Step 1: Define Objectives
The first and most critical step in crafting a
Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery (BC/DR) plan is to clearly define your objectives. This includes two key metrics: Recovery Time Objective (RTO) and Recovery Point Objective (RPO).
RTO refers to how quickly your organisation needs to restore systems and resume operations after a disruption. For instance, an e-commerce platform may set an RTO of 1 hour for its payment processing system, since downtime could directly lead to revenue loss and customer dissatisfaction.
RPO focuses on how much data your organisation can afford to lose, measured in time. If your backup runs every four hours, your RPO is four hours. Critical systems, such as those managing financial transactions or patient records, often require a near-zero RPO.
To define these effectively, collaborate with each business unit to understand what is essential to their operations. Use business impact analysis to prioritise systems and set realistic, risk-based targets. Without clearly defined RTO and RPO, response efforts during a real incident can become disorganised and misaligned with business priorities.
Step 2: Identify Critical Assets and Threats
Every business has unique systems, data, and services that are essential to its operation. Begin by inventorying your critical assets. These could include customer databases, financial systems, cloud infrastructure, source code repositories, and employee communication tools.
Once assets are identified, map them to potential threats. Examples include:
- Ransomware encrypting critical databases
- Phishing attacks leading to credential theft
- Hardware failure affecting on-premise servers
- Cloud service outages disrupting user access
By linking assets with likely threats, you can identify where controls or redundancy is most needed. For example, if your customer database is hosted on a third-party cloud platform, you may need additional controls like geo-redundant backups or a secondary hosting arrangement.
This risk-based view allows your BC/DR plan to prioritise what truly matters.
Step 3: Assign Roles and Responsibilities
A BC/DR plan is only as effective as the people who execute it. Clearly assigning roles and responsibilities is essential to ensure a swift, coordinated response.
Start by establishing an incident response team. This should include representatives from IT, legal, HR, communications, and executive leadership. Each person or group must have a defined role, such as:
- Incident Coordinator who oversees the entire response effort
- Technical Leads who handle recovery of affected systems
- Communications lead that manages internal and external messaging
- Legal and Compliance ensures regulatory requirements are met
Document these roles in your plan and ensure backups are assigned for each role in case of absence. Conduct regular training so everyone is familiar with their responsibilities and can act decisively under pressure.
Step 4: Create Response Playbooks
Response playbooks provide step-by-step guides for handling specific scenarios such as ransomware infections, data breaches, or DDoS attacks. Each playbook should include:
- Initial detection and validation steps
- Containment measures (e.g. disconnecting systems)
- Recovery actions (e.g. restoring from backups)
- Communication workflows for staff, customers, partners, and regulators
For example, your ransomware playbook should detail who isolates affected endpoints, how backups are restored, and how to inform customers about data integrity. These playbooks reduce confusion, accelerate recovery, and ensure consistency across incidents.
Step 5: Plan for Data Backup and Recovery
Data is the lifeblood of any modern organisation. A robust backup and recovery strategy is central to any effective BC/DR plan. Begin by establishing:
- Backup frequency aligned with your RPO
- Storage strategy such as air-gapped, cloud-based, or offsite backups
- Encryption standards to protect sensitive data in storage
For example, a financial services company might use daily encrypted backups stored in two geographically separate data centres. Backups alone, however, are not enough. You must also conduct regular restore tests to ensure that data can be recovered quickly and accurately. These tests reveal gaps in backup configurations and prepare teams for real incidents.
Step 6: Test and Update Regularly
A static BC/DR plan becomes obsolete quickly. Regular testing and updates ensure your plan evolves with your organisation and the threat landscape. Testing can include:
- Tabletop exercises where teams walk through scenarios
- Full simulations of incidents such as phishing attacks or power outages
- Post-incident reviews after real-world events
Use Continuous Threat Exposure Management (CTEM) and threat intelligence to refine scenarios and keep playbooks current. For instance, if your organisation begins using new SaaS tools, include these in your risk analysis and update your recovery procedures.
By maintaining a living, tested BC/DR plan, you build true resilience, not just documentation.
