Many companies focus on disaster recovery planning for faster, more efficient return to operations when a crisis strikes. Firms want to minimize downtime and establish a stronger foundation for data and systems restoration. However, one mistake that businesses can make is neglecting resiliency in favor of recovery.

According to Continuity Central, resiliency is quickly becoming an industry buzzword, a trend which underlines the important changes in how companies view business continuity planning today. However, it is key to understand how resiliency differs from recovery and how both play a part in a comprehensive continuity of operations plan.

"We believe that resilience is more than just a buzzword and it may possibly herald changes in the way we practice our profession in the future," the news source noted. "It is essential therefore that we remain at the forefront of these changes and discover how these developments will create more value to our work."

Resiliency specifically refers to a business's ability to withstand a disaster and make it through without encountering downtime at all, accounting for risk factors and various challenges that a natural or man-made crisis can create. Optimizing resiliency will help a firm simplify recovery by putting less stress on operations following a disaster. Furthermore, companies will be able to avoid many restoration processes due to not losing systems in the first place.

On the same note, it is important not to skimp on recovery planning in favor of resiliency. This could hurt recovery efforts when resiliency fails, requiring a balance between the two planning efforts.

Companies looking to optimize their business continuity planning should consider invest in disaster recovery consulting to ensure they cover every contingency to protect themselves from any risk.