Cold Site

Definition - What does Cold Site mean?

A cold site is a business location that is used for backup in the event of a disruptive operational disaster at the normal business site. A cold site is an office, but it does not always have the necessary equipment to resume prompt operations. The business paying for the cold site provides and installs this equipment.

Techopedia explains Cold Site

A cold site is hosted by a third party, and services may be paid annually or monthly via a service charge. Another option is a hot site, which provides all equipment, furniture and other business necessities, whereas a cold site only allocates a specified amount of space. The business paying for the site furnishes all supplies and equipment and uses its business time to install these items. The business using a cold site must also provide any needed hardware and software.

The allowance for a cold site should be detailed in an established disaster recovery plan. The business should educate employees about the plan, as well as how a cold site operates. It can take a few days to prepare a cold site since computer systems must be installed. In most cases, a cold site provides business services such as telephone, power and network access.