Information analysts have estimated that nearly half of all businesses would fail if they were deprived of access to their most critical data resources for a full day and night following a crisis event. This statistic is dire, to be sure, but what is even more startling is the fact that fewer than 20 percent of businesses take the trouble to test its disaster recovery plan at least once per month. More than half of all businesses only do such testing on an annual or bi-annual basis.
More regular testing of DR plans and processes are essential if a business is to have confidence that it could surmount a crisis event and emerge strong. Regular testing will enable a company to identify and correct issues that could prevent a full and rapid recovery to maximum functionality of all systems along with the data they depend on. Since about one-third of all DR tests do identify an area of concern, it is paramount that businesses test more frequently.
It is not difficult to ascertain why this is not happening more often in many companies. A lack of personnel is the most commonly cited reason for putting off DR testing instead of performing it at least monthly as many experts in the field recommend. This lack of personnel can easily be remediated through adopting a managed programs approach in which staff from an IT company visit premises to provide regular maintenance and support. Such support can include monthly scheduled disaster recovery tests, or more often tests if management desires.