Introduction

The Certificate in IT Disaster Recovery Planning (CITDRP) is a comprehensive professional training program designed by Global Horizon Training Center to equip IT professionals, managers, and decision-makers with the knowledge and practical skills required to prepare for, respond to, and recover from IT-related disasters.

In today’s digital-driven environment, organizations face increasing risks from cyberattacks, system failures, natural disasters, and operational disruptions. Effective IT Disaster Recovery Planning (IT DRP) is no longer optional—it is a strategic necessity to ensure business continuity, data integrity, regulatory compliance, and organizational resilience.

This program provides a structured approach to designing, implementing, testing, and maintaining robust disaster recovery strategies aligned with international standards and best practices. Participants will gain hands-on exposure to risk assessment, recovery objectives, backup strategies, incident response, and continuous improvement frameworks.

Objectives

By the end of this program, participants will be able to:

• Understand the fundamentals of IT Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity

• Identify and assess IT risks, threats, and vulnerabilities

• Develop and document effective IT Disaster Recovery Plans (DRPs)

• Define and apply Recovery Time Objectives (RTO) and Recovery Point Objectives (RPO)

• Design appropriate backup, replication, and recovery strategies

• Conduct disaster recovery testing and simulations

• Integrate IT DRP with organizational business continuity frameworks

• Ensure compliance with international standards and regulatory requirements

Organizational Impact

Organizations sponsoring participants in this program will benefit from:

• Enhanced organizational resilience and preparedness

• Reduced downtime and financial losses during IT disruptions

• Improved protection of critical systems and data

• Stronger compliance with regulatory and audit requirements

• Clear roles and responsibilities during crisis situations

• Improved confidence in IT recovery capabilities

• Alignment between IT operations and business continuity objectives

Target Audience

This program is designed for:

• IT Managers and IT Supervisors

• Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity Professionals

• IT Infrastructure and Operations Teams

• Cybersecurity and Risk Management Professionals

• System and Network Administrators

• Data Center Managers

• Internal Auditors and Compliance Officers

• Business Continuity and Crisis Management Teams

• Senior IT and Operations Decision-Makers

Outlines

Day 1: Foundations of IT Disaster Recovery Planning

• Introduction to IT Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity

• Types of IT disasters and disruption scenarios

• Relationship between Disaster Recovery (DR) and Business Continuity (BC)

• Key components of an IT Disaster Recovery Framework

• Roles and responsibilities in disaster recovery management

• Overview of international standards and best practices

• Case study: Lessons learned from real IT disasters

Day 2: Risk Assessment and Business Impact Analysis (BIA)

• Identifying IT assets and critical systems

• Threat, vulnerability, and risk assessment techniques

• Conducting Business Impact Analysis (BIA)

• Defining critical processes and dependencies

• Establishing Recovery Time Objectives (RTO)

• Establishing Recovery Point Objectives (RPO)

• Prioritization of systems and recovery sequencing

• Practical exercise: Risk and impact assessment workshop

Day 3: Disaster Recovery Strategies and Solutions

• Data backup strategies (onsite, offsite, cloud-based)

• Data replication and redundancy models

• Infrastructure recovery strategies (servers, networks, applications)

• Cloud and hybrid disaster recovery solutions

• Third-party and vendor considerations

• Security considerations during disaster recovery

• Cost-benefit analysis of recovery solutions

• Case study: Selecting the right DR strategy

Day 4: Developing and Documenting the IT Disaster Recovery Plan

• Structure and components of an IT Disaster Recovery Plan

• Disaster response and escalation procedures

• Communication and notification plans

• Roles, responsibilities, and recovery teams

• Coordination with business units and stakeholders

• Documentation standards and version control

• Integrating DRP with Business Continuity Plans (BCP)

• Practical workshop: Drafting an IT Disaster Recovery Plan

Day 5: Testing, Maintenance, and Continuous Improvement

• Importance of DRP testing and validation

• Types of disaster recovery tests and simulations

• Conducting tabletop exercises and full-scale tests

• Evaluating test results and identifying gaps

• Maintaining and updating the DRP

• Training and awareness programs

• Continuous improvement and maturity models

• Final simulation exercise and program wrap-up