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Disaster Recovery Planning
A study by the University of Texas showed that, of U.S. businesses suffering catastrophic data loss, 43 percent were forced to close at the time of the disaster, 51 percent continued operating for a maximum of another two years, and only 6 percent of these businesses survived. Consider These Facts:
Disaster Recovery PlanningOnce you have decided that your business or organization needs a disaster recovery plan, where do you begin? Disaster recovery planning originally was the responsibility of the information systems -- the keepers of the mainframe. Today, because of the nature of distributed information systems and the interconnected nature of business processes, disaster recovery planning has evolved into business recovery planning. At the planning level, this shift translates to a need to develop an organization-wide business recovery plan that takes into account every critical function of your business, including manual, paper-based systems. The following steps should be included in a comprehensive planning process.
While senior managers within any industry should be aware of the need for disaster recovery planning, many avoid or overlook the issues for a variety of reasons, including misconceptions about potential threats, planning costs, and human resource requirements. Several effective methods can be used to help you gain support for organization-wide recovery planning. For instance, pick up any major newspaper and you will find the following "This could happen to us!" stories. Sunday, September 13, 1998, hacker attack that brought down the New York Times Web site on a day that would typically see about 150,000 visitors. Relate these disaster stories to your own situation. A major crisis can mean a loss of vital corporate assets, market share, and business momentum.
The likelihood of a catastrophic business disaster is remote. Yet, the probability that your business will be impacted bysome type of natural or manmade calamity is very high. Disasters themselves are unpredictable; however, the effects of disasters on your business can be predicted with some accuracy by conducting a business impact analysis. Each functional area within an organization should be evaluated to determine the impact on business operation if that area is not recovered. This evaluation, known as a business impact analysis, looks at the impact on revenue, customer service, legal liabilities, and other aspects that affect the health of your operation. A BIA results in the assignment of a hard dollar value to downtime. Using a BIA, every functional area within your organization should be evaluated and rated as critical, necessary, or optional in terms of recovery following a disaster. A thorough BIA should answer critical questions, such as:
Along with a Business Impact Analysis, your should also conduct a risk analysis to evaluate and plan for the disasters that can be anticipated. For instance, is your company headquarters located in a hurricane-prone area, on a floodplain, or near a geologic fault? It is important to consider geographical scope of your organization when you build a business recovery plan. Many organizations are either true multinational corporations, or have significant international ties. Does your plan address a disaster that has an impact on single, multiple, regional, or even international operations? There's no getting around the fact that disaster recovery planning poses a
huge challenge. Simply gathering, organizing, and maintaining the information
needed for a comprehensive recovery plan can be a daunting challenge.
A successful business continuity strategy begins with planning and analyzing the entire enterprise - from computer systems to business workgroups. Software tools and consulting assistance can help companies determine critical business functions and develop information system recovery and business continuity plans that incorporate all critical.
The most important step in any business continuity planning is testing the plan. Unless your plan has been tested under a variety of conditions and situations, you won't know for sure whether it will work in an actual disaster. You have to prove that your plan will work in an actual disaster by thoroughly testing it. Start with simple tabletop walk through of departmental recovery procedures. This will uncover any hidden problems. Once you're comfortable with your procedures, go for the biggest tests you can muster. Be sure to include your hot site and data archives in major testing. Use your test results to refine and improve your plan. Not only does testing confirm that the plan will work, but it acts to bolster
the confidence of front-line employees and management alike. There is no such
thing as a failed test. When you experience a sudden, unexpected outage of a
critical application - you will be glad you tested your plan.
The plan is a living document that must be continually updated and tested to
be of true value. Your organization is dynamic and constantly changing. People
and processes change and new applications and equipment are added. It is
especially important to keep your list of team leaders and call numbers
up-to-date.
You need to be prepared to declare a disaster. Selected members of
senior management need to declare a disaster since it involves the expenditure
of money, manpower, and corporate resources. A small problem such as a power
outage or leaking pipe could escalate into a full-blown disaster. You must
establish procedures for escalating to a disaster declaration, including
notification of appropriate recovery team members, senior management, outside
vendors, and others involved in business recovery. Note: These steps represent a simplified overview of the planning process. In reality, you should have a disaster recovery planning expert help you with your program. Runestones Development Corporation specialize in Business Resource Planning and the development of Disaster Recovery Plans. If you would like further information on our Disaster Recovery services, please do not hesitate to contact us.
For more Information About Disaster Recovery Planning
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