When properly planned and implemented, a disaster recovery plan makes possible the retrieval of lost data and the resumption of system operations. Such procedures are a critical part of computer operations at all levels, especially those involving the storage of long-term or permanent records on electronic media. A solid disaster recovery plan may also be critical to the fulfillment of audit requirements and the maintenance of audit trails in fiscal systems. For many applications, multiple copies and/or generations of backups may be required.
One of the requirements of the Sarbanes Oxley Act is that systems containing financial data maintained by a publicly traded company be backed up periodically, that the backup media is stored in a secure off-site location and requires that periodic test be run to prove that financial systems can be recovered from backup in the event a disaster strikes.  The purpose of the disaster recovery plan is to provide a means to: (1) restore the integrity of the computer systems in the event of a hardware/software failure or physical disaster, and (2) provide a measure of protection against human error or the inadvertent deletion of important files. 
The design of backup and recovery solutions needs to take into account business requirements of the organization as well as its operational environment. The backup and recovery solutions that are deployed must be predictable, reliable, and capable of processing data as quickly as possible.