Pros and cons of on-site vs. off-site disaster recovery plans

Disaster recovery provides the capability to recover from a disaster as quickly and completely as possible. While the type of disaster may vary, the end goal is always the same -- get back in business as fast a possible! Resuming business operations or recovering precious family information after a disaster requires planning ahead of the devastating event. Based on the type of disaster, other factors come into consideration including connectivity, power and site access and/or security. For many non enterprise class operations such as a small business or family home office, insurance is considered to be the disaster recovery plan. Insurance may supply you with new computers, phones, cash registers and desks after the disaster. Insurance companies can't replace your data. Once the data is lost -- it's lost forever. With that in mind, this discussion is focused on recovering information and the benefits and considerations you should know when thinking about on-site disaster protection for your information.

Some benefits to on-site disaster protection for your information is the instant access provided, reliability of getting to the data and the inherent security of the data. With the information remaining within the business or home, after a disaster all of the information is readily available. Unlike off-site storage which would require requesting copies of information to be transported back to your location and the time delay while that happens, on-site recovery can begin immediately. With on-line backup, a copy of your information is moved over a network. Assuming you have lost your internet connection, the process of moving files back could take a very long time. During a big storm, after a tornado, hurricane, etc., having a reliable internet connection might not be possible. Also, for some information types, regulations may require security precautions to protect the information. Moving data across the parking lot where it can be dropped is a risk that is impossible to eliminate completely. The news if filled with high profile cases of credit card numbers, social security numbers, and other proprietary data being lost or compromised while being moved off-site. Consider all the risks and all the benefits of off-site strategies before making your disaster recovery plan.

Considerations for on-site disaster recovery plans include access to the physical location. Consider an example where a building is quarantined, or after a fire the structural integrity of the building is in question and access restricted. In these cases, getting to your on-site disaster protected information may be more difficult whereas a remotely stored copy of the information could be available.

Creating a network architecture that allows for remote access to your local office can mitigate much of the building quarantine issues around on-site storage. If the building is quarantined, where is the company going to work in the interim? Is the risk of experiencing building quarantine worth the cost of implementing a strategy to overcome the problem? For many companies, the overhead associated of having a fully operational hot-site location outfitted with phones, computers, desks, etc. is too expensive of a proposition when considering building quarantine.

As with all disaster recovery plans, no one single solution covers every possible disaster scenario. By analyzing your exposure, cost and benefits, you can combine different strategies as needed to fit your budget and risk. With no ongoing fees and reliable access -- disaster proof data storage might represent the best protection per dollar when compared to alternative strategies.