Disaster recovery planning and business continuity for informaticians

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to address the problems associated with informatics and analytics projects that are developed in an “organic” manner. As such, this often circumvents formal project management principles and practices. The decision to do this is determined by organizational factors; however, even in an informal environment, ensuring that adequate disaster recovery and business continuity plans are in place for all mission-critical applications is vital to ensure the long-term survival prospects of an organization in the event of a disaster. Design/methodology/approach: By adapting the principles and techniques of traditional disaster recovery and business continuity planning, an informatician can develop plans that integrate the requirements of their projects into a larger, organization-wide plan to recover from incidents and ensure continuity of business operations. Findings: The use of disaster recovery planning and business continuity planning can help ensure the long-term viability of informatics and analytics projects within an organization. Originality/value: Most business continuity planning is focused on projects that are formally developed and relatively large in scale. This paper applies these principles and practices to informatics and analytics projects that are developed informally and managed casually. Thorough an example, the point that more traditional disaster recovery and continuity practices can and should be applied in this less-formal environment is demonstrated. © 2017, © Emerald Publishing Limited.