Disaster Recovery Journal Spring 2024

align internal teams on the actions that should and shouldn’t be taken amid an incident, like not paying ransom as it can exponentially increase the risk of a second attack. Lacking a clear course of action for all internal teams and stakeholders can further exacerbate risk. n Internal burnout . IT and security teams are on the front line during cyber incidents. These internal teams are already facing an immense

about reducing cost, it’s also about driving long-term impacts on revenue. It is critical for IT and security teams to advocate for a comprehensive DR plan to the CRO and contemplate how to enlist this person as an advocate in prioritizing investment in DR solutions. Enlisting the CRO in Disaster Recovery Business leaders often fail to recognize DR is an integral component in building a strong data protection plan to keep an organization operating in the event of dis ruption. Developing a long-term approach to data protection should look at the bigger picture and align with business needs. Customer Continuity There are a variety of organizational advantages for establishing a personalized plan built around processes, solutions, and people who incorporate customer impacts of a security incident. Customers want a partner they can trust, and lost custom ers equate to lost revenue. Businesses fail to adequately test these processes far too often. The water always finds the crack; it only takes one process vulnerability to allow an incident to occur. At the end of the day, customers don’t have a ton of patience when it comes to losing mission-critical infrastructure. If a customer feels the organization is putting them at risk, what will stop them from moving their business elsewhere? Improved Efficiency Not having a thorough understanding of the systems in place and lacking rou tine testing processes is often what puts businesses in the eye of the proverbial hurricane. Communications around disas ter recovery testing must shift away from reducing costs to focus more on building and maintaining discipline. Discipline cre ates efficiency, and efficiency equates to revenue. Laying out the benefits of a catered plan to pinpoint the detrimental impact of an incident helps educate CROs on why long-term data protection investments are necessary. Clarity around the role of DR within a data protection plan also provides an opportunity to highlight how equip ping your teams with the proper tools will

help to further continuity. This will allow CROs to collaborate with their C-suite counterparts to reframe the conversation toward the longer-term benefits of being smart and efficient. Reputation Protection When approaching these conversations, think of DR as an insurance policy. For many, disaster recovery isn’t a top priority

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until a disaster happens, but this reactive approach can be disastrous to an organization’s reputa tion. Similar to downtime, there have been efforts to quantify the negative costs associated with a “bad” reputation, often center ing around the increased cost to attract and retain top talent. Losing out on talent ultimately equates to fewer revenue-generat ing opportunities. Reframing the Benefits of a Preventative Approach It’s time IT and busi ness leaders transparently align on their recov

amount of pressure as they operate and secure the backbone of an organization’s infrastructure. Adding an attack to the mix further overwhelms the IT and security workforce as they’re left to mitigate the impact. A strong DR plan in place means IT and security teams have the necessary tools to keep critical assets protected, alleviating the burden of an attack. Now is the Time to Revisit Recovery and Protection Strategies As we kick off a new year, now is the time for

57% of businesses are more likely to pass incident costs onto consumers than to increase their own security investments.

IT and security teams to start thinking about DR in terms of costs and revenue. This will allow them to advocate in front of CROs and be transparent about the impor tance of business continuity and disaster recovery plans. Ultimately, this transpar ency will allow the level of IT-business collaboration necessary to move invest ments forward. It is imperative leaders understand the value that results from placing a stronger emphasis on developing a robust disaster recovery plan equipped for the modern threat landscape. v “

ery and protection strategies as a part of holistic security measures. Oftentimes, this involves reframing the conversation around an increased likelihood of nega tive impacts if preventative action is over looked: n Increased likelihood of cyber incidents . Navigating cyber-attack attempts has become the norm within the business landscape, but those who fall victim to these attempts face increased scrutiny and potential data loss. Focusing on DR and protection strategies provides the business with an insurance policy. If a bad actor gets in through your initial security defenses, assets will be protected. Without these plans in place, businesses lack a critical line of defense. n Lack of clear cyber response plans . A key component of developing a data protection plan to encompass DR is an incident response plan. This plan helps

As chief revenue officer for Flexential, Patrick Doherty leads sales, sales opera tions, solutions engineering, channel, commercial management, and market ing. He has his finger on the true pulse of Flexential’s revenue growth investments.

Doherty is responsible for results across the entire rev enue process. As a 20-year-plus veteran of the technology industry, Doherty has a long record of success across a variety of fields, including sales, marketing, strategy, and product development.

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