Running head: DISASTER RECOVERY PLAN REPORT 1

Disaster Recovery Plan Report

Student Name

Institutional Affiliation
DISASTER RECOVERY PLAN REPORT 2

Contents
Executive Summary.....................................................................................................................................3
Disaster Recovery Plan Report....................................................................................................................3
Authorization of Disaster.............................................................................................................................4
Disaster Recovery Coordinator....................................................................................................................4
Disaster Recovery Team..............................................................................................................................5
Assessment of Disaster................................................................................................................................6
Recovery Process.........................................................................................................................................7
Communication Recovery............................................................................................................................8
Recommendations.......................................................................................................................................9
Conclusion...................................................................................................................................................9
References.................................................................................................................................................11
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Executive Summary
This is a Disaster Recovery report for the company. Considering the company has many
clients and other entities that it collaborates with, damages that stand to be incurred in case of a
disaster are unprecedented. The report focuses more on the technological aspects of the company
which tends to hold most if not all operations in place. It is essential to note that only the director
of the company is required to declare a disaster and it is only then that the guidelines as
prescribed in this disaster recovery report will be followed. Notably, the disaster recovery
process is guided by a disaster recovery coordinator who is the head of the IT department in the
company. That said, the report offers recommendations after detailing on the disaster assessment
and recovery processes.

Disaster Recovery Plan Report

Disasters tend to hit when they are least expected, and in the same fashion, they can hit
any place irrespective of whether it is a home or business premise. The subject company is quite
extensive, and in case of a disaster, efforts have to be made to ensure full recovery to the
previous normal state. It is these risks that this Disaster Recovery (DR) plan report seeks to
address. Usually, the first question after a disaster occurs relates to ‘Who is supposed to
authorize a disaster?” (Adnan, David & Roosevelt, 2011). It is best that the authorization for a
disaster in a company is done by the highest official; this is because it assists to ensure that
everyone in the organization gets full affirmation which may not be the case if lets an average
employee did (Adnan et al., 2011). In this DR planning, the director of the company is the one
who is required to authorize a disaster. A DR coordinator is the person who guides the company
when a disaster occurs until when it returns to the previous normal position (Dixon, 2013).
Notably, the DR coordinator who is assisted by the operations manager is the head of the DR
team.

Vago (2017) postulates that the assessment of damage and the recovery phase during DR
are extensive and the hallmark as to whether the recovery process will be successful or not.
However, prior planning and training of key individuals are necessary. In the end, this DR plan
report is a necessity for the company to assure that critical factors such as user data can be
recovered when a disaster happens.
DISASTER RECOVERY PLAN REPORT 4

Authorization of Disaster
Technology has gone on to be an integral aspect of many businesses. In any case,
technology plays the purpose of enhancing efficiency and quality of work done. With technology
being IT systems, it is essential to find out who is at a position to authorize that a disaster has
happened in a company. For one, DR efforts cannot start or be effected without a holistic
understanding of its existence in the first place (Adnan et al., 2013). Notably, the person who is
tasked with detecting a disaster in a company’s IT systems is the technical team who have the
prerequisite expertise required to conduct regular and professional checks (Vago, 2017). In case
of a bigger disaster such as a fire, they are at a better position of advising the executive
management as to whether there is need to authorize that a disaster has taken place (Vago, 2017).
This implies that while a disaster calls for the efforts of many persons in the company, the
technical team are vital.

Notably, it is important to note that the technical team may not have the necessary powers
required to affect the authorization required in case of a disaster in the organization (Adnan et al.,
2011). It is in this regard that the executive management and specifically the director reserves the
powers of announcing that there is a disaster and consequently authorize the DR plan to be
implemented. However, the director works under the advisement of the organization’s technical
team and other vital management officials including the operations and human resource
managers. The process of authorization is not one to be taken lightly as its implementation
necessitates the release of required funds and beginning of DR processes (Vago, 2017). In the
same way, the company should go out of its way to critically analyze the situation to assure
certainty in the process. In the end, authorization of a disaster in the company should be done by
the director who works under the advisement of the technical team and company managers.

Disaster Recovery Coordinator

After authorizing a disaster, it is essential to provide an understanding of the DR
coordinator. Dixon (2013) asserts that the DR coordinator is one who guides the company and
everyone involved through a process of reclaiming the company’s IT systems to their previous
functional state. Where this is not possible, he/she offers guidance as to how the organization can
recover as much as possible to allow for smooth functioning. Although many companies prefer
to hire an external DR coordinator, utilizing the internal brains is beneficial. This is because an
DISASTER RECOVERY PLAN REPORT 5

employee within the company has a better scope as to the normal going-on and is, thus, in a
position to make even more informed decisions (Cervone, 2017). In the context of this company,
the DR coordinator will be the IT manager. The IT manager who serves as the leader of the IT
department and consequently looks over all the IT aspects in the company will serve well as the
coordinator of the DR plan. Notably, the DR coordinator will work for hand in hand with the
operations manager. The purpose of the operations manager in a DR plan is to provide a
connection between the technical and nontechnical aspects of the organization itself (Dixon,
2013). Noticeably, the DR coordinator is answerable to the DR team and the management.

