In an era of increasing cyber threats, technology dependencies, and regulatory requirements, a comprehensive IT Disaster Recovery Plan is essential for organizational resilience. This technical course provides the knowledge and skills needed to develop, implement, and maintain effective IT disaster recovery capabilities that align with business continuity objectives. Participants will learn to establish recovery strategies, develop detailed procedures, and implement testing programs that ensure critical IT systems can be restored within acceptable timeframes. The course covers both traditional and emerging technologies, including cloud-based recovery solutions, while emphasizing practical approaches that balance technical requirements with business needs and budgetary constraints.
Introduction
Objectives
Upon completion, participants will be able to:
- Understand the role of IT disaster recovery within business continuity
- Conduct IT risk assessments and business impact analysis
- Define Recovery Time Objectives (RTO) and Recovery Point Objectives (RPO)
- Select appropriate technical recovery strategies and solutions
- Develop comprehensive IT disaster recovery plans and procedures
- Implement data backup, replication and recovery mechanisms
- Design and execute IT disaster recovery testing programs
- Manage IT disaster recovery teams and responsibilities
- Integrate IT disaster recovery with overall business continuity
Target Audience
- IT Managers and Infrastructure Teams
- Disaster Recovery and Backup Administrators
- Information Security Professionals
- Business Continuity Planners
- System and Network Administrators
- Data Center Operations Staff
- IT Auditors and Compliance Officers
Methodology
- Technical workshops for recovery strategy development
- Case studies of IT disaster recovery implementations
- Hands-on exercises for recovery procedure development
- Group discussions on technology selection criteria
- Simulation exercises for recovery decision-making
- Testing scenario development workshops
- Vendor solution evaluation exercises
Personal Impact
- Enhanced technical knowledge of recovery technologies
- Improved risk assessment and strategy development skills
- Stronger project management and planning capabilities
- Increased ability to align technical solutions with business needs
- Better communication with business stakeholders
- Valuable expertise for IT leadership roles
Organizational Impact
- Reduced IT downtime and service interruptions
- Protection of critical data and digital assets
- Compliance with regulatory and contractual requirements
- More efficient allocation of IT resources
- Enhanced customer confidence and trust
- Reduced financial impact from IT disruptions
Course Outline
IT Disaster Recovery Fundamentals
Concepts and Principles- Definition and scope of IT disaster recovery
- Relationship between IT DR and business continuity
- Regulatory and compliance requirements
- Industry standards and best practices
- Legal and contractual considerations
- Recovery Time Objective (RTO) concepts
- Recovery Point Objective (RPO) concepts
- Service Delivery Objective (SDO) definition
- Maximum Tolerable Period of Disruption (MTPD)
- Aligning technical capabilities with business requirements
Risk Assessment and Strategy Development
IT Risk Assessment- Identifying IT-specific threats and vulnerabilities
- Assessing critical IT systems and dependencies
- Single points of failure analysis
- Third-party and supply chain risks
- Data backup and recovery strategies
- System redundancy and high availability options
- Cloud-based recovery solutions (DRaaS)
- Alternate processing site strategies
- Cost-benefit analysis of strategy options
Plan Development and Documentation
Plan Structure- IT disaster recovery plan components
- Recovery team structure and responsibilities
- Activation and escalation procedures
- Communication protocols during recovery
- System recovery procedures and runbooks
- Data restoration and verification processes
- Network recovery and reconfiguration
- Application recovery and data synchronization
Implementation and Testing
Solution Implementation- Backup system implementation and management
- Replication technologies and configuration
- Failover and failback mechanisms
- Documenting recovery procedures
- Testing methodologies and types
- Developing test plans and scenarios
- Conducting structured recovery tests
- Evaluating test results and identifying improvements
Advanced Technologies and Approaches
Modern Solutions- Disaster Recovery as a Service (DRaaS)
- Cloud-native disaster recovery approaches
- Virtualization and container recovery
- Database and transaction recovery
- Automation in disaster recovery
- Cyber recovery and ransomware protection
- Zero Trust architecture implications
- AI and machine learning applications
Program Management and Maintenance
Program Management- IT disaster recovery program governance
- Team training and awareness programs
- Vendor management and service level agreements
- Budgeting and cost management
- Plan maintenance triggers and schedules
- Change management for recovery environment
- Performance metrics and reporting
- Continuous improvement processes
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