Disaster Recovery Planning
A DR plan is only useful if it reflects how your systems actually depend on each other and can be followed under pressure. AS builds plans around real recovery objectives, not templates.
When you need this
- No documented plan, or one that hasn't been updated in years
- Recovery objectives (RTO/RPO) never agreed with the business
- Backups exist but nobody has restored a full system from them
- Auditor, insurer or customer is asking for a DR plan
- Recent incident showed the plan didn't work
What we do
Business impact and recovery objectives
We work with you to define which services matter most and how much downtime and data loss each can tolerate.
Dependency mapping
Servers, storage, identity, network, SaaS and third parties are mapped so restore order is known before it's needed.
Backup and replication design
Backup scope, frequency, retention, isolation and off-site copies are designed to meet the agreed objectives.
Runbooks
Step-by-step recovery procedures with credentials, contacts and decision points, written to be usable at 3 a.m.
Test schedule
A realistic testing cadence so the plan is proven, not assumed.
How it works
- Step 1
Assess
Understand the environment, the risks that matter and what a disruption would actually cost.
- Step 2
Protect
Put the right backups, isolation and safeguards in place — and verify they work.
- Step 3
Recover
When something fails, recover data from the safest, most complete sources first.
- Step 4
Restore
Bring services back in business-priority order on clean, trusted infrastructure.
- Step 5
Validate
Confirm data integrity, application function and that the cause has been dealt with.
- Step 6
Improve
Close the gaps the incident exposed and update the plan.
What affects the outcome
Outcomes are never guaranteed. Every case is assessed on its own condition, and we tell you what is realistic before you commit.
- Whether backups exist, are complete and were verified before the incident
- How isolated backups and snapshots were from the systems that failed
- Documentation of the environment: dependencies, credentials, configurations
- Time since the incident and what has been changed since
- Availability of clean infrastructure to restore onto
Frequently asked questions
How is this different from business continuity planning?
DR planning covers restoring IT systems and data. Business continuity covers keeping the organization operating during the disruption — people, processes, communications. They work together.
Do we need a plan if we already have backups?
Yes. Backups are one input. A plan answers who does what, in what order, on which infrastructure, and how you know it worked.
Related services
Not sure what you're dealing with?
Describe the situation and we'll tell you what's realistic.