Document Management and Disaster Recovery

Disaster Recovery is always on the forefront of any solid IT strategy. Companies are becoming so dependent on technology that even the simplest power outage can wreak havoc on business operations. I am always surprised at the lack of attention paper files receive when it comes to the Strategic Disaster Recovery/Business Continuity plan. Companies will spend ten of thousands of dollars on the latest backup and recovery software, offsite data storage and redundant secondary sites, but when asked "What will happen when a fire hits the corporate office and all the paper is gone?", I usually get a blank stare. This is mostly due to the separation of duties within any organization. IT Managers see the data as their responsibility, and go to any length to protect this vital resource. Paper files are almost always managed at the departmental level, by managers who are usually not aware, or educated on disaster recovery and Business Continuity planning.

When examining the overall process, Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity Planning are usually split into separate, but co-dependent processes. Below is a listing of each process and what they include:

Business Continuity Planning (BCP)

• Plan and Scope organization
• Business Impact Planning and Analysis
• Plan Development and Implementation

Disaster Recovery Planning (DRP)

• Planning process
• Testing of the plan
• Recovery procedures

So where does Document Imaging and Document Management play into this process? Paper needs to be a primary focus during the Business Impact Analysis and overall planning exercise. How important are the file cabinets? Can business carry on if all is lost? Is the paper just a redundant copy of existing data? How easily can paper records be recreated?

The whole disaster planning process is a long and arduous task, but organizations need to take into account all their assets to insure business continuity and full operational functionality. Implementing a Document Management and Scanning solution will backup necessary paper files, making sure all required information is available after a disaster.

See the ScanGuru planning section for additional articles and information on planning:

Document Management Planning

Document Management and Data Backup