A disaster recovery (DR) plan is your ultimate safety net, designed to protect your business from the unexpected. But how do you know if that safety net will actually hold? The challenge is that testing it can feel risky — what if the test itself causes the disruption you’re trying to prevent? Yet, relying on an untested plan is nothing more than false security.
In this blog, we’ll explore why testing your DR plan is essential, the various types of tests available, and best practices for ensuring an effective and low-risk DR testing process.
Read also: 5 Key components of a disaster recovery plan |
Why testing your disaster recovery plan matters
Your DR plan might look perfect on paper, but if untested, it could fail when you need it the most. Testing reveals gaps in your plan before they become critical problems. You might discover that your backup data is corrupted, key contact information is outdated, or essential steps are missing from your procedures. These issues are much easier and cheaper to fix during a controlled test than during a real emergency.
Regular testing also builds confidence within your team. Employees who know their roles and have practiced emergency procedures can respond faster and more effectively during real disasters. Preparation reduces panic and allows for smoother execution when every minute counts.
Risk-free methods to test your disaster recovery plan
You don’t need to simulate a full-scale catastrophe to validate your defenses. Several types of testing can be done with little to no disruption to live operations.
The walk-through test
A walk-through, also known as a tabletop exercise, is one of the simplest and safest ways to evaluate your DR plan. It’s a structured meeting where key team members work through a hypothetical scenario step by step. For instance, you might pose the question: “A ransomware attack has locked our files — what’s our first move? Who contacts IT? How do we notify employees? Where’s the contact list?” This low-cost exercise requires only time but is invaluable for uncovering gaps in communication, unclear responsibilities, or missing information.
Using an AI tool such as Copilot or ChatGPT can be useful when doing a tabletop exercise to help prompt the AI tool to create a realistic scenario that allows you to think through what you would do as a situation evolves.
The sandbox test
A sandbox or isolated test takes things further. Your IT team or provider creates a completely separate, isolated copy of your critical systems.
Within this safe setup, you can attempt a full recovery by restoring backups and booting servers, all without touching your live environment. It’s an effective way to confirm that backups are intact and your recovery procedures actually work.
The failover test
The most comprehensive option, a failover test, involves switching live operations from your primary systems to a disaster recovery site. Businesses may run on backup systems for a few hours or even a full day before switching back.
Because a failover test impacts live systems, it requires careful planning and is usually done after hours or during weekends to reduce business disruption. Done correctly, it’s the strongest proof that your disaster recovery plan works.
Best practices for disaster recovery testing
To make sure your disaster recovery testing goes smoothly and doesn’t disrupt your business, follow these best practices:
Start with documentation review
Before any hands-on testing, review your disaster recovery plan with fresh eyes. Check that contact information is current, procedures are clear, and no critical steps are missing. This simple review often reveals issues that would cause problems during testing or real disasters.
Your plan should be resilient in case key individuals or vendors are unavailable. For example, some types of disasters may impact the ability for your team or vendors to respond. Making sure that you have adequate levels of documentation available for others who may need to substitute in for primary contacts is helpful.
Schedule tests strategically
To minimize business disruption, conducts tests during off-peak hours or slow periods. Some tests can be done during business hours if they don’t affect daily operations.
Also, always notify your team in advance. Clear communication prevents confusion and reinforces everyone’s role in the process.
Document results thoroughly
Keep detailed records of what worked, what didn’t, and how long each step took during testing. Detailed documentation helps you identify what to improve in your current plan and serves as a valuable reference for future testing.
To maintain accuracy, assign a dedicated note-taker rather than multitasking between testing and documentation.
Test in manageable phases
Rather than attempting to evaluate your entire disaster recovery plan at once, break it into smaller, focused phases. For example, you might start by testing data backups in the first week, move on to communication protocols in the next, and proceed step by step. A phased approach simplifies the process, minimizes stress for your team, and ensures each component receives the attention it deserves.
The worst time to test your plan is during a crisis
While you can’t predict when a disaster will occur, you can take steps to make sure you’re prepared. Testing your DR plan isn’t an optional IT exercise; it’s a critical step in building a resilient business.
By starting with simple walk-throughs and progressing to more advanced tests, you’ll gain confidence that your systems, processes, and people are ready without putting your business at risk.
Feeling overwhelmed? You don’t have to go it alone. The IT experts at Fidelis can help you design and test a rock-solid disaster recovery plan tailored to your business needs. Reach out to us today to get started.
