IT disaster recovery plan
in Reunion Island
— resume in under 4 hours
Cyclone, ransomware, fire, server failure — when your information system goes down, every hour of downtime costs an SME between €5,000 and €50,000. A Disaster Recovery Plan is your insurance to restart quickly, without data loss.
60% of SMEs hit by a major IT disaster close within 6 months. In Reunion Island, the risks are amplified: cyclones, power cuts, dependence on submarine cables. ECLAUD IT designs, deploys and tests your DRP — Veeam backup, cloud replication, DRaaS — for guaranteed recovery in less than 4 hours.
Why a DRP is vital for your SME
Imagine the scenario: Monday morning, 8:30am. Your staff switch on their computers and nothing happens. The server is down. Or worse — ransomware has encrypted all your data over the weekend. Your business application is inaccessible, your emails are blocked, your client files have disappeared. You call your "IT person" who says they need to "take a look". Meanwhile, every hour that passes costs your business between €5,000 and €50,000.
This is not fiction. In 2025, ANSSI recorded 128 ransomware compromises in France. SMEs represent between 37 and 48% of victims. And the most alarming figure: 60% of SMEs that suffer a major IT disaster close within 6 months. Not because the attack was sophisticated — but because they had no plan to restart.
"54% of organisations with a DRP recover in less than a week, compared to 35% the previous year. The DRP makes the difference between survival and closure." — ANSSI / SGDSN, BCP-DRP Guide
In Reunion Island, the risks are amplified. The island is exposed to tropical cyclones, prolonged power cuts, and depends on two submarine cables for its internet connectivity. A natural disaster combined with no DRP can be fatal for a Reunion Island SME — service restoration times are longer than on the mainland, spare parts take longer to arrive, and cyber experts are rare locally.
DRP vs BCP — what is the difference, which to choose?
DRP and BCP are often confused. Both aim for resilience, but their philosophy is radically different. A DRP (Disaster Recovery Plan) accepts downtime — it defines how to restart as quickly as possible after a disaster. A BCP (Business Continuity Plan) aims for zero interruption — it relies on redundant infrastructure that takes over instantly.
| Criterion | DRP | BCP |
|---|---|---|
| Objective | Resume after a disaster | Never stop |
| Acceptable downtime | A few hours (RTO) | Zero or near-zero |
| Cost | Moderate (backup + cloud) | High (full redundancy) |
| Infrastructure | Fallback site or cloud | Dual active infrastructure |
| Suited to SMEs | Yes — the recommended standard | Rarely (prohibitive cost) |
For 95% of SMEs, the DRP is the right choice. A BCP implies dual infrastructure (two servers, two internet connections, two sites) that doubles costs. The DRP, by relying on backup and cloud replication, offers an excellent balance between protection and budget. Typical target for a Reunion Island SME: RTO of 2 to 4 hours and RPO of 1 to 24 hours.
Our 4-step DRP methodology
A DRP is not just "having backups". It is a structured process that starts from your business needs to dimension the technical solution. Here is how we proceed.
Business Impact Analysis (BIA)
Identification of your company's critical processes, assessment of the financial impact of downtime per hour/day, classification of applications by criticality. The BIA determines your RTO and RPO targets.
RTO / RPO definition
RTO (Recovery Time Objective): how quickly must you resume operations? RPO (Recovery Point Objective): how much data can you afford to lose? These two indicators dimension your DRP — and its cost.
Replication architecture
Design of the fallback infrastructure: local Veeam backup + cloud, replication to a secondary site, automatic or manual failover. Choice between synchronous replication (RPO = 0) and asynchronous (RPO = 15 min to 24h).
Bi-annual test
An untested DRP is a DRP that does not work. We run a full failover test twice a year: server restoration, data verification, measurement of the actual RTO. Test report delivered with identified gaps.
The testing phase is the most neglected — and the most important. According to Gartner, approximately 50% of DRPs fail on the first real activation because they have never been tested under realistic conditions. At ECLAUD IT, the bi-annual test is included in all our DRP contracts. We simulate a full disaster, measure the actual RTO and document the gaps.
The technical building blocks of your DRP
Veeam / Acronis backup
Daily incremental backup, minimum 30-day retention, AES-256 encryption, storage on local NAS + cloud. Monthly automated restoration tests. Typical RPO: 24h (nightly backup).
Cloud replication
Replication of critical servers to a datacentre in mainland France (Sewan, OVHcloud). Failover in less than 4 hours. Ideal for SMEs that cannot afford a physical fallback site.
Fallback site
For businesses with strong continuity requirements (healthcare, accounting during tax season), we can deploy a dedicated or shared fallback site in Reunion Island — pre-configured servers, switchover in less than 2 hours.
DR as a Service (DRaaS)
All-in-one solution: continuous replication, automatic failover, 24/7 monitoring, quarterly tests included. DRaaS is the most comprehensive plan — you manage nothing, we ensure recovery.
We work with proven technology partners: Veeam and Acronis for backup and replication, Sewan for cloud hosting in France, Fortinet for network security. Each component is chosen according to your business constraints and budget — no over-sizing.
