Basics

Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Planning: The Basics

Good business continuity plans will keep your company up and running through interruptions of any kind: power failures, IT system crashes, natural disasters, supply chain problems and more.

I still have a binder with our Y2K contingency plan. Will that work?

Absolutely not (unless your computers, employees and business priorities are exactly the same as they were in 1999. In which case you have other problems.). Plus, most Y2K plans cover only computer system-based failure. Potential physical calamities like blackouts, natural disasters or terrorist events bring additional issues to the table.

Can we outsource our contingency measures?

Disaster recovery services—offsite data storage, mobile phone units, remote workstations and the like-are often outsourced, simply because it makes more sense than purchasing extra equipment or space that may never be used. In the days after the Sept. 11 attacks, disaster recovery vendors restored systems and provided temporary office space, complete with telephones and Internet access for dozens of displaced companies.

What advice would you give to security executives who need to convince their CEO or board of the need for disaster recovery plans and capabilities? What arguments are most effective with an executive audience?

Hager advised chief security officers to address the need for disaster recovery through analysis and documentation of the potential financial losses. Work with your legal and financial departments to document the total losses per day that your company would face if you were not capable of quick recovery. By thoroughly reviewing your business continuance and disaster recovery plans, you can identify the gaps that may lead to a successful recovery. Remember: Disaster recovery and business continuance are nothing more than risk avoidance. Senior managers understand more clearly when you can demonstrate how much risk they are taking."

Hager also says that smaller companies have more (and cheaper) options for disaster recovery than bigger ones. For example, the data can be taken home at night. That's certainly a low-cost way to do offsite backup.

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