IT disaster recovery plan: What's your testing timetable?

How frequently should enterprises test their IT disaster recovery plans?

Our #CIOChat debate kicked off with cries for daily testing of an IT disaster recovery plan using automated tools:

@searchCIO A1: DR testing should be ongoing and conducted daily - this can be automated with the right tools. #CIOchat

— Robert Payne (@phillybobpayne) June 25, 2014

@searchCIO A1 1:2 There's no set time. Parts of your disaster recovery plan should be tested every day if you design properly. #CIOChat

— Mark Thiele (@mthiele10) June 25, 2014

Others, including SearchCompliance Site Editor Ben Cole, agreed that very frequent testing is the way to go, given the stakes:

A1 Best to plan ahead rather than wait for something bad to happen- with speed of modern business seconds count when breach occurs #CIOChat

— Ben Cole (@BenjaminCole11) June 25, 2014

A1. DR/BC is a living breathing document/process, you should be testing and improving pieces of it every day #CIOChat

— Brian Katz (@bmkatz) June 25, 2014

Consider having a “dry run” the day before the #disasterrecovery test to make sure everyone is prepared and in sync. #CIOChat

— Paul Kirvan (@pkbcm1) June 25, 2014

In addition to being this month's tweet jam expert, Paul Kirvan is an independent consultant and IT auditor with more than 22 years of experience in business continuity (BC) and DR. What is his IT disaster recovery plan advice? Scheduling a test less than a month in advance is OK, he said:

You can plan, schedule and execute a test in less than a month, again so long as there are regular reminders. #CIOChat

— Paul Kirvan (@pkbcm1) June 25, 2014

Tweet jam participant Robert Payne, a product marketing manager at a data protection and disaster recovery vendor, said large-scale tests that demand users' participation require ample planning:

@searchCIO A1 For large scale tests that require users in office to test productivity on secondary sites/networks, at least 1 month #CIOChat

— Robert Payne (@phillybobpayne) June 25, 2014

Enterprise DR planning tests in enterprises can require a lot of planning and coordination. Tweet jammer Mark Thiele was thinking more in terms of years, a suggestion that drew several responses:

@searchCIO A1 2:2 As a rule though a full plan test should be performed at least every 24 months. Covers changing ppl & Tech #CIOChat.

— Mark Thiele (@mthiele10) June 25, 2014

@AndiMann @searchCIO Understandable concern. But, "Full" test involves execs, travel, work disruption etc. Tough to do that often #CIOChat

— Mark Thiele (@mthiele10) June 25, 2014

@AndiMann @searchCIO Yes, but newer tech greatly simplifies DR design characteristics. #CIOChat

— Mark Thiele (@mthiele10) June 25, 2014

Whether your IT team decides to do daily, weekly, monthly or yearly tests, key players must receive proper notice. According to participant Denise Dubie, there is no such thing as "too soon" when planning and distributing materials related to DR tests:

A1: Never too early to start planning for DR/BC testing #CIOChat with incremental improvements documented along the way

— Denise Dubie (@DDubie) June 25, 2014

While companies can't pinpoint exactly when disaster might strike, it's important that the right people are informed of the DR test run, the primary function of which is to fully evaluate an organization's business continuity and IT disaster recovery plan. Sending a "this is just a test" memo to the entire company isn't vital, perhaps, but everyone should be involved in carrying out his or her end of the DR bargain, in ways big and small:

A1 Must be shared responsibility as well, from senior management on down—anyone involved in crucial business processes #CIOChat

— Ben Cole (@BenjaminCole11) June 25, 2014

@TT_Nicole Distributed cloud apps or apps envs supported by virtualization. Sync'ing is a breeze compared to 5 yrs ago. #CIOChat

— Mark Thiele (@mthiele10) June 25, 2014

To read more of this month's discussion, search #CIOChat on Twitter. Stay tuned on SearchCIO for addition tweet jam recaps and follow @SearchCIO for real-time updates about news postings.