What is the difference between disaster recovery and business continuity?

Question

Accepted Answer

**DR** — recover IT systems. **BC** — maintain business operations.

**Disaster Recovery:**
- IT systems recovery.
- Backup and restore.
- Technical focus.
- RTO, RPO.

```
DR:
Primary site fails → Backup site takes over
RTO: 4 hours, RPO: 1 hour
(IT recovery)
```

**Business Continuity:**
- Business operations.
- Process recovery.
- Business focus.
- BCP plan.

```
BC:
Office unavailable → Remote work
Critical processes continue
(Business operations)
```

**Key differences:**
- **DR** — IT systems.
- **BC** — business operations.
- **DR** — technical.
- **BC** — operational.

Systems Analyst: What is the difference between disaster recovery and business continuity?