Disaster Recovery Team

Another vital aspect of this DR plan report is the DR team. For the DR coordinator to
function effectively, he/she must be completed by a team that will work towards ensuring the
success of the planning process (Dixon, 2013). An appropriate and efficient DR team assists in
providing that the organization manages to revert to normality faster to and serve its customers
as soon as possible. As pointed out above, the DR coordinator will be working together with the
company’s operations manager. First, the DR team should consist of people drawn from most if
not all areas of the company: This is meant to ensure that everyone’s needs are met and that no
aspect of the company is left behind or ignored (Snedaker, 2011). It is in this regard that
bureaucracy plays a major role where representatives are drawn in. However, these
representatives may fail to play major responsibilities in the DR plan although their insights and
oversight are vital.

On the other hand, the IT department stands to be the most critical players in the process.
It is their knowledge that will be utilized under the guidance of the IT manager. The IT
department has the responsibility of overlooking technical structures such as computers, office
backups, software, and network requirements (Vago, 2017). This factors prove that when a
disaster corrupts the IT areas in the organization, then the IT team would be most resourceful.
Considering disasters can be a rare occurrence where systems are controlled and functioning
well, the company may have to higher an expert in DR recovery. The expert may be hired on
consultative terms and his/her professional input incorporated in the process. The DR team will
work under the DR coordinator and will follow prerequisite guidelines for effective performance.
DISASTER RECOVERY PLAN REPORT 6

Assessment of Disaster
Now that it is known who will be involved and how the next concern is to consider the
assessment of the disaster. Adnan et al. (201) describe disaster assessment as the process that one
goes through to evaluate and analyze the level of damage to present a detailed report meant to
advice on the resources and time to be spent on the DR process. The assessment of the disaster is
vital for creation of the road to be followed to the end. The following are the factors to consider
when assessing a disaster as proposed by Vago (2017):

1. The DR coordinator receives a notification: The receiving of the notification is the first
step of the assessment, and it is what creates a first impression on the urgency and scope
of damage.
2. Affected persons are receiving emergency care: Despite the DR plan’s focus on IT, the
DR coordinator plays the role of ensuring that any potential victims receive emergency
care. It is essential to point out that people are important and their health should be taken
into account.
3. The management team is assembled: The management consist of the DR coordinator and
other managers in the company. Informing them about the impending effects and keeping
them in the know assists to provide seamless communication.
4. Assessment of the damage done: This is a complex and detailed step that may even take
days to finish depending on the scope of the disaster. Damage done is assessed
professionally with key aspects such as data loss, hardware damage, and software
corruption being noted down.
5. Declare disaster: Many notifications may be brought to the attention of the DR
coordinator although it is not all of them that amount to a disaster. After assessing the
damage done, disaster is declared through the relevant channels explained in the previous
section.
6. Securing the damaged area: The damaged area will have to be secured to prevent more
infrastructure from being damaged and protecting what is left. In this regard, the disaster
assessment aims at keeping things constant until further action is authorized.
7. The last step involves advising the executive management on the processes and procedure
to be followed. In this case, attention is directed toward the recovery process.
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Recovery Process
The recovery process constitutes the procedures followed to ensure full restoration into
the normal state. After the assessment phase, the recovery process as detailed in this DR plan
contains the guidelines to be followed by the DR team to ensure that the proper state of IT in the
company is reinstated. Notably, the recovery process is not specific to any organization and is
dependent on the scope and type of company (Snedaker, 2011). The recovery process for this
company has many steps that are detailed below.

1. Assembling of DR teams: Some employees may be included in the teams where

necessary.
2. Notification of all the people working and collaborating with the company about the
disaster.
3. Putting all materials that were offsite in one place.
4. Notifying hardware and software vendors or suppliers: This allows them to prepare for
any bulk purchases and their collaboration is essential on a macro perspective.
5. Informing the insurance company that has been contracted by the organization.
6. Reassessing the damage to be sure that everything is in line.
7. If required, the DR team may work with the executive on how to communicate the
message to the media.
8. Determination of an alternate data center for the meantime where all the equipment will
be put.
9. A temporary office can be acquired if the reasons are justified.
10. Assess the efficiency of any products that were saved.
11. Take materials from the offsite point to the alternate data center then reassess the status
of the situation.
12. Determine recovery point and inform the vital users.
13. Restore and boot the company’s servers.
14. Reinforce a communication channel between the alternative areas of work such as a
temporary office to the alternative data center.
15. Test the operating system and the communications network.
16. Restore applications and user data.
17. Test the applications: This may be done by the IT team or through an external consultant.
DISASTER RECOVERY PLAN REPORT 8

18. Look into any other information that users may need.
19. Reassess the process and account for its efficiency up to this stage.
20. Determine the schedule for operation
21. Make the users aware that the system is now available.
22. Key in an inventory of the damaged workplace.

