To begin with, it is necessary to state that any DRP (Disaster Recovery Plan) implies a specific documented procedure that is intended to protect particular IT services in situations that might adversely impact their infrastructures. This process of security maintenance requires the help of external third-party service providers to remain efficient. The following paper will identify the third-party service providers required for DRP and discuss their advantages with disadvantages.
Third-Party Service Providers in DRP
As there are only two major types of disasters (natural and man-made), the number of necessary service providers amounts to thousands. However, the most important and efficient ones will be discussed in this paragraph. The first position in this list belongs to various firefighting firms that also specialize in a set of other potential natural disasters common in a certain region (Erbschloe, 2003). Another necessary service that should be used by any profitable organization is technological security protection of its buildings or other materials it uses on a regular basis. There are many modern systems that detect any disasters and inform users about their prevention. The last position in the given list belongs to software that has to inform users about various cyber attacks. This factor is essentially important as it becomes more and more dangerous every year.
Advantages of Third-Party Service Providers
The advantages of involving the third-party services mentioned in the previous paragraph in effective recovery planning are the following:
- Being aware of all the possible disasters that might happen or that can be prevented in time. This factor is essential because it helps people understand the time limits they have to liquidate various dangers (Hwang et al., 2016).
- Knowing the type of potential disasters. When some unfortunate vents occur, their characteristics are reported to workers who can take appropriate actions based on this information.
- A decreased risk of being exposed to various consequences of all the possible disasters. The services mentioned above let people understand what actions should be taken to avoid serious negative outcomes.
Requirements from Third-Party Service Providers
If small, medium, and large organizations were considered in this paper’s context, the requirements from the third-party service providers would change significantly. For instance, the number of equipment required for a certain space would vary depending on its capacity. Also, some services need particular verifications from governmental structures that allow their usage (Wallace & Webber, 2018). Moreover, it would be proper to consider using other service providers for large organizations that can prevent disasters that might occur due to their specific professional activities. For instance, some factories are obliged to use services that are able to identify different technological mistakes that might lead to serious accidents. It would be proper to mention that the set of third-party service providers also changes according to a company’s activities.
Conclusion
As it is mentioned in the introduction section, a DRP is a number of services provided to different firms to maintain their integrity and security. Such measures are necessary for any organizations that employ people as they let individuals know about the threat they might face in the nearest future due to a certain disaster. These disasters are divided into two groups: man-made and natural. It is essential to install all the equipment that prevents different mistakes made because of the human factor. Also, such a strategy reduces the possibility of important information leak.
References
Erbschloe, M. (2003). Guide to disaster recovery. Boston, MA: Course Technology.
Hwang, G., Han, S., Choe, S., Hwang, C., Park, J., & Yun, H. (2016). Development of the response system for disaster recovery action plan using internet of things. Journal of Korean Society of Hazard Mitigation, 16(2), 315-323. Web.
Wallace, M., & Webber, L. (2018). The disaster recovery handbook: A step-by-step plan to ensure business continuity and protect vital operations, facilities, and assets. New York, NY: Amacom.