Many organizations are dealing with more outages than they used to and are feeling the impact on productivity and budgets. According to a 2025 report, 84% of businesses say outages have increased in the last two years, costing more than 33% between $1M and $5M in 2025.1 When disruptions are this common and this costly, having a written plan is only the first step. You need to know the plan works.
That’s where disaster recovery testing comes in. It gives you the chance to rehearse what will happen during an outage, validating processes and highlighting gaps to prepare your teams for real-world scenarios.
At TailWind, we help multi-location businesses reduce downtime and protect their infrastructure with proactive network and IT services – including backup and recovery testing. Read on to learn how disaster recovery testing works, why it matters, and how to build a plan that keeps your business resilient.
Disaster recovery testing is a structured process used to verify that your disaster recovery plan (DRP) works as intended. The goal isn’t to simply check off a box, but to make sure your systems, people, and processes can recover during a real disruption.
Testing usually involves simulating an outage to evaluate how well each part of your DRP performs and identify gaps early, so you can improve your disaster recovery processes before downtime occurs.
There are several ways to conduct a disaster recovery exercise, depending on the level of disruption your organization can accommodate and the systems you’d like to validate. The most common options are:
Each method tests different components of your DRP to uncover gaps and other issues that might otherwise go unnoticed.
It’s one thing to write a disaster recovery plan – it’s another to know it works. Here’s why testing is critical:
TailWind works with distributed organizations to build recovery strategies that fit your existing technology and operational model, so testing becomes more predictable and manageable.
A strong DRP should include:
Start by listing out the systems, applications, and services your business relies on daily, including servers, cloud platforms, communication tools, and any systems that support your customer-facing functions. Keeping this inventory up to date can help your teams avoid wasting time on restoring non-essential systems during an emergency.
An RTO outlines the maximum time a system can be down before it can have a serious impact on your operations. Setting realistic RTOs supports clearer communication during an incident, as everyone knows which systems must come back online first.
An RPO defines how much data loss your organization can tolerate, based on the frequency of your backups. A shorter RPO means less data loss but may require more frequent or advanced backup methods. This helps IT teams decide whether they need hourly, nightly, or continuous backups for certain systems.
Outline where your data is stored (e.g., on-site backups, cloud storage, hybrid model), how often it gets backed up, and what methods are used to protect it. The strategy should also explain how your teams verify backups, since a backup that can’t be restored doesn’t support recovery goals.
A disaster recovery plan needs regular testing to stay accurate. Outline how often your team will perform tabletop exercises, failover tests, or full-scale simulations, and include responsibilities for documenting results and updating the plan after each test.
A strong communication plan prevents delays and confusion during stressful moments. Specify who needs to be notified and what channels your teams will use to communicate during a disaster so that everyone’s on the same page when the unexpected occurs.
Failing to test regularly is one of the most common disaster recovery mistakes. If you don’t have a DRP testing schedule set up, start by conducting:
The size and complexity of your IT environment should guide your test frequency. For example, a healthcare business with hundreds of remote sites and sensitive data should test more frequently than a small shop.
Ready to perform a disaster recovery test? Here’s a step-by-step breakdown:
Clarify what you’re testing for. Speed? Accuracy? Team readiness? Be clear about the success metrics you’ll need to measure during a disruption.
Choose the type of disaster recovery test that aligns with your goals. Each method reveals different insights.
Loop in all department heads, IT, and third-party providers before conducting a disaster recovery exercise. For blind tests, put safeguards in place to prevent unintended operational impacts.
Follow your DRP as closely as possible during the test. Document every step, including time to recovery and communication effectiveness.
Note any issues that could slow recovery. Did backups fail? Did communication stall? Did dependencies go unaddressed?
Adjust your DRP based on what you learned during the exercise. Disaster recovery testing should always lead to refinement.
Multi-site organizations face challenges like different infrastructure across buildings, multiple internet providers, limited on-site IT support, or inconsistent hardware, all of which increase complexity during DRP testing.
TailWind helps businesses overcome these hurdles with centralized oversight and coordinated testing across all environments. Whether we’re working with your internal IT team or serving as your managed services partner, we ensure each of your locations is prepared and aligned with your broader business continuity goals.
Disaster recovery testing isn’t a “one and done” task – it’s a continuous process that keeps your business resilient. A strong testing strategy helps your team act with clarity and gives your business the stability it needs during unexpected events.
At TailWind, our experts can help ensure your people, processes, and technology are ready for anything. We bring decades of experience supporting distributed networks and hybrid environments with disaster recovery testing, including:
Whether you need help creating a DRP from scratch or running a complex, multi-site disaster recovery exercise, we can help. Reach out to TailWind today to talk about how we can strengthen your disaster recovery strategy.
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