IT Application Recovery Plan Template
Template Overview
The purpose of this IT Application Disaster Recovery Plan Template is to guide you through the development
of the steps and procedures necessary to successfully recover from a disruption at the primary data center.
This fully editable and customizable template helps jumpstart your planning effort by offering sample
content. Edit the content as needed to customize this plan to your organization and unique needs.
Catalyst Automates Your Program
This template is from Catalyst business continuity software. Take a look at the last page of this document if
you’re interested in learning how your plans can be activated and used in real-time when built in Catalyst.
Catalyst is a fully integrated business continuity and IT disaster recovery planning software that assists with
much more than just planning!
If you’d like to learn more, check out our website or contact us to schedule a demo or start a free trial.
>> Enjoy an extended free trial of Catalyst Pro (45 days!) with referral code: DRJ Plan Templates.
New to Business Continuity?
Check out our BCM 101 video series to start learning about business continuity right now:
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Business Continuity 101: Common Questions
Business Continuity 101: Key Planning Activities and Outcomes
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Contents
Cover Page ............................................................................................................................................................ 4
Introduction .......................................................................................................................................................... 4
Assumptions ......................................................................................................................................................... 4
Scope/Application Information............................................................................................................................. 4
Recovery Considerations ...................................................................................................................................... 5
DR Site Information .............................................................................................................................................. 6
Recovery Team ..................................................................................................................................................... 6
External Contacts .................................................................................................................................................. 7
Team Communication ........................................................................................................................................... 8
Recovery Prerequisites Checklist .......................................................................................................................... 8
Recovery Procedures ............................................................................................................................................ 8
Verification Procedures ........................................................................................................................................ 9
Return Home Procedures ..................................................................................................................................... 9
Appendix I: Supporting Documentation ............................................................................................................. 10
History Log .......................................................................................................................................................... 10
TERMS OF USE
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
View a copy of this license online, or send a letter to Creative Commons, PO Box 1866, Mountain View, CA 94042, USA.
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Cover Page
Title:
Description:
Owners:
Contributors:
Last Updated:
Last Approved:
Status:
Exercise Status:
Introduction
The purpose of this IT application disaster recovery plan is to guide personnel through the steps necessary to
recover from a disruption at the primary data center. This plan will be activated based on the type and
severity of a disruptive event or failure as characterized by management and may be used individually or in
conjunction with other plans throughout the organization.
Note: Throughout this document, instructions are noted in blue text. As part of completing or finalizing this
plan, please delete all instructions so as to minimize the length of the document and avoid confusion.
Assumptions
The following assumptions were used in developing this IT Application Disaster Recovery Plan:
Review the following list and amend/add as appropriate:



The Application is inoperable at its primary data center, with downtime potentially exceeding the
approved recovery time objective (RTO).
Key personnel have been identified and trained in their response and recovery roles; they are
available to activate this plan.
Current backups of software and data are intact and available for recovery.
Scope/Application Information
4
APPLICATION
DESCRIPTION AND
SERVERS
REQUIRED
OWNER(S)
COMMITTED MAX
DOWNTIME
COMMITTED MAX
DATA LOSS
Recovery Considerations
This application shall be recovered with consideration of the following information:
Primary Online Window (Time): [Insert]
List the times when this application is primarily operational and used by the business. Otherwise mark
as “N/A”.
Primary Batch Window: [Insert]
If batch processing occurs and is reliant on this application, list the times when this occurs. Otherwise
mark as “N/A”.
License Keys: [Insert]
If license keys are needed to install and operate this application at a recovery location, list how to obtain
the keys, or where they are stored. Otherwise mark as “N/A”.
Printer Destination Considerations: [Insert]
If this application requires configuration of specialized printers, please describe. Otherwise mark as
“N/A”.
Security Considerations: [Insert]
Describe how this application (and its data) is secured, or any specialized security considerations.
Otherwise mark as “N/A”.
Order Constraints: [Insert]
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If this plan covers multiple application sub-components/modules, describe the order of recovery. If this
application is reliant on another technology or application covered in a different plan, please describe
this interdependency. Otherwise mark as “N/A”.
Catch-up Processing Considerations: [Insert]
Describe any unique tasks that must be executed by the business or IT to “catch up” on processing that
may be bottle-necked due to the application being down. Otherwise mark as “N/A”.
Workstation Requirements: [Insert]
Following the recovery of this application, does anything need to be done to end-user workstations (or IT
administrator workstations) to complete the recovery process? If so, please describe. Otherwise mark as
“N/A”.
DR Site Information
DISASTER RECOVERY SITE INFORMATION
Primary Disaster Recovery Site Name:
[Insert]
Address:
[Insert]
City, State, Zip Code:
[Insert]
Contact Name / Phone Number:
[Insert]
Recovery Team
The following personnel are needed to recover this application:
This section of the plan lists those IT personnel responsible for leading/executing the recovery of the
application covered by this plan. A leader (and alternates) should be listed, as well as personnel by role (a
specific role should be listed and defined for each specialized skill needed to recover). Additionally, vendor
support contact information should be listed in this section.
