Disaster recovery planningfor IT risks in Micro Finance Institutions

Abstract

In a world where there are continuous disruptions to business operations it is essential to ensure survival, action must be taken to ensure that information and the business processes that use the information are continuously available. The growing reliance upon IT in many Microfinance Institutions has resulted into development of Disaster Recovery Plans the point of mission-criticality. This usually involves the development and implementation of a suitable disaster recovery plan. This study explores the IT risks in MFIs, investigates how MFIs plan for the process of developing, testing and maintenance of DRPs and design a framework for Disaster Recovery Planning process in Microfinance Institutions. Methodology used was mainly data collection through the use of questionnaires. Findings revealed that Microfinance institution are prone to majority of today’s common IT risks and disasters but measures have to be put in place in order to avoid or mitigate these risks. It is recommended that a documented, distributed and tested DRP should be developed that outlines how the critical business operations, including IT, will resume their functions in the event of a disaster.