As a CIO or IT disaster recovery manager, you want to make sure your disaster recovery processes are not only up to snuff, but your team is ready to implement them when the time is right.

Unfortunately, a lot can go wrong with disaster recovery. As a CIO or manager, you don’t want to spend your time putting out fires. You want to implement a strategic vision and have things running smoothly, instead of watching in horror as your technology spirals out of control.

Top 5 Common Problems with Disaster Recovery

While every business is different, many experience similar challenges when it comes to managing risk and formulating effective disaster recovery processes. Here are just a few of the challenges you might be facing as a CIO or manager:

1. Your Disaster Recovery Plans Aren’t Keeping Up with Changes in Technology

Technology, as we all know, is rapidly changing not just every year, but often over a span of months if not weeks. Software and systems that are connected to the cloud may auto-update, or in the least, need frequent updating for security reasons.

This is all well and good, but what if the disaster recovery processes you have in place don’t work with the newest version of the software that is now in use?

Never mind all the devices that employees and managers may be using to access data and work effectively. From desktop computers to printers, smartphones, and Bluetooth devices, your company likely has a lot of technology that is constantly changing and updating.

2. Your Devices Aren’t Able to Talk to Each Other

And what about all those different devices? Related to the issue of constant technology updates is the problem of device compatibility. Perhaps some computers are running Windows 10, while a few older machines are running Windows Vista just to keep an old system afloat. Then, you might have executives using iPads, while the servers are running Linux.

Keeping all of this stuff running and working, even without a disaster or major problem, can be a huge challenge.

3. Your Staff Doesn’t Have the Technical Knowledge You Need

Your HR person thinks they understand technology, but they believe SQL is some sort of quality management acronym instead of a database language. So, they’ve hired a “network administrator” who is great at networking Windows 2000 but who doesn’t understand (or care) about the CentOS server running the website or the iOS devices used in the conference room.

Worse, they’ve also hired the supposed technology whiz kid, only to find out that he or she has grossly exaggerated their qualifications.

4. What About Your Vendor Disaster Recovery Processes?

Vendor management can be a very critical piece of business success, and when disaster strikes, you may be more reliant on your vendors than you realize.

Are you in communication with your vendors? Do you have assigned personnel to coordinate with them in the event of a major problem? What is going to happen if your vendor is unavailable or goes out of business? What can you do with unsupported software?

5. You Haven’t Had Time to Do Proper Risk Assessment

You’ve gotten so busy with the day-to-day that you haven’t taken the time to do an in-depth risk assessment or disaster recovery plan to understand your disaster recovery processes. It just keeps getting pushed to the sidelines…until one day, it may be too late.

Don’t Fail to Plan, Plan for Failure With Your Disaster Recovery Processes

In this instance, planning for “failure” is actually one of the best things you can do for your company. Set aside the time to regularly review your systems and fill in those gaps. When the eventual disaster strikes, and it will, you will be ready.