Data Solution UK  disaster recovery,

• Hard drive rebuilds
• Mac Repairs
• Laptop data recovery
• External USB recovery
• Lost file recoveryand
• Corrupt email and file repair
• RAID recovery 0,1,5,6,10,50
• Server Recovery
• Database Recovery

The most common steps required for contingency planning are generally covered by an IT policy of backing up data so there are numerous copies.

However we are called in when either the back up has failed, or when the data was held on a device that has failed.

We can ensure your  businesses continuity and work with your disaster recovery plan.

• We offer safe and secure storage of cloned drives of systems used in manufacturing but not connected to a network. 
•  We offer on site data backup systems, which then replicate to our secure data centers and include bare metal restore.
•  Research and development of data recovery software and tools!

Where to start with a disaster recovery plan.

    Any business, large or small needs to ensure its business data is protected at all costs. It is good practice to not only develop a disaster recovery contingency plan , but also to periodically test the systems in place to ensure the plan works. It is not one of those tasks that can be left until everyone has time to deal with it.
 A serious incident can affect the organisation  at any time and this includes the next 24 hours!

Example 1 In 2007 after recovering some data for an International client with several factories and wharehousING  acCross the UK and EU, abc Data Recovery Ltd advised an International client that their Tape Back Up system was a major wekness in their disaster planning.
Abc Data recovery Ltd designed a system of replication servers through secure VPN connections. After inspection by the clients  Insurance Company the inspector stated "it will take 4 ft of water to affect the main servers !, Unfortunately only a few later the Sheffield floods submerged the server and all the back up tapes under 5ft of water. Thanks to the advanced planning the replication servers were able to keep the rest of the group operational.

Example 2 In 2008 a maunufacturer of components for the Automotive industry was finding the PC systems used to control industrial machinery were periodically failing in the harsh enviroment.ABC Data Recovery Ltd Imaged all system drives so that an emergency copy of a drive could be stored securely ready for any eventuality this has save the cost of data recovery in the future and enabled the client to make substantila savings on IT support costs and Business Continuity Insurance.

Example 3 An IT support company uses our online backup software and data center to store his clients data online safely and securely offsite. His cstomers range from local plumbers to solicitor and architects, to doctors and photographers who pay a monthly fee for the service and he no longer has to keep checking the tape drives are still functoning.

The contingency plan needs to be developed by a team representing all functional areas of the organisation . If the organisation  is large enough, a formal project needs to be established, which must have approval and support from the very top of the enterprise.

Impact Assessment

One of the first contingency planning tasks to be undertaken is to prepare a comprehensive list of the potentially serious incidents that could affect the normal operations of the business. This list should include all possible scenarios no matter how remote the likelihood of their occurrence**.

Against each item listed the project team or manager should note a probability rating. Each incident should also be rated for potential impact severity level. From this information, it will become much easier to frame the plan in the context of the real needs of the organisation .

We have helped retrieve drives and servers involved in numerous disasters, including Hurricane Hanna (Turks and Caicos 2008), Sheffield Floods 2007, Italian EarthQuake 2009.
    
Once the assessment stage has been completed, the structure of the plan can be established. The plan will contain a range of milestones to move the organisation from its disrupted status towards a return to normal operations using the data backup policy.

The first important milestone is the process which deals with the immediate aftermath of the disaster. This may involve the emergency services or other specialists who are trained to deal with extreme situations lives are more important than data especially if it is safely stored ofsite.

The next stage is to determine which critical business functions need to be resumed and in what order. The plan will of necessity be detailed, and will identify key individuals who should be familiar with their duties under the plan.


Testing the Disaster Recovery Plan


Once this plan has been developed it must be subjected to rigorous testing. The testing process itself must be properly planned and should be carried out in a suitable environment to reproduce authentic conditions in so far as this is feasible.

The plan must be tested by those persons who would undertake those activities if the situation being tested occurred in reality. The test procedures should be documented and the results recorded. This is important to ensure that feedback is obtained for fine tuning the plan.

Equally, it is important to audit both the plan itself, and the contingency and back up arrangements supporting it. No short cut can be made here.
    
    
Personnel Training

    This stage is dependent upon the development of the plan and the successful testing and audit of the plans activities. It is necessary that all personnel must be made aware of the plan and be aware of its contents and their own related duties and responsibilities.

Again, it is important that all personnel take the disaster recovery planning seriously, even if the events which would trigger the Plan seem remote and unlikely. Obtain feedback from staff in order to ensure that responsibilities and duties are understood, particularly those which require close dependency on actions being taken by others.
    
Maintaining the Disaster Recovery Plan

The plan must always be kept up to date and applicable to current business circumstances. This means that any changes to the business process or changes to the relative importance of each part of the business process must be properly reflected within the plan.

Someone must be assigned responsibility for ensuring that the plan is maintained and updated regularly and should therefore ensure that information concerning changes to the business process are properly communicated.

Any changes or amendments made to the plan must be fully tested. Personnel should also be kept abreast of such changes in so far as they affect their duties and responsibilities. 

Need Emergency help with your data disaster ?

  Call 0800 999 3282 or Intl +44 114 2677 693