A retailer operating a hybrid cloud runs its order-management system across an on-premises private cloud and a public IaaS provider. During a disaster recovery test, the recovery site restores the application within the recovery time objective, but a downstream payment-integration service is still unavailable because its own dependency was never mapped. What is the most important improvement to the continuity programme this reveals?
- AThe recovery time objective for the order-management system should be shortened to force faster restoration.
- BThe recovery point objective should be relaxed to reduce the volume of data replicated during failover.
- CThe business impact analysis must capture upstream and downstream dependencies so that recovery sequencing restores interdependent services together. Correct
- DThe payment-integration service should be moved entirely on-premises to remove it from the recovery scope.
Why A is wrong: The RTO for the primary system was already met, so tightening it does nothing to address the unmapped downstream service that caused the gap.
Why B is wrong: The problem was an availability gap in a dependent service, not excessive data replication, so changing the RPO neither explains nor fixes the observed failure.
Why C is correct: The failure is a missed dependency, which the BIA is meant to identify; mapping interdependencies ensures the recovery plan restores services in an order that leaves no critical component stranded.
Why D is wrong: Relocating the service does not address the root cause, which is that its dependency was never analysed; the same blind spot would recur wherever it runs.