---
title: [MTE] [Oct] [2026] [Lesson Learned] IT Disaster Recovery in a Saas World
description: [MTE] [Oct] [2026] [Lesson Learned] IT Disaster Recovery in a Saas World
image: https://blog.bcm-institute.org/hubfs/MTE%20Executive%20Summary%20Icon/David%20Tay%20Graphic%20Folder/IC_MTE%20Summary_David%20Tay_Lesson%20Learnt.png
---
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# \[MTE\] \[Oct\] \[2026\] \[Lesson Learned\] IT Disaster Recovery in a Saas World
### Ready to Rethink Your IT Disaster Recovery Strategy?
**[![x \[MTE\] \[Lesson Learned\] David Tay](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/3893111/d74f116e-252a-405f-bd93-29298894b8f8.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/3893111/d74f116e-252a-405f-bd93-29298894b8f8)Is your organisation truly prepared for a major SaaS disruption—or are you relying on recovery assumptions that have never been tested?**
Don't wait for a prolonged cloud outage to discover the gaps in your IT Disaster Recovery strategy.
**Explore the seven critical lessons from David Tay's Meet-the-Expert webinar** and discover how to strengthen recovery accountability, challenge vendor assurances, address hidden dependencies, and build practical business continuity capabilities.
**Read the full 'Lessons Learned' blog now and ask yourself:**
**If your most critical SaaS application became unavailable tomorrow, could your organisation continue delivering its essential business services?**
**The time to challenge your recovery assumptions is BEFORE a disruption—not during one.**
[Moh Heng Goh](https://blog.bcm-institute.org/meet-the-expert/author/moh-heng-goh) Oct 8, 2026
### ****
### **IT Disaster Recovery in a SaaS World: Key Lessons Learned from David Tay**
#### Introduction
[](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/3893111/ed46006a-c398-47c1-a86f-1fdb3bc41a6d)[![x \[MTE\] \[Lesson Learned\] David Tay](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/3893111/d74f116e-252a-405f-bd93-29298894b8f8.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/3893111/d74f116e-252a-405f-bd93-29298894b8f8)The BCM Institute Meet-the-Expert webinar provided practical insights into the changing responsibilities of IT Disaster Recovery professionals as organisations migrate from traditional infrastructure to SaaS-based services.
Drawing on David Tay's experience managing technology operations across multiple countries, the session reinforced that disaster recovery is no longer exclusively about restoring technology.
It is increasingly about ensuring that business services remain operational despite dependencies on external technology providers.
#### Seven Lessons Learned
##### Lesson 1 — Outsourcing Technology Does Not Eliminate Recovery Accountability
Organisations may outsource infrastructure and application management, but they remain responsible for managing the business consequences of disruption. Provider recovery commitments must be evaluated against internal business requirements.
##### Lesson 2 — Business Continuity Planning Comes Before IT Disaster Recovery
David emphasised that IT DR exists to support business continuity. Organisations must identify critical business activities and determine how those activities can continue when their technology platforms become unavailable.
##### Lesson 3 — SaaS Recovery Depends on More Than the Application
Identity services, APIs, integration platforms, and other technology dependencies may prevent business operations even when the primary SaaS application remains functional. These dependencies should be incorporated into recovery planning.
##### Lesson 4 — Uptime Commitments Do Not Guarantee Data Recovery
Availability percentages, RTOs, and RPOs represent different recovery considerations. Organisations must understand these distinctions when evaluating SaaS provider commitments and business recovery expectations.
##### Lesson 5 — Vendor Assurance Is Necessary but Insufficient
SOC 2 reports, certifications, and contractual commitments provide useful assurance. However, organisations must also implement their own required controls, monitor service availability, and assess whether provider arrangements satisfy business needs.
##### Lesson 6 — Recovery Testing Must Evolve
Where traditional infrastructure failover testing is not possible, organisations should use tabletop exercises and business continuity simulations to assess their ability to respond to prolonged SaaS disruptions.
