Cloud resiliency plans are vital to an enterprise's overall cloud strategy. These plans prepare organizations for unexpected disruptions and safeguard critical systems and data. However, many leaders neglect to implement another essential component of a resiliency plan: disaster recovery strategies and protocols.

According to industry research, only about half of organizations have drafted a formal disaster recovery strategy, and less than half of that 54% test their disaster recovery protocols annually. Worse, 7% of organizations never test their plan, making it highly likely their strategy is outdated.

A solid, up-to-date backup and data recovery system is critical for maintaining business continuity and mitigating the potential impacts of unforeseen events. Here’s why disaster recovery is an integral part of any enterprise's cloud strategy.

The Basics of Disaster Recovery (DR)

DR is necessary for a robust cloud resiliency strategy because it shifts the focus from "if” to "when.” In other words, DR centers on the aftermath of data loss instead of preventative strategies. Leaders who adopt DR protocols can prepare a holistic risk avoidance and mitigation strategy.

In its simplest form, DR protects organizations from common scenarios like data or backup loss. Disaster-ready leaders will be prepared for these events because they’ve stress-tested and ascertained the strength of their systems by answering the following:

■ How quickly can backup data be recovered after a disaster?

■ Where is the backup data hosted?

■ What protections are in place for the backup server?

Leaders protect their service continuity by regularly asking and answering these questions. As a result, their consumers or clients face fewer disruptions, and isolated events won't tarnish their reputations.

The most prepared leaders should also be confident about their responses to unique events like natural disasters. Hurricanes, tornados, extreme weather, blizzards, ice storms, earthquakes, floods and fires can irrevocably damage your data — and these events are increasing in frequency.

Making DR Work for Your Cloud Infrastructure

Unfortunately, there's no one-size-fits-all approach to DR. Every organization has a different data architecture, so their protection and response strategies must also differ. But that doesn't mean every leader has to start at the drawing board.

IT and security leaders can prepare a DR plan by assessing their organization’s risk profile. Does a particular system exhibit vulnerabilities, and if so, why? Could a disaster break through these weak points?

Threats that could jeopardize business continuity should be prioritized. For example, systems harboring personal consumer data can cause serious losses should they fail. Alternatively, robust consumer data protections can be a competitive advantage in our digital age. Either way — protecting critical data systems benefits businesses.

As they lay the groundwork for their DR plan, leaders will identify their organization’s most critical assets and dependencies. Data in these systems should be protected thoroughly with robust backup and recovery strategies.

Implementing, Maintaining and Perfecting Your DR Plan

Although its manifestations will differ based on your cloud strategy, a robust DR plan should include all of the following:

■ Regular backups — Critical data and applications should frequently be backed up, both off-site and on-site. Doing so will minimize data loss during a disaster and ensure minimal business interruption. The number of backups will differ based on industry and compliance requirements. (Pro tip: 3-2-1 backups are the leading standard.)

■ Data replication and redundancy measures — There’s "just in case” data, and then there’s data hoarding. Craft a strategy for data replication that eradicates frivolous data and keeps your cloud infrastructure running optimally. For reference, many organizations adopt a data model that deletes consumer information after a federally mandated period.

■ Multi-site replication — Distributing data and applications across multiple locations adds a layer of protection against regional disasters. Additionally, some leaders may want to consider a hybrid strategy employing physical and cloud-based data centers.

■ Testing and simulation — DR plans require consistent and frequent updating. Leaders should regularly test their plans by simulating disaster scenarios at scheduled intervals. Regular maintenance will ensure the plan is effective and the team remains prepared to execute.

Alongside these measures, leaders can implement key performance metrics like recovery point objective (RPO) and recovery time objective (RTO). RPO tracks the interval of time organizations have before a network outage or disruption impedes business operations. Say an organization maintains access to backup data for 24 hours — in this case, they have one day to restore normal data operations before the disruption impacts stakeholders. On the other hand, RTO tracks the time it takes a disaster recovery team to restore lost data.

It's helpful to use both RPO and RTO when testing your program and team for disaster readiness, as these benchmarks can inform your evolving DR plan.

Finally, many leaders find it useful to draft a "lessons learned” playbook after each successive vulnerability test. These retrospective observations detail how a team can increase their RPO and decrease their RTO, thus improving disaster response protocols in successive drills (or during a real disaster).

Leaders who feel overwhelmed by their data architecture or need help determining where to start may want to consider third-party options for DR, including disaster recovery as a service (DRaaS) or a managed service provider (MSP). DRaaS is a subscription-based service that drafts and executes an organization’s cloud DR plan, while an MSP is an IT and security expert who will guide organizations through the many steps of cloud resiliency — from disaster planning and recovery to cloud migration.

Regardless of which preparedness protocols match your organization, one fact is clear: Today is the best day to draft a DR plan. Leaders should reevaluate their cloud resiliency plan and determine where cracks may emerge during a crisis. Without taking this step, organizations are woefully unprepared for the increasingly complex digital age.