recovery is a delicate, vital process that every organization needs to consider. With the rise of cloud computing, is cloud disaster recovery a viable option?  Continue Reading

• Year's best practices for disaster recovery aid resilience

  The top disaster recovery tips of 2017 tackle a wide range of important areas, including ransomware protection, hyper-converged DR, testing in the cloud and outage lessons.  Continue Reading

• Disaster recovery tools: What most DR pros want

  Organizations don't have nearly as much confidence in their DR plans as you might think, and -- for many -- disaster recovery plan testing doesn't happen nearly as often as it should.  Continue Reading

• Data center disaster recovery plan template and guide

  Read our guide on data center DR planning, and then download our free template to assess how your data center facility and its infrastructure would perform during a disaster.  Continue Reading

• Network disaster recovery plan template

  If your organization doesn't have a network disaster recovery plan, download our free network DR plan template for tips on how to get started.  Continue Reading

• How a disaster recovery process can go hyper-converged

  Hyper-convergence can be well-suited to a backup and recovery plan: Instant recovery plays a big role. Some hyper-converged vendors, though, particularly stand out.  Continue Reading

• Free business continuity policy template

  A business continuity plan can help organizations of any size prepare for a disaster. Resiliency, recovery and contingency planning are key elements to get systems up and running.  Continue Reading

• DRaaS providers: Four key capabilities to screen for

  IT must plan for both major and minor disasters. There are four key capabilities DRaaS vendors must have to ensure they can handle the full range of potential disasters.  Continue Reading

• Business continuity and disaster recovery testing templates

  BC and DR testing can be major challenges for any organization. Our free templates offer ways to incorporate testing into your overall management process.  Continue Reading

• DRaaS providers make streamlined testing a reality

  When you're using a cloud-based disaster recovery plan, you really don't have an excuse for overlooking consistent testing, as it can be a pain-free, streamlined process.  Continue Reading

• A free IT risk assessment template

  A risk assessment is a critical part of the DR planning process. Read our guide on how to prepare a risk assessment, and then download our free risk assessment template.  Continue Reading

• Beware of hidden gotchas in DR-as-a-service options

  Discover the must-have features organizations of any size should keep top of mind when shopping for a cloud-based DR provider. Future services may include converged offerings.  Continue Reading

• A guide to a better cloud disaster recovery plan

  Disaster recovery as a service has fast become an ideal way for enterprises to tap the cloud to solve their disaster recovery challenges.  Continue Reading

• Storage pros confident their business disaster recovery plan will work

  Disaster recovery is about more than the duplication of enterprise data in an emergency, it's about getting the applications, servers and storage up and running quickly as well.  Continue Reading

• Cloud-based disaster recovery service grabs spotlight

  Cloud-based disaster recovery has emerged as an affordable, flexible method for providing application availability following a disaster event.  Continue Reading

• Five corporate disaster recovery plan essentials

  Jason Buffington, Jon Toigo, George Crump, Marc Staimer and Paul Kirvan share their must-haves for your corporate DR plan.  Continue Reading

• Need a business disaster recovery plan? You're not alone

  Many companies either don’t see the need for a business disaster recovery plan or haven’t allocated enough resources to create a good DR plan.  Continue Reading

• Risk analysis boosts disaster recovery planning process

  Business continuity and disaster recovery are chronically overlooked. Learn what you can do to avoid losses that could impact your organization.  Continue Reading

• DR plans are common, but disaster recovery tests remain uneven

  Though most companies have DR plans in place, confidence in their disaster recovery testing in an emergency remains uneven.  Continue Reading

• Caution advised when moving to DR in the cloud

  While disaster recovery in the cloud offers many benefits, it's still an emerging technology. We explore the main options and the challenges they can present.  Continue Reading

• Disaster recovery planning process still a hit-or-miss affair

  Nearly half of the companies we recently surveyed still don't have a disaster recovery planning process in place.  Continue Reading

• Deep dive into cloud-based DR

  Called cloud's killer app, cloud-based DR puts fast, economical recoveries within reach of most companies.  Continue Reading

• WAN optimization products still key for DR and cloud access

  Modern applications, the cloud and massive amounts of data make WAN optimization more important than ever.  Continue Reading

• Why monitoring your data protection policy is like herding cats

  Ensuring your data protection policy will actually work when needed may require the use of multiple monitoring tools.  Continue Reading

• Buffington: DR test requires an 'honest look' at your infrastructure

  In this Q&A, Jason Buffington, a senior analyst at ESG, discusses some DR test best practices and technologies that are making DR testing easier.  Continue Reading

• Companies have high expectations for their disaster recovery test plan

  Disaster recovery is a standard fixture in most data centers; our most recent survey finds 77% of respondent organizations have a DR plan in place.  Continue Reading

• Q&A: Using a colocation data center for DR

  In this Q&A, independent disaster recovery expert Paul Kirvan discusses specific issues organizations should consider before choosing a colocation data center for DR.  Continue Reading

• 10 mistakes to avoid in your disaster recovery planning process

  Don't make your DR planning process harder than it is by trying to do too much or cutting corners. Careful planning is key to a successful recovery.  Continue Reading

• Disaster recovery plan testing: Will your plan work?

