8.3.7. Moving Back Toward Normalcy

Eventually, all disasters end. The disaster recovery plan must address this phase as well. The new data center must be outfitted with all the necessary hardware and software; while this phase often does not have the time-critical nature of the preparations made when the disaster was initially declared, backup sites cost money every day they are in use, so economic concerns dictate that the switchover take place as quickly as possible.

The last backups from the backup site must be made and delivered to the new data center. After they are restored onto the new hardware, production can be switched over to the new data center.

At this point the backup data center can be decommissioned, with the disposition of all temporary hardware dictated by the final section of the plan. Finally, a review of the plan's effectiveness is held, with any changes recommended by the reviewing committee integrated into an updated version of the plan.