Essay about Disaster Recovery Plan (DRP)

Disaster Recovery PlanA disaster recovery plan (DRP) is a business document that contains instructions and procedures that are to be activated in the case of a disaster. A disaster recovery plan is a part of the business recovery plan. Having a plan is a part of disaster preparedness. Recovery success does not happen by accident because organizations that recover are better prepared (Gibson, 2015). Acme National Bank of America (ANBA) is a nationwide bank with several branches located throughout the United States with each branch having local servers and desktops connected to the central data center in Chicago, Illinois.

A priority for senior management at the Atlanta, Georgia branch is to have a disaster recovery plan for a power outage caused by a winter storm that could affect operationsDRP Objectives The main objectives of the ANBA DRP is to minimize loss and downtime. If the bank becomes vulnerable due to disaster, it must be protected and restored to the best capability. The purpose includes response, recovery and the steps needed for the success of both.

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The bank wants to ensure that business operations and functionality can be resumed swiftly and effectively following a disaster. Another main objective is to protect assets and IT infrastructure during a disaster. With protection, assets that do not have to be replaced or prepared help to reduce losses and financial impact.DRP Risk MitigationIn order to mitigate risk in the organization, ANBA should run maintain quality risk management and perform through risk assessments companywide and for each individual branch location.

In Atlanta, Georgia winter storms are not as severe as in the northeast, although they are becoming more common. Being in the southeast, a winter storm can be more detrimental and disastrous causing power outages for a less prepared state, regardless of the preparedness of induvial organizations. Since you can't control the weather, when a winter storm is going to occur or when the power is going to go out, the best option is to be fully prepared. A power outage usually means no lights and no security. A bank is usually secure on the inside, so this should not be a problem. However, making sure the most important assets inside the bank are protected during an outage helps to mitigate risk and reduce potential loss. Emergency flood lights and uninterrupted power supply (UPS) batteries are ideal for short-term power outages. A commercial back-up generator is also a valuable investment to sustain long-term power outages during crucial operations. Understanding personnel risk depending on if the power outage occurs during business hours or after hours. Being prepared also requires preparing for the ability to respond. A perfectly constructed DRP may not be so effective if the team is unable to carry it out. A winter storm power outage in Atlanta, usually means snow and or ice. If an individual on the DR team is responsible for traveling to the branch, he or she must take further precautions and prepare further than others. Necessity of Banking DRP A DRP is essential in any organization because it puts all employees on the same page with clear instructions. Enterprise banking organizations such as ANBA should not downplay the importance of a DRP. Banks represent the economy. Although, mobile banking is more common, brick and mortar banks are still a big role in the community. Banks provide critical services to community businesses and individuals. Critical services that banks provide include: Checking and Savings accounts, debit and credit cards, merchant services, cash management and loans. If banks are down, financial transactions cannot be processes and many people are impacted.Geographical Differences and Elements of DRPAside from Atlanta and Chicago, ANBA has locations in Miami, Detroit, New York, NY, Los Angeles, Denver, and St. Louis. Geographical location has an impact on the risk mitigation plan for each branch. Understanding the different geographical risks, help ANBA in developing risk mitigation plans. All locations would prepare for malfunctioning hardware and software, virus attacks, office fires and terrorist attacks. Organizations should create a DRP that covers any type of disaster and that is easy to follow and understand (Sipple, 2015). However, the DRP should be customized to meet the needs of the organization and geographical location. For example, the location in Los Angeles, California would develop a DRP for earthquakes and wild-fires, whereas the location in Miami, Florida would develop a DRP for hurricanes and flooding. Regardless each DRP should have certain elements. First is a disaster recovery team responsible for developing, implementing and maintaining the DRP. It is important to remember that not all disasters are the same severity and not all warrant the same response. Disasters can be classified into minor, major and catastrophic levels (Kent, 2018). Minor disasters are things like small fires, minor flooding, short-term power outages and short-term system failures that only affect some of the physical environment and typically don't require activating the disaster recovery team (Kent, 2018). Major events like larger fires that effect the physical structure and rare catastrophic events like hurricanes that affect operations require activating the disaster recovery team an DRP. Another key element is to have clear roles and responsibilities during normal operations, during the disaster and during recovery. Next would be contact information so that all the proper people are contacted and informed. After that, recovery procedures and checklists should provide step by step instructions to make sure everyone knows their specific duties and so that nothing gets forgotten or skipped over. Lastly, a response and recovery log help to document the recovery success and provide opportunities for best practices and improvement. . ReferencesGibson, D. (2015). Managing risk in information systems (2nd ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.Kent, A. (2018, March 2). 5 Key Elements of a Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Plan. Retrieved from J. (2015, June 8). 5 Elements of a Disaster Recovery Plan - Is Your Business Prepared?Retrieved from