1. Definition
A disaster is defined as a "sudden or great misfortune" or simply "any unfortunate event." More precisely, a disaster is "an event whose timing is unexpected and whose consequences are seriously destructive." These definitions identify an event that includes three elements:
However, a fourth element, lack of foresight or planning, is sometimes added. Disasters occur with unnerving frequency and their adverse consequences increase for those who do not prepare for predictable contingencies.
2. Various Types of Disasters
Disasters are not restricted to information resources and physical assets. The death of an essential employee, a product poisoning, a plant explosion, a fire in a central distribution center, or a chemical spill are disasters that adversely affect organizations.
3. Cost of Failure
Unplanned IT failures have tremendous costs associated with them:
Lost productivity, idle employees
Repair costs for service and material
Unmet service-level guarantee
Loss of customer confidence and goodwill
Brand image and Stock price drop
A report by Contingency Planning Research addressing the financial impact of application outages shows that outage costs can vary considerably by industry and application. The bottom line is, any outage can have a significant negative impact on your business.