Testing your disaster recovery plan means regularly checking that your business can quickly restore its IT systems and data after an unexpected event, such as a cyberattack, hardware failure, or natural disaster. It's not enough to just have backups; you need to ensure those backups work and that your team knows how to respond when things go wrong. This testing helps avoid surprises that could cause prolonged downtime or data loss.
Why this matters for Australian SMBs
For small and mid-sized businesses in Australia, downtime can be costly. Every hour your systems are offline, your staff can't work efficiently, customers may lose trust, and you risk falling behind competitors. If your disaster recovery plan isn't tested, you might discover too late that backups are incomplete, recovery procedures are unclear, or critical data can't be restored. This can amplify the impact of cyber incidents or technical failures, leading to lost revenue and reputational damage.
A practical example
Consider a 50-person accounting firm in Melbourne. They rely heavily on client data and cloud-based accounting software. After a ransomware attack encrypted their local files, they attempted to restore from backups. Because they hadn't tested their disaster recovery plan, they found that some backup files were corrupted and the recovery process took longer than expected. Their IT partner then helped them run a full recovery test, identified gaps in their backup schedule, and improved their response procedures. This reduced their downtime risk significantly in future incidents.
Checklist: When and how to test your disaster recovery plan
- Schedule regular tests: At minimum, test your disaster recovery plan once or twice a year. More frequent testing is advisable if your business changes rapidly or handles sensitive data.
- Ask your IT provider: How do you verify backup integrity? Can you simulate a full system restore? What is the expected recovery time?
- Review your backup scope: Confirm which systems and data are included, where backups are stored (onsite, offsite, cloud), and how often they are updated.
- Perform simple internal checks: Verify access controls to backup systems, ensure passwords are strong and updated, and confirm staff know their roles during recovery.
- Document and update procedures: Keep clear recovery steps and contact lists, and revise them after each test or business change.
- Test different scenarios: Simulate events like ransomware, hardware failure, or accidental deletion to ensure your plan covers varied risks.
Regularly testing your disaster recovery plan is essential to protect your business from unexpected IT disruptions. If you're unsure about your current plan or how to test it effectively, consider consulting a trusted managed IT services provider or IT advisor. They can help tailor a testing schedule and recovery procedures suited to your business needs and compliance requirements.