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Some businesses may find that testing their data recovery plan is a mere inconvenience, but do you know that ensuring its functionality may save you from a catastrophic data incident? One prime example was the Delta data recovery incident last 2016. Over 2,000 flights were canceled due to a computer outage that lasted for three days. At the time, Delta already had data recovery programs in place, but they didn’t kick in. If only the team had tested their backup, they could have prevented their $100 million loss.
Testing your organization’s data recovery plan is an essential aspect of cybersecurity. Without it, you won’t know if your recovery plan works until an incident causing data loss happens. And if it turns out that your recovery plan doesn’t work, your business could face dire consequences.
Your operations could stop, revenue may drop, and you’ll spend a hefty price trying to bring your business back online. But the most significant impact will be on your reputation. It will be hard for customers to trust your brand, and it will take you years to win them back.
At Intelligent Technical Solutions (ITS), we help businesses achieve a robust cybersecurity presence by deploying effective disaster recovery tools. Our mission is to help create a culture of cybersecurity by sharing our knowledge and expertise with everyone.
In this article, we’ll discuss the possible consequences you’ll face if you don’t conduct tests on your data recovery plan. This write-up should help you understand why it’s essential to ensure that your backup solutions are working and tested.
Negative Effects of Not Testing Your Data Recovery Plan
If you think testing your data recovery plan is just an inconvenience, you may want to think again. Not testing your data recovery plan has severe effects on your business. The following are some of them:
You Won’t Know if Your Plan is Working or Not
Not testing your data recovery plan is the same as not checking the condition of your spare tire before going on a long road trip. You wouldn’t know if it’s in bad condition until you install it after one of your main tires break. And if it is, then your plans are ruined, and you’ll end up spending more than you’ve planned.
The same goes for your company’s data recovery plan. You wouldn’t know if it works unless it’s tested or an actual dis1aster occurs. And when an incident happens and it doesn’t work, your entire operations can be affected. You could even end up spending time and substantial resources trying to get your business back online again.
You Risk Paying for a Service that Doesn’t Work.
Whether you’re using it or not, you’re paying the full amount for your data recovery plan. So why not make sure that it works? Not checking if your recovery program is working is like throwing money at storage space and backup services that are no help.
Impaired Operations
Your operation is the first area to be affected by a non-working data recovery plan. If an attack hits and all data is lost, there’s a possibility that your operation may halt, and it wouldn’t resume until files are recovered. The longer the recovery takes, the longer the wait time will be until you get back online. And we all know that halted operations equal to lost revenue and a rise in customer dissatisfaction.
Lost Revenue and Drop-in Customer Trust
Ceased operations mean halted business dealings. If you’re unable to do your business, you wouldn’t be able to deliver what your clients expect of you. This may lead to a decline in trust in your brand. Once the news is out, the public may steer clear of your business and choose a more capable competitor. Worse, existing clients may end their dealings with you due to the vulnerability of your system. They might feel exposed and threatened and take their business elsewhere instead.
Costly Recovery
Loss in revenue is not the only financial issue you’ll face in a failed data recovery situation. The cost of recovering your lost data may also hurt your pocket. Retrieving lost data is not simple; it takes an experienced computer tech to perform it. Most computer support specialists are paid by the hour, and most data recovery processes take days to complete. The average rate of most IT technicians is $23.09 an hour, according to ZipRecruiter.
This means recovering files may cost you hundreds of dollars if it was retrieved in the first two days, and thousands if the recovery takes more than a week.
Risk of Permanent Data Loss
There are some instances where data can no longer be retrievable, such as when you’re a victim of hardware theft and you don’t have any backups. Cases like fire, flood, or any natural disaster hitting your office or server location may also affect the chances of recovering any of your lost data.
Moreover, HostingTribunal’s 2022 study on data recovery discovered that 60% of businesses that experienced data loss shut down within six months after the incident.
Ensure Business Continuity by Testing Your Data Recovery Plan
Testing your data recovery plan is vital in maintaining a solid cybersecurity presence in your business. Without tests, it may be hard to determine if your processes will fail when an attack or disaster strikes.
And if indeed your recovery plan fails, chaos might ensue. Your business may come to a complete stop, your revenue may drop, and the reputation you worked so hard to build might tumble down.
So instead of viewing it as an inconvenience, look at data recovery tests as an assurance. A process that can keep your business operational even after an attack and prevent a bad situation from becoming disastrous.
At ITS, we help businesses avoid data loss by deploying robust data recovery programs and checking them proactively. Our team is committed to helping create a cybersecurity community by sharing our knowledge and expertise on technology and cyber defense.
Read our article about what your data backup plan should look like. The article will also give you an overview of the medium and services ITS uses in backing up clients’ data.
