At some point in time an organization will experience a business interruption that involves a data network outage and data loss. It might be something as "simple" as an application crash, or as severe as losing an entire building. According to a recent survey more than 40 percent of all companies that experience a disaster do not reopen, and over 25 percent of those that do reopen close down for good within two years. But the threat to any organization can be lessened by having a comprehensive and practiced business continuity plan.
At some point in time an organization will experience a business interruption that involves a data network outage and data loss. It might be something as "simple" as an application crash, or as severe as losing an entire building.
Whatever the cause, when it does happen the natural inclination of the network users is to go into freak-out mode. Management will be bombarded with frantic inquiries that turn to urgent demands to get the system back up. There will be worry over lost customers and revenue. The network administrator will be fighting two fires: working to get the system up while trying to identify the cause of the failure.
The possible sources of a business interruption are endless: user error, equipment failure, cyber-attacks, bad weather, a UPS plug was disconnected by mistake, or a car ran into the power pole in front of the building. The moment access to the network is lost the organization is in trouble. According to a recent survey more than 40 percent of all companies that experience a disaster do not reopen, and over 25 percent of those that do reopen close down for good within two years. But the threat to any organization can be lessened by having a comprehensive and practiced Business Continuity Plan.
What Recovery Time Objective does the Business Continuity Plan call for? The time between a network outage and the time when the system is up again would have been pre-determined, and the necessary infrastructure would have been put in place to achieve the objective. How much downtime an organization can tolerate is a question that must be answered by management as they develop the disaster recovery plan.
What Recovery Point Objective does the Business Continuity Plan call for? Another question that management must answer is how much data and software can the organization lose and continue to function. How much is the information worth? How much of a financial hit can the organization tolerate? The BC Plan would specify how much time between the last backup and the business interruption would be acceptable.
Preparation for a disaster is a value judgment. How much of a risk can the organization absorb? How much of the organization's budget can be allocated to disaster preparedness?
Every organization should have a Backup and Disaster Recovery solution! The BDR solution should be automated so the system can react to events and problems in real time and minimize the down time. It should have speed and accuracy. The need for quick restoration is driven by loss of revenue and marketplace competition. But also important is the necessity to have confidence that the lost information is restored accurately. It should be scalable so that as the data increases or decreases the system has the capability to handle the fluctuation. It should be adaptable enough to respond to simple problems as readily as it would be a full-blown disaster. And, it should be professionally managed by competent, expert people who can monitor the system 24X7, and respond to problems promptly.
No organization is immune from disaster. It is not a case of if, but of when.
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