Enterprises can no longer justify the absence of a detailed and well-rehearsed disaster recovery and business continuity plan. From cyber security threats that are in constant flux to the risk of an employee error or a natural disaster, business leaders are aware of the many types of vulnerabilities in their organizations.
In many cases, enterprises have also done a careful cost analysis of downtime, creating momentum behind the investment in a disaster recovery and business continuity strategy. It’s a cost that many find hard to justify until they begin to analyze the cost of a breach or a physical shutdown due to a flood or fire.
Emerging alongside the growing adoption of business continuity plans is the advancement of artificial intelligence (AI). Enterprises are gathering large amounts of data, and when AI is equipped with that data, it can make recovering systems faster and more complete. Here are some stages of the disaster recovery and business continuity process that are improved with AI:
Strategy Development: The use of AI in a business continuity plan starts in the early stages. Baseline establishment of normal network activity helps set the standard for monitoring, with AI tools employed to generate automatic alerts when anomalies are detected, either in a single incident, or when patterns emerge that were not evident in the past.
Business Continuity Execution: AI can also play an important role when a disaster occurs, whether that’s isolating a detected threat or automating certain security features if a natural disaster affected large segments or the entire staff. A failsafe could be in place, where AI is used to recognize when certain sets of people are not accessing the system within a particular time parameter and take specific steps.
AI can also be used to restore data or systems if a breach occurs. In most situations, AI will detect a breach far before human eyes would identify an anomaly, and it can begin restoration processes automatically.
Ongoing Refinement: As the business continuity and disaster recovery plans are in place, AI tools can make suggestions based on the data it is gathering about systems, personnel, and potential threats. For instance, it may detect a vulnerability in the data backup practices and suggest a new approach or an additional safeguard. As new solutions are introduced to the IT environment, AI can help solve security challenges to keep the business continuity plan current.
AI offers revolutionary opportunities in many areas of business, and enterprises are beginning to see their business continuity plans improved by technology. For information on how you can implement AI solutions into your strategy, contact usat Enterprise Visions.