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PRIMARY
MEMBERS
ALTERNATE
MEMBERS
IT Owner/Team Leader
Provide leadership to department personnel regarding recovering in-scope IT
applications using alternate methods and/or resources; submit status reports
and requests for assistance to management.
[Insert]
[Insert]
Primary Support Team
[Insert a description of this role's primary responsibilities in recovery mode]
[Insert]
[Insert]
Alternate Support Team
[Insert a description of this role's primary responsibilities in recovery mode]
[Insert]
[Insert]
Business Validation Team
This group represents the business in validating application recovery is
complete.
[Insert]
[Insert]
ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
External Contacts
The following table provides key external contact information for this department.
NAME:
TITLE:
COMPANY:
EMAIL:
ADDRESS:
PHONE:
ALT PHONE:
MOBILE:
FAX:
7
OTHER:
Team Communication
Throughout the recovery effort, the Recovery Team should remain in contact with management. In order to
do so, the following methods (aside from normal communication devices) should be used.
Website:
[Insert]
Team Room:
[Insert]
Other:
[Insert]
Recovery Prerequisites Checklist
Any infrastructure or application disaster recovery plans that are dependent on [Application] should be listed
here; any infrastructure or application disaster recovery plans that [Application] is dependent on should also
be listed here.
Infrastructure Plans
PLAN NAME
OWNER/VENDOR
CONTACT
PHONE
DR TIER /
CLASSIFICATION
COMMENTS
Recovery Procedures
Insert procedure(s) or refer to existing document(s) regarding the process to restart the application and
prepare for validation testing.
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#
1
TITLE
[Procedure Title 1]
[Insert]
[Insert Description]
2
ROLE
[Procedure Title X]
[Insert]
[Insert Description]
Verification Procedures
This section of the plan addresses how IT and the business will jointly verify that the application is operating
appropriately and within data loss tolerances. Describe the system checks necessary to ensure the
technology is operating / processing completely / accurately and that data is restored within expectations.
#
1
TITLE
[Procedure Title 1]
[Insert]
[Insert Description]
2
ROLE
[Procedure Title X]
[Insert]
[Insert Description]
Return Home Procedures
This section addresses the procedures necessary to move the application from a recovery location back to
the primary data center. Specifically, document how to transition from the recovery location to the original
location without leading to unexpected downtime and without introducing security risks. Be sure to address
how you will communicate with the end user and make them aware of the move.
#
1
TITLE
ROLE
PRESERVE DATA
Preserve data, where technically feasible, for analysis or diagnosis of the cause of any event
that triggers the activation of this plan.
2
DOCUMENT LESSONS LEARNED
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#
TITLE
ROLE
Document lessons learned and update this plan as directed by the Business Continuity
Program or the DR Incident Management Team.
Appendix I: Supporting Documentation
Additional support files can be documented here.
FILE NAME
DESCRIPTION
FILE LOCATION
History Log
VERSION
DATE
1
[Insert]
ACTION
[Insert]
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Catalyst is a fully integrated business continuity
planning solution that will make your life easier.
This plan template will work for you if you
build your program in Catalyst. How?
FULLY-INTEGRATED: When you build your plans in Catalyst, you never have to enter data twice! Easily access
the data entered in the system during the completion of your business impact analysis and risk assessment,
and seamlessly pull that data into your plan. Many of the fields in this template would have been
automatically populated for you if your program was being built in Catalyst. Efficiency at its best!
AUTOMATION: Forget sending out plan update reminders, reviews, and approvals! Catalyst automates these
time-consuming tasks across the board. On-screen guides help move users through the planning process –
defining terms and describing what type of information is being requested. And, approval frequencies can be
set for all policies, BIAs, and plans so planning participants are automatically notified when reviews and
updates are needed.
LIVE INCIDENT MANAGEMENT: Activate your plans during a live disruptive incident and make them
interactive! Activated plans guide you and your team through the approved response and recovery
procedures. Mark items as complete as you go, or post an update and assign a priority if you run into any
issues along the way so the Crisis Management Team Leader is aware and can take action if necessary. This
feature is included with Catalyst Pro and Enterprise or available as an add-on package to Catalyst Basic.
INSIGHTS (METRICS): Catalyst Insights provides access to automatic business continuity metrics that help
you quickly identify and address preparedness gaps and report on your organization's true level of
preparedness like never before. Have all Plans and BIAs been updated? What are the critical gaps that need
addressed? Get answers to these questions in a snap and take action! This feature is available with Catalyst
Pro and Enterprise.
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is free for up to 5 users and 10 departments.
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