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Protecting the bottom line with a business continuity plan:
Sometimes, a day can seem like a lifetime. When critical data is lost, every minute that goes by means lost opportunities, missing revenue and perhaps even the closing of a successful business.
Whether the cause of the data loss is a disk crash, power outage a virus, or even accidental deletion, gigabytes of files and weeks, or even months, of work are in jeopardy.
The key to ensuring ongoing survival in the face of data loss is the development and implementation of an appropriate business continuity plan.
Such a plan documents which organizational functions are critical, what steps are necessary to survive without them and what resources are available to help recover lost or damaged systems. Without a suitable continuity plan, data loss might be irrevocable. In a business world that’s defined by data, irreversible data loss is simply unacceptable.
In an increasingly volatile market, companies that want to stay competitive can’t afford to have their systems down for even a short period of time. A recent report by Gartner Group Inc. says companies will need to reduce the time it takes to recover critical processes and application systems to 24 hours by 2003. Non critical systems, they add, will need to be back up in four days.
It’s a simple choice, really. You can back up your hard disk or risk losing your data, your setup and your applications. Whatever method you choose, it’s important that you put a disaster recovery plan in place and use it.
It’s a fact that continuity planning can itself be a onerous task, requiring extensive thought and comprehensive implementation. Each business continuity plan should be designed to meet the particular needs and requirements of the organization.
Effective data backup is becoming increasingly difficult as companies become less centralized, adopt hardware running a variety of operating systems, have more remote computer users, and depend more heavily on information. IT departments are now looking to back up not just mainframe systems and applications, but also data from workstations, notebooks, PC LANs and application servers - regardless of their operating systems. They also want to reduce the downtime while data is being backed up, as well as the amount of time it takes to recover from a system failure.
A solid business continuity plan will include — at a minimum — the following elements: a review and assessment of the organization’s existing contingency arrangements and practices; details of dependency levels on each resource in the organization; recommendations on what steps are required to improve the existing plan; and a framework for a fully-developed and appropriate continuity and recovery plan.
Continuity planning should include development of strategies capable of meeting quick fix, partial replacement, full redundancy or replacement and possible outsourcing.
The information contained in a business/service continuity plan must be kept alive. The reality is that organizations are constantly changing - businesses are acquired, merged and divested; new operations and processes begin, some cease; people leave, are hired or are promoted; customer commitments and supplier relationships change; locations change; responsibilities change; market priorities change. You cannot rely on outdated information.
Continuity planning not only provides a clear and comprehensive statement of actions to be taken before, during and after a disaster to minimize its impact, it also offers a certain level of comfort in knowing that when a catastrophe occurs (and it will to some degree), it won’t result in complete financial disaster. Ensuring that mission critical operations continue on a day-to-day basis is the only real way of nailing down your organization’s ability to conduct business as usual.
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Continuity and disaster recovery services require extensive thought and comprehensive implementation. Each business continuity plan should be designed to meet a firm's business requirements. Such a plan — and its implementation — are the focus of this article.
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