For SMEs that use our anti-ransomware solutions, the DRP integrates naturally: the air-gapped backup and cloud replication are the last lines of defence against ransomware that has bypassed the EDR and firewall.
DRP in Reunion Island — risks that mainland France doesn't face
Designing a DRP for Reunion Island is not about applying a mainland template. The island combines natural risks, dependence on submarine infrastructure and technical isolation that require a specific approach.
Tropical cyclones
Reunion Island is classified as a major cyclone risk zone. Each season (November-April) brings its share of threats: winds of 200 km/h, flooding, prolonged power cuts. In 2024, Cyclone Belal paralysed the island for 48 hours — servers inaccessible, internet links cut, offices flooded.
Power cuts
The Reunion Island electrical grid is fragile during cyclone season. Outages can last from a few hours to several days in some areas. Without a correctly sized UPS and a DRP, your servers shut down abruptly — with a risk of data corruption.
Submarine cable
Reunion Island depends on two main submarine cables (SAFE and LION) for its international connectivity. A cable break (ship anchor, earthquake) can severely degrade bandwidth for weeks. Your cloud services hosted on the mainland become unusable or very slow.
Ransomware & cyberattacks
128 ransomware compromises reported to ANSSI in 2025. SMEs represent 37 to 48% of victims. In Reunion Island, technical isolation and the lack of cybersecurity providers worsen the risk: longer response times, limited local expertise.
This is why we adopt a hybrid DRP strategy for our Reunion Island clients: local backup on NAS (for fast restoration even without internet) + cloud replication in mainland France (to survive a major disaster on the island). This dual approach covers both the cyclone scenario and the ransomware scenario.
We also account for the latency to mainland datacentres (30 to 80ms depending on the cable used) when dimensioning replication. Synchronous replication to Paris is not viable from Reunion Island — we favour asynchronous replication with an RPO of 15 minutes to 1 hour, which offers the best performance/protection trade-off.
How much does a DRP cost — and how much does not having one cost
| Plan | Includes | Monthly price |
|---|---|---|
| Basic Cloud DRP | Daily Veeam backup + cloud replication + annual test. RTO: 4-8h | €200 — €500/month |
| Advanced DRP | Continuous replication + semi-automatic failover + bi-annual test. RTO: 2-4h | €500 — €1,200/month |
| Full DRaaS | Continuous replication + automatic failover + 24/7 monitoring + quarterly test. RTO: < 1h | From €1,500/month |
The cost of doing nothing
One day of downtime costs an SME between €5,000 and €50,000 (lost revenue, unproductive wages, client penalties, emergency restoration costs). The average ransom demanded in France is €900,000 (CESIN 2025). And 47% of companies that pay do not recover all their data (Sophos). The DRP is an investment, not a cost.
Indicative prices for 1 to 5 servers. The exact sizing depends on data volume, target RTO/RPO and infrastructure complexity. Free audit and quote.
FAQ — Disaster Recovery Plan
How quickly can operations resume with a DRP?
This depends on your RTO (Recovery Time Objective) defined during the impact analysis. With a standard cloud DRP, allow 2 to 4 hours to restore critical servers. With DRaaS (continuous replication), failover can occur in less than 30 minutes. Without a DRP, recovery takes an average of 3 to 5 days — and 60% of SMEs never recover.
What RPO (data loss) is acceptable for an SME?
The RPO depends on your activity. For an accounting firm during tax season, losing a day of entries is critical — target RPO: 1 to 4 hours. For an SME with few daily transactions, a 24-hour RPO (last nightly backup) is often acceptable. ECLAUD IT helps you define the appropriate RPO for each application.
Is testing the DRP really necessary?
Absolutely. An untested DRP has roughly a 50% chance of failing on the day (Gartner study). Common causes of failure: corrupted backups, outdated procedures, undocumented infrastructure changes. ECLAUD IT runs a full failover test twice a year — with a detailed report and measurement of the actual RTO.
How much does a DRP cost for a Reunion Island SME?
A basic cloud DRP (Veeam backup + cloud replication) starts at €200/month for 1 to 3 servers. An advanced DRP with continuous replication and automatic failover ranges from €500 to €1,200/month. Full DRaaS with 24/7 monitoring and quarterly tests starts from €1,500/month. Compare this to the cost of one day of downtime: €5,000 to €50,000 for an SME.
Does the DRP protect against cyclones in Reunion Island?
This is precisely one of the priority scenarios in our DRP. We replicate your data and servers to a datacentre in mainland France, outside the cyclone zone. In the event of a major cyclone with physical destruction of your premises, you can resume operations from any internet-connected device — even from home.
What is the difference between a backup and a DRP?
A backup protects your data — it allows you to recover files or a database. A DRP goes much further: it restores your entire working environment (servers, applications, configurations, networks) within a defined timeframe. A backup without a DRP is like having the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle without the picture on the box.
Don't let a disaster
decide your future
Free DRP audit — impact analysis, RTO/RPO definition, technical recommendations. No commitment.