Prepare for disruption.
Recover with confidence.

Technology disruption can result from hardware failure, cyberattack, data loss, power interruption, human error or the failure of a critical supplier.

When essential systems become unavailable, the impact can extend far beyond the technology itself. Employees may be unable to work, customers may lose access to services, communications may be interrupted and important business information may become unavailable.

Integris helps organisations prepare for these events through practical business continuity and disaster recovery planning built around their actual operational requirements.

Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery

Business continuity and disaster recovery are closely related, but they address different aspects of an organisation’s response to disruption.

Business continuity focuses on maintaining essential operations while an incident is taking place.

Disaster recovery focuses on restoring systems, applications, connectivity and information following a failure or disruptive event.

An effective plan must address both. Restoring a server or recovering a file may be important, but this alone does not necessarily mean that the organisation can continue operating effectively.

Integris therefore considers the wider relationship between people, technology, information, suppliers, locations and working processes.

Understanding What the Business Depends On

Effective planning begins by identifying the services and resources that are most important to the organisation.

Integris works with key personnel to understand:

• critical systems and applications;
• essential business information;
• key operational processes;
• internet and communication dependencies;
• cloud platforms and external service providers;
• staff responsibilities and decision-making authority;
• acceptable periods of downtime;
• data recovery requirements;
• alternative working arrangements;
• existing backup and recovery capabilities.

This provides the foundation for a continuity and recovery plan that reflects how the organisation actually operates rather than relying on a generic template.

The Four Stages of Readiness

Our approach considers four connected areas.

Mitigation

Measures are introduced to reduce the likelihood and potential impact of disruption.

These may include resilient infrastructure, secure configuration, validated backups, power protection, equipment redundancy, cybersecurity controls and alternative connectivity.

Preparedness

The organisation identifies what must happen when an incident occurs.

Responsibilities, escalation routes, recovery priorities, contact information and practical response procedures are documented so that important decisions do not need to be improvised under pressure.

Response

The immediate response focuses on containing the incident, protecting people and information, communicating with affected parties and maintaining essential operations wherever possible.

Clear procedures help ensure that the organisation responds in a coordinated and proportionate manner.

Recovery

Systems, data and services are restored according to their agreed priority.

Recovery planning should consider not only whether information can be restored, but how long recovery will take, what resources are required and how the organisation will confirm that systems and services are operating correctly.

Backups Are Only Part of the Plan

Backups are essential, but they do not constitute a complete disaster recovery strategy.

A backup may exist without being current, complete or recoverable within the time available. It may also fail to include a critical application, system configuration or cloud service.

Integris reviews how information is protected, where copies are stored, how frequently backups are completed and whether recovery procedures are tested.

Where appropriate, recovery testing can be carried out to confirm that systems and information can be restored when required.

Practical and Proportionate Planning

Business continuity arrangements should reflect the size, structure and risk profile of the organisation.

Integris develops practical plans that can be understood and followed by the people expected to use them. Recommendations are prioritised according to operational importance, likely impact and available resources.

A continuity and recovery plan may therefore identify:

• critical systems and business processes;
• recovery priorities;
• response responsibilities;
• communication procedures;
• alternative operating arrangements;
• technical recovery steps;
• supplier and support contacts;
• testing and review requirements.

Maintaining Readiness

A continuity plan should evolve with the organisation.

Systems, staff, suppliers and working practices change over time, and documented arrangements should be reviewed as those changes occur.

Integris can assist with periodic reviews, recovery testing and updates to help ensure that continuity and recovery arrangements remain relevant, practical and workable.

Strengthen Your Organisation’s Resilience

Disruption cannot always be prevented, but its impact can be reduced through preparation, tested recovery arrangements and clearly defined responsibilities.

Integris helps organisations understand their dependencies, protect essential information and prepare for events that could interrupt normal operations.