Creating a disaster recovery plan starts with understanding what is most critical to your business operations and what risks could disrupt them. In simple terms, the first step is to identify your key data, systems, and processes that must be restored quickly after an unexpected event such as a cyberattack, natural disaster, or hardware failure. This initial assessment forms the foundation for a plan that can minimise downtime and data loss.
Why this matters for Australian SMBs
For small and mid-sized businesses in Australia, downtime can mean lost sales, frustrated customers, and damaged reputation. Data loss or system outages can halt staff productivity and put sensitive customer information at risk, potentially leading to compliance issues under privacy laws. Without a clear recovery plan, businesses may struggle to bounce back quickly, increasing financial and operational impacts.
A real-world example
Consider a 50-person retail company in Melbourne that relies on a point-of-sale system and customer database. When their server unexpectedly failed, they had no documented recovery plan. It took days to restore data from incomplete backups, during which sales were manually recorded, leading to errors and customer dissatisfaction. Working with a managed IT provider, they later identified critical systems, set recovery priorities, and established automated backups with clear restoration procedures. This preparation significantly reduced downtime in a later incident.
Practical checklist for starting your disaster recovery plan
- Identify critical assets: List your essential data, applications, and hardware that support core business functions.
- Assess risks: Consider potential threats like cyberattacks, power outages, floods, or hardware failures relevant to your location and industry.
- Determine recovery objectives: Define how quickly each system needs to be restored (Recovery Time Objective) and how much data loss is acceptable (Recovery Point Objective).
- Review current backups: Check what data is backed up, where it's stored, and how often backups occur.
- Ask your IT provider: What disaster recovery services do you offer? How often do you test recovery procedures? Can you provide evidence of successful recovery tests?
- Check access controls: Ensure only authorised staff can access backup data and recovery tools.
- Document procedures: Start drafting clear, step-by-step recovery instructions for your team.
Next steps
Once you have a clear picture of your critical systems and risks, working with a trusted managed IT provider can help you develop a tailored disaster recovery plan. They can assist with technical setup, testing, and ongoing maintenance to ensure your business is prepared to recover quickly from disruptions. Taking this first step thoughtfully helps protect your business continuity and customer trust without unnecessary complexity.