How to Implement a Cloud Disaster Recovery Plan at Your Organization

by Danny Tehrani | May 26, 2025

Data backups and disaster recovery are essential if you want to ensure business continuity during unexpected events. However, if you rely on one dedicated facility for your backups, you could run into issues if something happens to that server. Dispersed cloud disaster recovery methods can help you reduce that risk.

No matter how reliable your physical data center is, anything can happen. 55% of data center operators reported a significant outage over the past 3 years. Having a cloud DR plan means that you aren’t limited to a single physical server if one data center has an issue.

That’s why the rest of this article will help you get started with cloud-based DR. We will explore what it means, why it’s helpful, and explore key best practices to help you roll it out at your organization.

What is Cloud Disaster Recovery?

Cloud disaster recovery (cloud DR) is a strategy that uses cloud-based tools and infrastructure to back up and restore critical systems, applications, and data after an unexpected outage or failure. It helps businesses recover quickly from disruptions like hardware failure, ransomware, or natural disasters.

Cloud DR plans can be tested regularly without disrupting live environments. This helps you confirm that your recovery time objective (RTO) and recovery point objective (RPO) are realistic and achievable. 

Although storage and compute costs can increase with frequent testing or large-scale environments, pay-as-you-go pricing still offers more flexibility than traditional disaster recovery.

Do You Need a Cloud Disaster Recovery Plan If You Already Have a Recovery Strategy?

Even if you have an established disaster recovery strategy, adding cloud disaster recovery gives you more flexibility and faster recovery options. It removes the need for a second physical site and makes it easier to test your plan regularly without affecting your systems. 

Cloud DR also helps you recover from problems in more locations, since you’re not tied to one physical area. This can improve your overall recovery strategy while reducing long-term costs.

Here is a quick comparison of traditional vs. cloud disaster recovery.

There may be value in having both a traditional and a cloud disaster recovery strategy in place, but you also may only need one or the other. This decision depends on your organization’s size, complexity, risk tolerance, and compliance requirements. 

Many organizations choose to consolidate into cloud DR as they modernize unless a hybrid setup is justified by their risk profile or business requirements. However, keeping both strategies can provide additional regional diversity. If your physical site and your cloud provider’s primary region are both disrupted, you still have options.

How to Create Your Cloud-Based Disaster Recovery Plan

1. Assess Your Critical Workloads

Start by identifying which systems, applications, and data are essential to your operations. Document how they interact with each other and what business functions they support. This step helps you prioritize recovery efforts based on actual business impact rather than assumptions. 

2. Define Your Recovery Objectives

Set your recovery time objective (RTO) and recovery point objective (RPO) for each workload. These metrics tell your cloud provider or internal IT team how quickly you need systems restored and how much data loss you can tolerate. Without defined objectives, your recovery plan may cost too much or fail to meet operational needs.

3. Choose The Right Cloud Architecture

Select a cloud architecture that fits your recovery goals. This could be public, private, or hybrid. Consider cost, compliance, and availability when choosing a platform. For example, hybrid models can reduce latency for mission-critical apps while public cloud may offer lower costs for archiving less urgent data. 

4. Select Backup & Replication Tools

Use tools that support automated backups and real-time replication to your cloud environment. Make sure the tools you choose support encryption, versioning, and fast restores. Using the wrong tool or relying on manual backups creates gaps in protection that may lead to permanent data loss during an incident.

5. Define Roles & Responsibilities

Assign clear roles for IT staff, third-party vendors, and business stakeholders involved in the recovery process. Document who is responsible for triggering failover, managing communications, and restoring services. Without defined roles, confusion can delay recovery and compound business disruptions.

6. Build & Document The Recovery Workflow

Create a detailed, step-by-step recovery process for each workload. Include diagrams, access credentials, configuration settings, and fallback options in case your first attempt fails. A well-documented process gives your team a repeatable playbook.

7. Test The Plan

Run scheduled disaster recovery tests using simulated outages. Measure how well your systems meet your defined RTOs and RPOs, and adjust your plan based on real performance. Testing uncovers hidden problems that you can fix before a real incident occurs.

8. Monitor, Review, and Update

Set a recurring schedule to review and update your disaster recovery plan. Changes in infrastructure, business priorities, or compliance requirements can make old plans ineffective. Keeping your plan current prevents gaps and prepares your team for real-world incidents.

Key Best Practices For Rolling Out Your Cloud Computing Disaster Recovery Process

Start With a Limited Rollout

Test the disaster recovery process on a non-critical system before full deployment. This helps you identify potential configuration gaps and operational issues without affecting production workloads. A limited rollout also lets your team build familiarity and reduce risk before scaling.

Gather End User Feedback After Each Rollout Phase

Ask end users for feedback after tests or partial rollouts to learn how recovery efforts affected their work. Use this feedback to refine your communications and timelines. This helps verify that the process aligns with real operational needs, not just technical metrics. Early feedback from end users is connected to a 12% higher project success rate.

Automate Key Recovery Tasks

Use automation to handle backups, replication, failover, and infrastructure deployment. Automating these steps shortens recovery time and removes the risk of manual mistakes. This keeps your recovery process consistent and reliable during high-stress events.

Deploy Across Multiple Regions

Roll out your recovery procedures across different cloud regions and availability zones. This protects your systems from regional outages or data center failures. Geographic diversity adds resilience and improves service availability.

Leverage Infrastructure as Code

Use Infrastructure as Code (IaC) tools like Terraform or Azure Resource Manager to define your cloud environments. This allows for fast, consistent environment deployment during an event. Codifying your infrastructure removes manual setup and accelerates recovery time.

Verify Compliance Requirements During Deployment

During the rollout, confirm that your recovery setup meets all industry and regulatory requirements. This includes data retention rules, access control, and audit capabilities. Meeting compliance needs at rollout helps you avoid costly corrections later.

Monitor & Control Costs

Track the cloud resources used by your disaster recovery setup to avoid overprovisioning. This issue is more common than you may realize. 44% of organizations overspend on underutilized solutions. Use automation to pause non-essential services until they are needed. Cost control keeps the process sustainable without reducing readiness.

Let CME Help You Choose Your Ideal Cloud Disaster Recovery Solution

Cloud disaster recovery works best when it matches your actual business needs. A plan that fits your operations, recovery goals, and compliance obligations will reduce risk and avoid delays during an outage. Once your strategy is mapped out, successful deployment depends on precise execution and ongoing support.

Computers Made Easy helps you design and roll out a cloud disaster recovery solution that fits your systems, budget, and timeline. Our team works with you to define priorities, build the right cloud architecture, and apply the correct tools for recovery. 

Reach out today to get started.