Creating or Updating a Disaster Recovery Plan in the Wake of Coronavirus: 7 Things to Consider

The coronavirus crisis has prompted many companies to rethink their strategies and adjust their policies and contracts to protect themselves from pandemics of this magnitude. The COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting suspension of business operations has unveiled prominent inadequacies and weak points in the disaster recovery plans of many companies.

7 Things to Consider When Developing or Updating a Disaster Recovery Plan in the Post-Pandemic World 

As businesses in Florida are beginning to reopen following the coronavirus crisis, many organizations realized that the unpredictable duration of pandemics and other disasters requires additional considerations when developing or updating a company’s disaster recovery plan:

1. Improving preventative and mitigation plans. Having a robust and comprehensive preventative and mitigation plan can help avoid or lessen the negative impact of a pandemic of this magnitude (e.g., monitoring potential outbreaks and disasters, taking appropriate measures to mitigate the effects on your business, etc.).
2. Creating a communication plan. One of the most overlooked components of disaster recovery is having a communication plan and creating a mechanism for involving the company’s board and senior management in the organization’s disaster planning process.
3. Developing remote working opportunities. A company’s ability to continue working remotely and switch its employees to working from home made a huge difference during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the post-coronavirus world, companies should invest more in IT operations and create remote working opportunities for employees.
4. Protecting your company from cyberattacks. The coronavirus pandemic resulted in a surge in cyberattacks against businesses. Hackers took advantage of organizations’ vulnerabilities and security weaknesses caused by the sudden switch to remote operations during the pandemic. After the coronavirus crisis, your company should invest in reliable remote software, develop robust security protocols, and provide training on remote communications and security procedures to employees.
5. Ensuring operational preparedness. Any disruption to your operational and communications processes after implementing a disaster recovery plan must be kept to a minimum. You must ensure operational preparedness and train your employees to respond to rapidly changing circumstances in a fast-paced environment. You must assign roles and responsibilities to workers to make sure that everyone knows what they are doing and to be able to identify who caused disruption to your operational and communications processes.
6. Testing your disaster recovery plan. Simply having a disaster recovery plan on paper is not enough, no matter how bullet-proof and robust it seems. If you are not testing your plan, you don’t have one. Your company needs to plan the disaster recovery plan regularly to ensure that your plan works and everyone within the organization is on board.
7. Continue reviewing and updating your plan. A good disaster recovery plan should be subject to oversight and periodic review. Keep updating your plan to ensure that the processes remain up-to-date and address any relevant information provided by the government.

Speak with a West Palm Beach business litigation attorney if you need assistance in creating or updating your disaster recovery plan in the post-coronavirus world. Contact Pike & Lustig, LLP, to receive a consultation. Call at 561-291-8298.

https://www.turnpikelaw.com/4-unintended-consequences-of-invoking-the-force-majeure-clause-in-the-covid-19-era/