The verdict in three sentences
When your business application goes down, each day typically costs an SME EUR 8,000 to 25,000 (lost revenue, idle hours, client penalties). A serious disaster recovery plan (DRP) can be set up for EUR 3,000 to 9,000 excl. VAT and then costs EUR 130 to 550 per month depending on the target RTO (recovery time) and RPO (acceptable data loss). The point most SMEs neglect is the quarterly restore test: a backup that has never been restored is only an assumption.
24 h, 4 h or 1 h RTO: what each level costs
RTO measures the maximum time to bring the application back; RPO, how much data you accept to lose. The shorter they are, the more expensive the infrastructure.
| DRP level | RTO | RPO | Setup excl. VAT | Monthly cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simple off-site backup | 24 to 48 h | 24 h | EUR 1,500 to 3,000 | EUR 30 to 80 |
| Encrypted multi-site backups + written procedure | 12 to 24 h | 4 to 24 h | EUR 3,000 to 5,000 | EUR 50 to 150 |
| Database replication + infra as code ready to relaunch | 4 h | 15 min to 1 h | EUR 5,000 to 7,500 | EUR 150 to 400 |
| Warm standby secondary site | 1 h | 5 to 15 min | EUR 7,500 to 9,000 | EUR 350 to 550 |
| Active-active multi-region | A few minutes | Near 0 | EUR 15,000 and up | EUR 800 and up |
For an SME, the best 2026 trade-off is usually the 4 h RTO level: the database is continuously replicated to another region and the infrastructure is described in Terraform and can be recreated in 1 to 2 hours. These are orders of magnitude, to adjust to data volume.
Working out what a day of downtime really costs
| Cost component | Calculation method | Example: transport SME (60 staff) |
|---|---|---|
| Lost revenue | Daily revenue × share dependent on the app | EUR 6,000 |
| Lost productivity | Blocked staff × hours × loaded hourly cost | 25 × 7 h × EUR 38 = EUR 6,650 |
| Contract penalties | Delay or service level clauses | EUR 2,500 |
| Catch-up and overtime | Premium hours to clear the backlog | EUR 1,800 |
| Reputational damage, lost clients | Conservative estimate | EUR 1,500 to 8,000 |
| Total per day of downtime | ≈ EUR 18,450 to 24,950 |
This calculation sets a rational RTO: if a day costs EUR 20,000, moving from a 24 h to a 4 h RTO avoids about EUR 16,700 of losses at each major incident, for an extra EUR 100 to 250 per month.
The minimum content of a DRP that works
| Element | What you need | Frequency |
|---|---|---|
| Encrypted backups | At least 3 copies, 2 media, 1 off-site (3-2-1 rule), including 1 immutable against ransomware | Daily + continuous for the database |
| Database replication | Replica in another region or with another provider | Continuous |
| Infrastructure as code | Terraform or equivalent, secrets in a vault | On every change |
| Written failover procedure | Who decides, who executes, on-call numbers, steps | Six-monthly review |
| Restore test | Full timed restore on an isolated environment | Quarterly |
| Monitoring and alerting | Outage detected in under 5 minutes, SMS and call | Permanent |
A quarterly restore test takes 2 to 4 engineer hours, EUR 300 to 600 per quarter. It is the item that turns a theoretical DRP into a real guarantee.
Mini case study
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Isabelle, CFO of a 60-person transport SME near Rouen, went through 2 days of downtime on her planning application after a database corruption: EUR 41,000 of estimated losses, plus one lost client. She sets up a 4 h RTO DRP for EUR 6,500 excl. VAT, with EUR 280 per month of replication and backups, plus EUR 450 per quarterly test. Steady-state annual cost: 3,360 + 1,800 = EUR 5,160. The first real incident, 8 months later, is resolved in 3 h 10: the loss is limited to about EUR 2,600 instead of a full EUR 20,000 day. The DRP pays for itself with that single incident.
FAQ
What is the difference between a backup and a DRP?
A backup is a copy of the data; a DRP is the set of means and procedures to restart the application within a given time. An SME can have backups and still take 3 to 5 days to restart for lack of a tested procedure.
My host already does backups, is that enough?
Rarely: included backups are often stored in the same datacenter and kept for only 7 days. Add an encrypted off-site copy with another provider for EUR 30 to 150 per month.
How do we protect against ransomware?
With at least one immutable backup (object lock for 30 days) that even a compromised admin account cannot delete. The extra cost is small, often under EUR 20 per month for an SME.
Does cyber insurance require a DRP?
Increasingly: in 2026 most insurers ask for offline, tested backups and MFA on admin access. A documented DRP can lower the premium by 10 to 20%.
How long does it take to set up a DRP?
Expect 2 to 4 weeks for a 4 h RTO DRP on an existing application, restore test included. The warm standby level takes more like 4 to 6 weeks.
Let's scope your project. Tell us about your critical application and what a day of downtime costs you: we will propose the right DRP level (EUR 3,000 to 9,000 excl. VAT setup), the target RTO and the first restore test. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
