Disaster Recovery Planning 101 for MSPs

Building a disaster recovery plan (DRP) can be simple, yet many businesses are still without one, which leaves them vulnerable to data loss. Your role as a managed services provider (MSP) is to protect your customers from catastrophic losses by assisting them with a customized plan that fits their backup and disaster recovery (BDR) needs. Disaster recovery (DR) and intelligent business continuity (IBC) solutions vendor Datto offered MSPs some insight regarding this topic on the company's blog. We'll reveal the key points of an effective DRP that ensures business continuity (BC).

Before writing a DRP, think of the basics. Write a plan that is comprehensive, outlining each step clearly. A DRP is useless if no one can understand it. Include key contacts and their roles; time tables for restoration; and services that need to be enabled first.

Remember: The formatting of your plan can vary from customer to customer, as long as it includes the basics and the following five items:

Your customers may not even be aware of a disaster recovery plan, so inform them. Explain the possible negative outcomes and what that means for them. Show examples of plans and how you plan for them on your end.