  DR has become tougher due to ever-changing virtual environments. Ensure your disaster recovery plan testing runs smoothly with DR monitoring tools.  Continue Reading

• Implementing cloud-based disaster recovery: Six key steps

  Cloud-based disaster recovery puts effective DR within reach of just about any company. Here's how to get it done.  Continue Reading

• 10 essential DR tips

  Putting together an effective disaster recovery plan can be a complex and arduous process; these 10 DR tips can help you with your planning.  Continue Reading

• Focus on disaster recovery and contingency planning in 2013

  It's time to make disaster recovery and contingency planning a priority in 2013. This collection of templates, articles and videos is a great start.  Continue Reading

• What is business continuity? Learn these DR terms

  Check out this list of important BC/DR terms on SearchDisasterRecovery.com. The list includes terms you should know and some that may seem obscure.  Continue Reading

• How to decide if outsourcing IT is right for your company

  Many SMBs find that hiring outsiders can be advantageous, especially when the tasks at hand are relatively routine.  Continue Reading

• Toigo: Keep tape in your disaster recovery policy

  Disk backup and remote replication have become commonplace, but don't count tape out for DR. Learn why Jon Toigo is so keen on keeping tape in your disaster recovery policy.  Continue Reading

• Disaster recovery in the cloud explained

  Discover whether or not disaster recovery in the cloud is a good choice for your organization, and the pros and cons of different cloud DR approaches.  Continue Reading

• Recovering from a disaster: A data center checklist

  Recovering from a disaster is never easy. Arm yourself with our data center checklists to make your disaster recovery process easier.  Continue Reading

• High availability guidelines and VMware HA best practices

  Elias Khnaser discusses VMware High Availability best practices in this chapter excerpt. After you read the excerpt, download the full backup and high availability chapter.  Continue Reading

• Disaster recovery security: The importance of addressing data security issues in DR plans

  Data security issues have a constant presence in the IT industry and should be addressed in DR plans. It's not enough for storage managers to only cover basic security measures.  Continue Reading

• Using a colocation data center for disaster recovery

  Find out what the benefits of a colocation data center are and what criteria you should follow when choosing a colocation facility.  Continue Reading

• Selecting an automated notification system for data center disasters

  Automated notification systems can prevent communication problems during a data center disaster. Find out how to choose the right system in this tip.  Continue Reading

• Criteria for staffing a disaster recovery site

  Who should be staffing your disaster recovery site isn't always clear. Find out what you need to know about staffing your DR site in this Q&A.  Continue Reading

• Protecting branch offices with cloud disaster recovery

  Cloud disaster recovery can be a good way to protect your remote offices if you virtualize and deploy WAN optimization in your ROBO environment before implementing cloud DR.  Continue Reading

• Data center consolidation best practices for disaster recovery planners

  Many organizations large and small are finding a need to consolidate their data. Follow these best practices for your data center consolidation.  Continue Reading

• Hurricane disaster recovery planning for data centers

  This column focuses on hurricane DR planning for the data center. Learn how to keep your data center safe and communicate effectively with your employees during a hurricane.  Continue Reading

• Disaster recovery replication guide: A look at data replication tools

  Learn everything about disaster recovery replication in this free essential guide. Learn about data replication tools, the best data replication strategy and more.  Continue Reading

• Disaster recovery monitoring tools boost data protection and simplify DR

  Disaster recovery monitoring tools can help out with DR by boosting data protection and simplifying DR processes.  Continue Reading

• Disaster recovery plan testing primer: Test to fail

  Disaster recovery testing is highly valued among standards and DR/BC organizations, but these tests are only effective if you perform them correctly.  Continue Reading

• Continuous data protection (CDP) offers up-to-the minute disaster recovery at a price

  Kevin Beaver, independent information security consultant with Principle Logic LLC, discusses continuous data protection and disaster recovery in this Q&A.  Continue Reading

• How do I determine my RPO if my facility needs to be shut down for a period of time?

