What does a disaster recovery analyst do?
A disaster recovery analyst supports a company's disaster recovery team in planning and implementing continuity and recovery plans to protect data and networks from security breaches or other kinds of disasters. They primarily focus on conducting research and analyses, performing audits and risk assessments, gathering and analyzing data from different departments, and developing training and learning materials for staff. Through their research findings, a disaster recovery analyst may develop solutions against vulnerable areas and strategies to optimize operations.
Disaster recovery analyst responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real disaster recovery analyst resumes:
- Manage the implementation of current infrastructure changes as they pertain to the disaster recovery environment between multiple data centers worldwide.
- Maintain compliance to HUD, CDBG, HMGP and FEMA requirements for applicants grant approval.
- Direct on-site education in ITIL v3 for A.P.
- Wash windows, glass partitions and mirrors with different cleaning agents.
- Design BC/DR website on SharePoint to serve as documentation repository for BC/DR plans.
- Monitor and adjust workloads to maintain expect SLA for all products including specialty.
- Program and monitor Linux and Unix servers for projects and business as usual activity.
- Help develop the current application ranking with their RPO, RTO, and dependencies.
- Prepare co-location for client network, equipment, power, layout and SLA's.
- Develop technical procedures for re-establishing servers, databases, and operating systems in the event of disruptions.
- Collaborate with stakeholders to lay the foundation for security action plans and priorities regarding HIPAA, PCI and NIST regulations.
- Train and mentore new staff in regulatory compliance, safety issues, HIPPA, SOX and corporate policy and procedures.
- Establish fundamental requirements for ITIL process implementation and HIPPA compliance.
- Provide documentation as required for all receiving facilities in accordance with current HIPPA requirements.
- Promoted/Define continuity requirements and compliance standards to service support organizations, universities, vendors & supply chains.
Disaster recovery analyst skills and personality traits
We calculated that 12% of Disaster Recovery Analysts are proficient in Infrastructure, Business Impact Analysis, and Disaster Recovery. They’re also known for soft skills such as Analytical skills, Communication skills, and Interpersonal skills.
We break down the percentage of Disaster Recovery Analysts that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Infrastructure, 12%
Created and executed effective disaster recovery plans for IT infrastructure across two geographically dispersed data centers and other physical sites.
- Business Impact Analysis, 7%
Managed with the vendor SunGard for Disaster Recovery exercises and Business Impact Analysis development for Disaster Recovery test.
- Disaster Recovery, 5%
Planned, designed and coordinated effort to bring the disaster recovery program in-house using company-owned data centers in Maryland and California.
- Project Management, 5%
Provided project management skills for business continuity test preparation for all business units.
- Impact Analysis, 5%
Performed impact analysis in conjunction with business leaders to determine recovery time and recovery point objectives.
- Strong Analytical, 4%
Demonstrated strong analytical and communication skills by building positive client relationships.
Common skills that a disaster recovery analyst uses to do their job include "infrastructure," "business impact analysis," and "disaster recovery." You can find details on the most important disaster recovery analyst responsibilities below.
Analytical skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a disaster recovery analyst to have is analytical skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "management analysts must be able to interpret information and use their findings to make proposals." Disaster recovery analysts often use analytical skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "performed quality control of the data entry system to verify that claims and payments were posted correctly. "
Communication skills. Many disaster recovery analyst duties rely on communication skills. "management analysts must be able to convey information clearly in both writing and speaking," so a disaster recovery analyst will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways disaster recovery analyst responsibilities rely on communication skills: "support and configure enterprise storage solutions, vmware environment, and telecommunications. "
Interpersonal skills. disaster recovery analysts are also known for interpersonal skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to disaster recovery analyst responsibilities, because "management analysts work with managers and other employees of the organizations for which they provide consulting services." A disaster recovery analyst resume example shows how interpersonal skills is used in the workplace: "applied interpersonal, analytical and computer skills to troubleshoot incoming problems and disbursed cases to the appropriate information systems team members. "
Problem-solving skills. For certain disaster recovery analyst responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "problem-solving skills." The day-to-day duties of a disaster recovery analyst rely on this skill, as "management analysts must be able to think creatively to solve clients’ problems." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what disaster recovery analysts do: "reviewed dr plans for updates and coordinated with the various sme/lob contacts for resolutions according to government guidelines. "
Time-management skills. Another common skill required for disaster recovery analyst responsibilities is "time-management skills." This skill comes up in the duties of disaster recovery analysts all the time, as "management analysts often work under tight deadlines and must use their time efficiently to complete projects on schedule." An excerpt from a real disaster recovery analyst resume shows how this skill is central to what a disaster recovery analyst does: "implemented changes, reducing business impact analysis process completion time. "
The three companies that hire the most disaster recovery analysts are:
- SBP Holdings
18 disaster recovery analysts jobs
- Conduent3 disaster recovery analysts jobs
- Texas Capital Bank3 disaster recovery analysts jobs
Choose from 10+ customizable disaster recovery analyst resume templates
Build a professional disaster recovery analyst resume in minutes. Our AI resume writing assistant will guide you through every step of the process, and you can choose from 10+ resume templates to create your disaster recovery analyst resume.
Compare different disaster recovery analysts
Disaster recovery analyst vs. Business continuity manager
Business continuity managers are management professionals who create crisis management plans to keep an organization functioning after experiencing disruptive events. These managers are required to design and implement business continuity plans for all business offices to ensure that they always remain in a state of readiness. They must enhance integrated risk management principles while coordinating all activities for disaster recovery and business continuity exercises worldwide. Business continuity managers must also partner with other businesses to develop business recovery strategies.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, disaster recovery analyst responsibilities require skills like "infrastructure," "strong analytical," "sql," and "windows." Meanwhile a typical business continuity manager has skills in areas such as "crisis management," "risk management," "business continuity management," and "incident management." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Business continuity managers really shine in the education industry with an average salary of $100,079. Comparatively, disaster recovery analysts tend to make the most money in the finance industry with an average salary of $76,919.business continuity managers tend to reach higher levels of education than disaster recovery analysts. In fact, business continuity managers are 8.4% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.1% more likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Disaster recovery analyst vs. Business continuity planner
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that disaster recovery analyst responsibilities requires skills like "infrastructure," "project management," "strong analytical," and "recovery strategies." But a business continuity planner might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "crisis management," "business continuity planning," "cbcp," and "plan development."
Business continuity planners earn a higher average salary than disaster recovery analysts. But business continuity planners earn the highest pay in the retail industry, with an average salary of $98,821. Additionally, disaster recovery analysts earn the highest salaries in the finance with average pay of $76,919 annually.In general, business continuity planners achieve similar levels of education than disaster recovery analysts. They're 4.1% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Disaster recovery analyst vs. Business continuity management director
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, disaster recovery analysts are more likely to have skills like "strong analytical," "recovery strategies," "sql," and "windows." But a business continuity management director is more likely to have skills like "process improvement," "crisis management," "risk management," and "financial management."
Business continuity management directors earn the highest salary when working in the manufacturing industry, where they receive an average salary of $126,706. Comparatively, disaster recovery analysts have the highest earning potential in the finance industry, with an average salary of $76,919.Most business continuity management directors achieve a higher degree level compared to disaster recovery analysts. For example, they're 10.2% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 1.0% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Disaster recovery analyst vs. Business continuity planning director
Types of disaster recovery analyst
Updated January 8, 2025
