Do I need both or is one enough?

Both. The DRP alone restores the systems, but nobody agreed what people and processes do while IT is down. The BCP alone organises the company, but stalls when it is time to restore the systems. Whoever has one without the other always leaves a flank open in a crisis.

What are RTO and RPO?

They are the two numbers that rule recovery. The RTO is how fast a system must return after it goes down. The RPO is how much data you can lose, that is, how often the backup runs. The lower each one, the faster and more complete the return, and the more robust (and costly) the setup. The work is finding the right point for your business.

Is a backup the same as a DRP?

No. The backup is a piece of the DRP, not the whole plan. Having a copy of the data is no help if you never tested the restore, don't know how fast the system returns and have nowhere to switch when the main environment goes down. The DRP organises all of that, and the restore test is what proves it works.

Do regulations require a BCP and a DRP?

Often, yes. Many frameworks and rules ask for both a continuity plan and a disaster-recovery plan, with defined RTO and RPO and periodic restore testing. It is a good sign of how the market already treats the two as mandatory, not a luxury.

Business continuity

BCP vs DRP

Both plans protect the company in a crisis, but they handle different things. The BCP, the Business Continuity Plan, keeps the whole company running when something goes wrong: people, processes, suppliers and communication. The DRP, the Disaster Recovery Plan, handles one specific part: restoring IT systems and data after a problem. The DRP is a piece inside the BCP, and you need both.

See business continuity Jump to the comparison

In short

The BCP keeps the whole business standing in a crisis. The DRP restores IT systems and data.
The DRP is a part of the BCP, not a replacement: one handles the company, the other the technology.
Two numbers rule the DRP: how fast you come back (RTO) and how much data you can lose (RPO).
Having only one leaves you exposed: a BCP without a DRP stalls on IT; a DRP without a BCP forgets people and processes.

Side by side

What separates the business plan from the IT plan

What to compare	BCP (Continuity)	DRP (Disaster Recovery)
What it is	The Business Continuity Plan: keeps the company running in a crisis.	The Disaster Recovery Plan: restores IT systems and data.
What it covers	The whole company: people, processes, suppliers, communication and workplace.	The technology: servers, systems, networks and data.
Question it answers	How do I keep serving the customer even with the operation hit?	How do I get the systems and data back online?
Who runs it	The whole company, with the business in charge.	The IT team (in-house or partner).
Key numbers	Which processes are critical and how fast they must come back.	RTO (how fast the system returns) and RPO (how much data you can lose).
How it is tested	A crisis simulation, with the teams involved.	A restore test of the backup and a switch to the standby environment.
How they relate	It is the bigger plan, setting the direction.	It is a piece inside the BCP.
Reference	ISO 22301 is the business-continuity standard.	Backup, redundancy and restore testing hold up the DRP.

The DRP delivers, on the technology side, the recovery time the BCP decides the business needs. That is why they are built together, not apart.

The business plan

BCP

It handles the whole company in a crisis. It says which processes can't stop, how fast they must come back, who does what, how to talk to customers and suppliers, and where the team goes if the site becomes unavailable. It is the bigger plan, one that sees the business, not just the technology.

Keeps people, processes and service standing
Says which processes are critical and how fast they return
Includes communication and a standby workplace
Follows the logic of the ISO 22301 standard

The IT plan

DRP

It handles one specific part: getting systems and data back online after a disaster. It sets how fast each system must return (RTO), how much data you can lose (RPO), the state of the backups and how to switch to a standby environment. It is a piece inside the BCP, focused on the technology.

Restores systems, networks and data
Sets RTO (time to return) and RPO (acceptable data loss)
Depends on backup, redundancy and restore testing
It is a component of the BCP

How they fit together

The DRP lives inside the BCP

Think of the BCP as the company's plan and the DRP as the IT plan within it. In a crisis, the BCP decides what the company does to keep serving, and the DRP makes sure systems and data return in the time the business needs. Having only the DRP restores the technology, but nobody agreed what people and processes do meanwhile. Having only the BCP organises the company, but stalls when it is time to restore the systems. It is the two together that hold the operation.

