What is a unique characteristic of 'Warm Sites' in data processing continuity planning?

Warm sites are a type of backup facility used in data processing continuity planning. A key characteristic of warm sites is that they are not fully equipped and ready to operate immediately like hot sites; instead, they can be made operational with some setup. Typically, warm sites have partial backups of the data and the necessary hardware and software resources, which allows them to be operational relatively quickly, often within a few hours to a couple of days, depending on the complexity of the systems and the data that need to be restored.

This readiness is essential for organizations that need to recover from disasters or data losses but do not have the resources to maintain a fully operational hot site at all times. The advantage of warm sites lies in their balance between cost and recovery time, making them a practical choice for businesses that can tolerate some downtime but still rely on quick restoration capabilities. In contrast, options referring to immediate readiness or the lack of requirements for setup or data backups do not accurately reflect the characteristics typical of warm sites in continuity planning.