  Paul Kirvan discusses how to determine the appropriate RPO of a waste facility when it needs to be shut down for a period of time.  Continue Reading

• Factoring VoIP into your disaster recovery plan

  Paul Kirvan, independent disaster recovery and business continuity expert, answers some commonly asked questions about disaster recovery and VoIP in this Q&A.  Continue Reading

• Five key business continuity technologies to support BC planning in 2010

  Read about the five most important technologies you should have in your data storage environment to help with BC/DR planning in 2010.  Continue Reading

• Using data deduplication products as part of an IT disaster recovery strategy

  Data deduplication has gained a lot of traction in the data backup and recovery world over the past few years. When integrating data deduplication products into your IT disaster recovery strategy, there are a number of things you need to consider. ...  Continue Reading

• Hosted PBX systems offer cost-effective telephone disaster recovery with caveats

  Paul Kirvan, independent consultant, author and educator in BC management, discusses hosted PBX systems in this Q&A.  Continue Reading

• WAN optimization continues to evolve; integration with data deduplication products on the horizon

  The adoption of cloud storage and virtualization are driving wide-area network optimization implementation and it is becoming clear that WAN optimization more flexible than we've thought about it in the past. Jeff Boles, senior analyst with The ...  Continue Reading

• Exploring Microsoft Windows clustering and high-availability tools in disaster recovery

  Microsoft has beefed up high availability for Windows, Exchange and Hyper-V, but organizations still turn to third-party tools to reduce complexity and cost.  Continue Reading

• WAN clustering emerges to provide transparent failover between physical sites

  WAN clustering involves clustering across physical locations to provide transparent failover between sites. Jeff Boles, senior analyst with Taneja Group, discusses WAN clustering in this Q&A.  Continue Reading

• Minimizing business risk with disaster recovery audits

  Having a disaster recovery plan in place is a key step toward making sure your business can recover data and continue operations in the event of a disaster. Auditing the plan ensures that it addresses people, process and technology issues and ...  Continue Reading

• Disaster recovery and business continuity articles and podcasts by DR expert Paul Kirvan

  Learn about disaster recovery (DR) planning, business impact analysis, and download our free business continuity and DR templates in this collection of articles from DR expert Paul Kirvan.  Continue Reading

• Disaster recovery monitoring software offers visibility into certain DR environments

  Pierre Dorion, data center practice director and senior consultant at Long View Systems Inc., discusses the disaster recovery monitoring software market today, who can benefit from disaster recovery monitoring software, and its pros and cons in this...  Continue Reading

• Using disk-based data backup technology for disaster recovery purposes

  Disk-based backup and remote disk-based data backup have become important tools for companies that want to get their data offsite but have short recovery time requirements. Pierre Dorion, data center practice director at Long View Systems Inc., ...  Continue Reading

• Disaster recovery testing strategies

  Even a minor disruption can have major consequences for business continuity. In Jon Toigo's latest column, learn about why disaster recovery testing is more important than ever.  Continue Reading

• A tutorial on self-healing data storage systems

  Data storage systems are increasingly offering the ability to repair hard disk drive failures without user intervention. Learn about self-healing storage in this tutorial.  Continue Reading

• Remote data center management for disaster recovery purposes

  Kyle Rankin, Systems architect with Quinstreet Inc. and president of the North Bay Linux Users Group, discusses the pros and cons of remote data center management for disaster recovery in this FAQ.  Continue Reading

• Mobile data recovery services for disaster recovery FAQ

  Paul Kirvan discusses mobile recovery services for disaster recovery (DR) in this FAQ. Paul has more than 20 years experience in business continuity management as a consultant, author and educator. He is also secretary of the United States' chapter ...  Continue Reading

• Data center emergency power strategies in disaster recovery planning

  Despite all the precautions you can take to provide uninterrupted power to your data center, situations can occur that threaten your center's continued operations. Learn about emergency power strategies in disaster recovery planning.  Continue Reading

• Swine flu and pandemic planning

  How will swine flu affect your business? We've compiled our recent news and expert advice on the swine flu and pandemic planning here for your convenience.  Continue Reading

• Workforce continuity and disaster recovery

  While ensuring the IT infrastructure is up and running is a crucial part of disaster recovery (DR), you still need to provide users with the ability to work. Pierre Dorion discusses the importance of workforce continuity in ensuring effective ...  Continue Reading

• How server virtualization benefits disaster recovery

  In this FAQ, business continuity expert Paul Kirvan, discusses the various server virtualization approaches that are effective for disaster recovery and how they benefit failover and failback processes.  Continue Reading

• Disaster recovery planning and network services

  While ensuring access to critical business data often drives disaster recovery (DR) planning, including network services in your DR plan can ensure business continuity. In this FAQ, Carrie Higbie, global director for data center solutions at the ...  Continue Reading

• The role of tape in disaster recovery

  Despite the growth of remote backup over the network, tape is still a key element in disaster recovery (DR) plans. Pierre Dorion, data center practice director at Long View Systems Inc., answers common tape backup questions as they relate to DR.  Continue Reading

• Disaster recovery fundamentals FAQ

  DR impacts all aspects of IT, including storage, networking, data center management and data security. Pierre Dorion, data center practice director at Long View Systems Inc., answers the most common DR questions that IT professionals are asking.  Continue Reading

• Disaster recovery replication FAQ

  W. Curtis Preston, the leading independent expert on the topic of backup and recovery technology and practice, discusses replication in the DR space in this FAQ. His answers are also available below as an MP3 download.  Continue Reading