The BCP sets the time the business can bear; the DRP delivers that time on IT
One handles people and processes, the other systems and data
Without both, a flank is always left open in a crisis

Which is your case

Where to start

You depend on systems to operate and fear losing data

Start with the DRP

Set the RTO and RPO, sort out the backups and test the restore. It is what keeps you from days offline after an incident.

You need to keep serving even with the operation hit

Build the BCP

Map the critical processes, who does what and how to talk to the customer. It is the plan that holds the business, beyond IT.

You want to be truly protected

Both, with the DRP inside the BCP

The complete path. The BCP sets the business direction and the DRP delivers IT recovery on time, tested together.

Numbers that matter

RTO

how fast the system must return

RPO

how much data you can lose

ISO 22301

the international business-continuity standard

How DM11 helps

Business continuity and disaster recovery plans, with DM11

We build the BCP and the DRP together, with the critical processes mapped, the RTO and RPO set, the backups in place and the restore test done, all aligned with ISO 22301.

You are truly protected: the business and IT covered in the same plan
We set realistic RTO and RPO, so you don't pay for too much protection or too little
We test the plans, so you find the flaw in the exercise, not in the crisis
Ready for requirements that demand both a continuity and a recovery plan

Explore business continuity

Frequently asked

What people ask before deciding

Answers anchored in business-continuity practice and ISO 22301.

The BCP, Business Continuity Plan, handles the whole company in a crisis: people, processes, suppliers and communication. The DRP, Disaster Recovery Plan, handles one specific part: restoring IT systems and data. The DRP is a piece inside the BCP. One keeps the business standing; the other gets the technology back online.

Build the continuity and disaster recovery your operation needs

A short conversation shows your critical processes, the ideal RTO and RPO and how far the path runs. No commitment.

Talk to a specialist Explore business continuity

BCP vs DRP

What to compare

BCP (Continuity)

DRP (Disaster Recovery)

What it is

The Business Continuity Plan: keeps the company running in a crisis.

The Disaster Recovery Plan: restores IT systems and data.

What it covers

The whole company: people, processes, suppliers, communication and workplace.

The technology: servers, systems, networks and data.

Question it answers

How do I keep serving the customer even with the operation hit?

How do I get the systems and data back online?

Who runs it

The whole company, with the business in charge.

The IT team (in-house or partner).

Key numbers

Which processes are critical and how fast they must come back.

RTO (how fast the system returns) and RPO (how much data you can lose).

How it is tested

A crisis simulation, with the teams involved.

A restore test of the backup and a switch to the standby environment.

How they relate

It is the bigger plan, setting the direction.

It is a piece inside the BCP.

Reference

ISO 22301 is the business-continuity standard.

Backup, redundancy and restore testing hold up the DRP.

BCP

Keeps people, processes and service standing

Says which processes are critical and how fast they return

Includes communication and a standby workplace

Follows the logic of the ISO 22301 standard

DRP

Restores systems, networks and data

Sets RTO (time to return) and RPO (acceptable data loss)

Depends on backup, redundancy and restore testing

It is a component of the BCP

The DRP lives inside the BCP

The BCP sets the time the business can bear; the DRP delivers that time on IT

One handles people and processes, the other systems and data

Without both, a flank is always left open in a crisis

Business continuity and disaster recovery plans, with DM11

We build the BCP and the DRP together, with the critical processes mapped, the RTO and RPO set, the backups in place and the restore test done, all aligned with ISO 22301.

You are truly protected: the business and IT covered in the same plan

We set realistic RTO and RPO, so you don't pay for too much protection or too little

We test the plans, so you find the flaw in the exercise, not in the crisis

Ready for requirements that demand both a continuity and a recovery plan