The importance of disaster recovery cannot be overstated. In addition to the hefty sums of income businesses stand to lose should their systems be knocked offline, companies also suffer from dissatisfied customers who can’t buy products or ask questions; decreased productivity as employees can’t access the network; and corrupted data.

With that in mind, in order for businesses to successfully navigate the unpredictability of disasters, putting strong disaster recovery plans in place is of vital importance. But just as it is vital to execute such a plan, it’s equally important to thoroughly test your plan so that you’re prepared should disaster strike.

Unfortunately, though, not every company hones in on the testing part of their DR strategy. According to a recent survey, 50 percent of IT decision makers indicated that they don’t test their disaster recovery plans, while 28 percent said that they test their plans every three months. Still, 71 percent of respondents indicated that they are comfortable that their disaster recovery plans meets their business needs.

What’s more, the study found that nearly 20 percent of all disaster recovery plans that are tested are unsuccessful and about one-third of respondents weren’t even sure as to whether their last recovery test was successful.

“Companies should be 100 percent aware of the reliability of their disaster recovery solution,” the report said. “More regular testing would achieve this and give IT departments a more accurate judgment on the reliability of their disaster recovery solution.”

These days, businesses are stretched in a million different directions. Because of the importance of disaster recovery plans—and the fact that such plans are likely not what some verticals specialize in—many decision makers are turning toward managed service providers to take care of creating and testing such plans. By putting your disaster recovery plans in the hands of trained professionals, you’re able to rest comfortably knowing that should the worst occur, your business has a full plan of attack waiting.

If you’re a business owner looking to fortify your disaster recovery plans, click here to read about how Apex Technology Services, a managed service provider in Norwalk, can help you meet your goals.