What is the most suitable recovery strategy for a business with multiple offices and a restricted recovery budget?

A reciprocal arrangement between the offices is the most suitable recovery strategy for a business with multiple locations and a limited recovery budget. This strategy allows two or more businesses, or in this case, different offices of the same organization, to provide backup resources to each other during a disaster or recovery situation.

This approach is cost-effective because it leverages existing resources without the need for significant financial investment in independent hot or cold sites. Each office can act as a backup for the others, thus minimizing downtime and recovery costs while maintaining operational continuity. By utilizing their own facilities, the organization can also ensure that the specific needs and configurations are closely aligned with their operational requirements.

Additionally, this strategy fosters collaboration and mutual support among the offices, which can lead to more efficient recovery processes. In contrast, options like a hot site or a third-party hot site involve higher costs and ongoing maintenance expenses, making them less suitable when the budget is a primary concern. A commercial cold site, while less expensive than a hot site, may not provide the level of preparedness and speed required for efficient recovery, especially when time-sensitive operations are involved.