Almost any event which results in potential losses which are crippling to a company might be defined as a disaster. Disasters need not be limited to natural events, particularly when dealing with hardware and software, a computer virus which infects an entire network and destroys the data may well fall into the zone of a disaster and can be the death knell of some companies which depend upon their stored data for their sales and regular income. Companies sometimes tried to put together haphazard plans which often overlooked the obvious dangers, but that was the only option they had at the time. Haphazard disaster preparedness plans became unnecessary however once the Disaster Recovery As A Service – DRaaS became a reality.

Preparedness was often overlooked or involved such a large investment in backup equipment, time and personnel it was almost as crippling as a true catastrophe could have been. However relegating disaster preparedness and recovery to the status of a service which is paid for regularly frees up the business to focus on what they do best, grow their company while other take care of the planning and the recovery arrangements should something truly unthinkable happen. Most companies can survive without their data and systems for only a very short time before becoming irrevocably crippled or dying.

The DRaaS business model utilizes experts in security and preparedness to avoid some of the pitfalls that plagued early disaster recovery plans. While a company might have made backups of their data in case of a drive failure those backups stored in the same location as the rest of the hardware might fall prey to a fire or a tornado which destroyed the building. Preparedness experts understand these issues and help devise a plan to avoid the mistakes common in preparing for the unexpected.

DRaaS might be the most efficient means to develop a recovery plan and may well be the most cost effective means of implementing it. Data may well be stored hundreds or even thousands of miles away and available with an internet connection and a few minutes download time. The service will usually have a monthly fee attached but the security is valuable and far more affordable than attempting to invest the man hours to reconstruct lost data.

Part of the recovery plan might be for backup equipment storage in a secure location. However it could also include provision of temporary hardware and even infrastructure until the equipment can be replaced. Instead of a full set of hardware molding away somewhere, a plan would cover the possibility that the hardware might be destroyed but the business still needs to keep running and provide temporary replacements or whatever support was necessary to get back in business. This portion of a plan could be considered essential for some companies or not necessary by others, but the beauty of recovery as a service is that it can be configured to suit the needs of the business.

Companies that help manage disaster recovery and conduct risk and needs analysis are now available. Experts in their respective fields analyze operations, point out potential weak points and then help construct a plan to meet the company needs during a crisis. This service will charge a fixed monthly fee but will be available if the need arises to begin putting the company back on in business.

While the disaster recovery plans in the past were usually best described as haphazard this is not an issue with professional recovery experts. These professionals may asses risks that may be specific to that company and then help devise scenarios to minimize the risks and recover if the worst does happen. Disaster preparedness and recovery is a specialized field and the most effective plans are put together by experts in that field.