These exercises should involve business owners, IT teams, and relevant service providers.
##### Lesson 7 — Process, People, and Platform Must Work Together
Technology alone cannot deliver organisational resilience.
Recovery capabilities depend on clearly defined business processes, trained personnel, appropriate governance, and technology solutions that support business requirements.
#### Implications for IT DR and BCM Professionals
The webinar suggests several priorities for professionals responsible for technology resilience.
##### IT DR professionals
Expand recovery planning beyond internal infrastructure to include SaaS dependencies, vendor recovery commitments, and data recoverability.
##### BCM professionals
Develop practical continuity alternatives for business activities dependent on externally managed applications.
##### Third-party risk professionals
Evaluate provider assurance reports, customer responsibilities, recovery commitments, and service dependencies.
##### Senior management
Ensure that technology resilience decisions are aligned with critical business requirements and organisational risk tolerance.
### **[](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/3893111/7a6d118f-9e00-4849-a013-9cbe38dbda19)**
David Tay's presentation highlighted the importance of rethinking IT Disaster Recovery in an environment where organisations increasingly depend on externally operated technology services.
The practical lesson is that disaster recovery cannot be measured solely by the ability to restore servers or applications.
Instead, organisations must understand their business recovery requirements, manage technology dependencies, evaluate provider capabilities, and establish workable alternatives when technology becomes unavailable.
The ultimate measure of IT Disaster Recovery effectiveness is whether the organisation can sustain and restore its critical business operations, even when the technology it depends on is outside its direct control.
[](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/3893111/d9ca3818-14aa-428b-a81d-edda4d191516)*Dr Goh Moh Heng, President of BCM Institute, summarises this webinar. If you have any questions, please speak to the author.*
### **[](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/3893111/a87f934a-0808-4f9a-a6cf-dc1c897d31d4)**
Click the icon below to continue reading parts of David Tay's presentation.
| **IT Disaster Recovery in a Saas World** | | | | | |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/3893111/f98e6275-903b-439e-b2f7-63350f225f9a) | [](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/3893111/677ed71d-c289-4192-80cc-f2996c9bb0a7) | [![x \[MTE\] \[Presentation Summary\] \[Part 1\] David Tay](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/3893111/f82876be-095f-4222-862e-1b5cdf7ebfea.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/3893111/f82876be-095f-4222-862e-1b5cdf7ebfea) | [![x \[MTE\] \[Presentation Summary\] \[Part 2\] David Tay](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/3893111/b37ba35a-7f07-4aed-803b-74638154d0f7.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/3893111/b37ba35a-7f07-4aed-803b-74638154d0f7) | [![x \[MTE\] \[Lesson Learned\] David Tay](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/3893111/d74f116e-252a-405f-bd93-29298894b8f8.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/3893111/d74f116e-252a-405f-bd93-29298894b8f8) | [](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/3893111/d9ca3818-14aa-428b-a81d-edda4d191516) |
#### More Information About IT DR Blended Learning
BCM Institute offers the BL-DR-3 Blended Learning DR-300 IT Disaster Recovery Implementer and the BL-DR-5 Blended Learning DR-5000 IT Disaster Recovery Expert Implementer.
| [](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/3893111/327c5089-d467-4963-b044-9ae8707d1eed) | [](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/3893111/6e2ef2c6-0ee8-45df-9e85-0c143aacf438) | [](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/3893111/e54a496c-70d5-432a-8928-570d6979d6a5) |
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| [](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/3893111/57e3cea2-a6ae-448f-a641-d185d02f0c1b) | Please feel free to send us a note if you have any of these questions.[![Email to Sales Team \[BCM Institute\]](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/3893111/3c53daeb-2836-4843-b0e0-645baee2ab9e.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/3893111/3c53daeb-2836-4843-b0e0-645baee2ab9e) | |
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