Most disaster recovery plans fail the moment you actually need them

Originally published by AltTab on LinkedIn. View the original LinkedIn post

Most disaster recovery plans fail the moment you actually need them.

On paper, the failover looks perfect.
In reality? The workloads, users, data flows, and network dependencies behave nothing like the diagram.

Here are the mistakes we see most often:

1. DR environments that don’t match production
Different configs = different behaviour during failover.

2. Testing once a year (or never)
If you don’t test it, you don’t have a DR plan. You have a document.

3. Ignoring network and telco dependencies
Failover often “works”… but users can’t reach it.

4. Assuming cloud = resilience
Cloud helps, but design still matters - latency, routing, identity, storage sync, all make or break uptime.

5. People readiness is forgotten
If your team doesn’t know the playbook, the tech won’t save you.

A good failover plan should be boring, predictable, and repeatable, not a surprise every time you test it.

When was your last failover test?
Save this checklist for your next DR review.

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If this issue is relevant to your organisation, speak with the AltTab team about a practical next step.