Communication Recovery
The recovery process is quite informative as it provides a step by step count on what is
required. This point of the DR plan is meant to foster a key aspect of the recovery process,
communication recovery. Communication recovery represents all the communication aspects of
the company. When the company is running normally, communication accounts for easy
interaction between various departments (Dixon, 2013). What is important to take into account,
in this case, is the fact that these communication channels are bound to be broken when one
shifts to a different or rather temporary location. In the same way, cut wires may have disrupted
the telephone lines, the email communication and interaction in a new alternate location has to be
reviewed.

For one, the communication recovery process should begin with securing a phone line
that will allow seamless voice communication not only within the organization but also its
connection to the outside world (Song, Li, Olshansky, Zhang & Xiao, 2017). This is achieved by
contacting the telco services and having them remake the communication in the new location.
The telecommunication company that offered the internet services should also be contacted for
support. Admittedly, it is not hard to notice that these two aspects are what will determine
whether the company manages to maintain the momentum it requires to revert to the previous
state. In the end, communication recovery should extend beyond the confine of technology to
include rebuilding a personal connection among the employees. Song et al. (2017) propose that
when rebuilding communication channels after a disaster, organizations should be mindful of the
victims, who in this case are the employees. Therefore, incorporating psychological aspects in
voice recovery plays the role of providing that the humanistic aspects are at par with the
reinstated technologies (Song et al., 2017). A workplace that will have traumatized employees
will not function well even after communication channels, and the DR plan report is followed to
the latter.
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Recommendations
This DR plan report reveals interesting insights related to the functioning of the company.
It is necessary to note that disasters do happen and although they might be rare, their effects can
be quite damaging to the company. The first recommendation is that the company trains a DR
team frequently. Training a DR team in line with the DR plan report allows them to discern
points of disasters and prevent them from happening while at the same time, it equips them with
knowledge and skills to fight disasters when they occur. With a DR team that has a minimal clue
on DR planning, the task is even harder during a disaster. Second, having a copy of the DR plan
stored in a separate location is crucial because it gives somewhere to fall back to. The DR plan
should also be made available to key individuals in the company. This step will allow even more
people to be acquainted with the DR skills. The more people that know what they have to do in
case a disaster is declared in the company, the easier the recovery process will be. In the end,
these recommendations should be discussed and adhered to appropriately.

Conclusion
In conclusion, this DR plan report provides extensive communication regarding what the
company can do to restore its IT systems. As a business, disasters may be inevitable although the
rate at which one falls back to the normal state is what determines its success in the consequent
periods. The authorization of the disaster is one essential part of the DR plan. Knowing who is
authorized to declare a disaster is paramount to avoiding confusion if one occurs. In this respect,
the director of the company who works under the advertisement of the DR coordinator and team
is the one who is supposed to declare that there is a disaster. Notably, the DR coordinator who is
the head IT manager plays the role of heading the DR team. In this respect, the DR coordinator
assumes complex but vital responsibilities in the process of DR planning. For example, he/she is
tasked with advising the executive on the disaster and coordinating all the teams during the
process besides the operations manager.

After the identification of who a DR coordinator and team are, the next step is to identify
the steps involved in assessing the disaster after which the recovery process follows. The process
of assessing the disaster follows seven steps which start with the DR coordinator receiving a
notification and end where the executive management is advised on the next processes. The
recovery process is extensive, and it focuses a lot on the recovery of the company’s technology
DISASTER RECOVERY PLAN REPORT 10

after a disaster. In the end, training key individuals in the company on the DR plan and storing
the DR plan at a separate location is necessary to assure that the company’s data and technology
can be restored when disaster hits.
DISASTER RECOVERY PLAN REPORT 11

References
Adnan, O., David, A. & Roosevelt, M. (2011). Information technology disaster recovery plan:
Case study. Academy of Strategic Management Journal, 10(2).

Cervone, H. F. (2017). Disaster recovery planning and business continuity for

informaticians. Digital Library Perspectives, 33(2), pp. 78-81.

Dixon, H. B. (2013). Information technology disaster recovery planning for court institutions.
Judges’ Journal, 52(4), pp. 36-39.

Snedaker, S. (2011). Business continuity and disaster recovery planning for IT professionals.
Massachusetts: Syngress.

Song, Y., Li, C., Olshansky, R., Zhang, Y. & Xiao, Y. (2017). Are we planning for sustainable
disaster recovery? Evaluating recovery plans after the Wenchuan earthquake. Journal of
Environmental Planning and Management, 60(12), pp. 2192-2216.

Vago (2017). ICT disaster recovery planning. Retrieved from

www.parliament.vic.gov.au/file_uploads/VAGO-ICT-Disaster-Recovery_4zznv4KG.pdf