Archive for the ‘Disaster Planning’ Category
Five Disaster Recovery Planning Tips
If your business is getting ready to set up or install an IT disaster recovery plan, make sure you cover all the bases. Few companies are able to fully recovery from the loss of data or significant downtime, so this is one type of safety net you simply can’t do without.
- Monitor and/or update your disaster recovery plan regularly. The business world and the Internet are both like living, breathing organisms – they change and adapt daily. This means that a disaster recovery plan put in place six months ago might very well be obsolete by the time the unthinkable occurs. Whether you rely on automated monitoring, regular back-up data storage, or an actual physical update of your system, it’s a good idea to include regular updates into your planning and your recovery budget.
- Test the system regularly. Although this is technically part of the monitoring step, it’s a step that 9 out of 10 companies fail to do. But if there are weaknesses in your disaster recovery plan, you might actually be worse off than if you had no plan at all. That’s because you and your team will go through your recovery efforts under the assumption that you were safe from the more pressing issues, and you might fail to perform the most basic - and necessary - steps.
- Keep data stored somewhere else. Whether you keep your backed-up data stored physically off-site or you use offshore storage for all your information needs, having the information away from your own system is the most important thing. This back-up data will need to be updated regularly, according to your recovery point objective (or how reliant your business is on having the most recent data possible).
- Protect the hardware that goes home. If you have laptops that employees take home for work use, you need to install the laptops with theft recovery and data delete options. The top-of-the-line options will be able to return all the necessary information to you and still disable the computer so that the thief can’t get access to the same data.
- Consider hiring someone to do the disaster recovery planning for you. Whether you are a small business without an IT department or a large business whose data planning needs span entire departments and cross-country facilities, this is one area where it doesn’t pay to cut corners.
Disaster Recovery Priorities
It doesn’t matter whether you’re seeking protection against the physical damages of flood and fire or the more pervasive damages of a system that has been infiltrated by hackers – disaster recovery planning is necessary for any business. However, because the scope of potential threats is so large – and because there are so many kinds of threats you may not have even realized – it can be a daunting task to undertake.
Before you do any disaster recovery planning, it’s important to prioritize what’s important for your business. No two disaster recovery plans are alike, and the only way to minimize your own damages is to act accordingly.
Some of the questions you’ll need to ask yourself include:
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What are the most likely worst-case scenarios? (For example, if you are located in a flood plain, you may need to place a greater focus on keeping physical damages to a minimum. If your company deals with a large amount of personal data, keeping your customer’s information safe might be the most important thing.) How can these be prioritized to streamline the disaster recovery planning stage?
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What do you need to keep the business running in the event of a disaster? Do you need email? Phones? Access to backed-up data on the system? Alternate computers or technology?
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What liabilities might you be facing? If your network is infiltrated by hackers, what are the legal ramifications for your company? How much of an effect will this have on your company reputation and your bottom line?
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How long can your system be down without causing you to go bankrupt? (For example, if you experience a denial of service attack or you simply can’t access your system for a few days, how prepared is your company to “weather the storm?” Do you have access to emergency funds or an alternate way to keep business running?)
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Is your data somewhere safe? Imagine that you’ll never be able to get your system back up and running again. Do you have backed up data located somewhere where it won’t be damaged?
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What sort of information sharing system do you have in place? Employees and administrators will need to be kept appraised of the disaster and its recovery efforts. A way to contact everyone is important in making sure that things continue to run as smoothly as possible.
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How are you going to let your customers know about the situation? Nothing is more irritating to a customer or client than being unable to access your company (either online or in person). If your system is going to be down, or if you need to send out notifications of an information breach, you must have a way to get in contact with all of your customers.
No one likes to think that a disaster can happen to them. However, most businesses will experience some sort of an information emergency during operations. In order to successfully get your company back up and running, it’s important to plan ahead.
Should I Outsource My Disaster Recovery Needs?
Imagine a world where you can design a recovery plan, inform an outsider of your needs and requirements, and have that ideal plan successfully implemented within your business without the hassle of training time…
A good disaster recovery plan will include extensive personnel training, data backup, insurance problem contronl, and vulnerability metrics - among other things. This is an overwhelming amount of work that requires time, money, and employees to accomplish.
That is why outsourcing has become a popular tactic used by many businesses to find staff that will successfully fill this essential task.
The process of outsourcing diaster recovery needs is actually different from hiring employees, because you are looking to hire a specified group who specializes in disaster recovery (and in many cases, a group that has successfully worked together before or an IT consultant who can work on a very temporary basis). This process is all used through something that works similar to employment agencies called “Staff Finders.”
It works as easily as informing “Staff Finders” of what it is you need, and they will take care of the rest for you. These types of agencies refer to a database that views a surplus of qualified candidates that would best suit your company’s disaster recovery needs. This saves you and your employees the time of training and effectively implements a recovery plan by IT specialists educated in this process.
Outsourcing for a disaster recovery plan seems like an ideal solution for all of your IT security needs. This process executes the purpose of all of Guidance Consulting’s services by allowing businesses to focus on their reputable nature of doing what it is they do best.
How Important are Data Backups?
Preparing for an IT disaster should be an essential task for any company. The unthinkable can occur at any given time and in order to overcome such things, a system providing data backup is critical. Disasters such as power outages happen frequently and we cannot solely rely on our computers to save the information that we have faithfully store on them.
Data backup is the process of duplicating the information that the computer stores in order to restore vital information. There are two reasons why data backups are exceedingy helpful:
- In order to restore a dysfunctional computer after an incident
- In order to recover corrupt, deleted, or unsaved files
Guidance Consulting believes that, though data backups are the final state of defense in the event of a disaster, it is the most important component. Evidence has shown that if a company loses access to data for more than two days, that company is likely to close within a year. Information is a key factor toward building a business as well as stabilizing it.
Data backup requires a great amount of strategy and planning. It requires a time-consuming process that is vital toward its success. Without the essential steps toward developing a successful data recovery system, the well-being of a company could be at stake.
Business Productivity during a Power Outage
No matter what grid you are on, sooner or later there will probably be a power outage. It could be a few seconds or it could be for a day or more, but when it happens your business may come to a screeching halt. While you could install a generator, this step may seem like overkill for an outage that may just be a few hours a year. All the same, you need to be prepared. So, what’s a company to do?
- While you may not have Internet access when there is no power, you probably have laptops in your office. If they are on the desks and plugged in, their batteries should be full of juice when the power goes out. Just reduce their brightness to minimize battery drain, and you can keep on working for a few hours, which is usually long enough for the power to come back on and business to resume as normal.
- If you store your production servers and data servers at a remote location, they may still have power. While you still probably won’t have that Internet access, you may still be able to have access to your data and applications and be able to work as a team for as long as those laptop batteries hold out. It’s not a fancy system, but it’s a work around that will keep you from shutting down.
- If you really need Internet access to work, try taking the laptops to a coffee shop. They may have free wi-fi, you’ll also get an outlet and you can have a nice drink while you’re getting the job done. After all, even a power outage can have its perks.
- Consider other tasks. In the digital age, one of the most often overlooked benefits of the workplace is the ability to brainstorm and connect with others. Use the downtime as a chance to talk with your employees and tap into the resources not connected to a power source.
Moving, Rearranging, and the Hazards of Reorganization
As your business grows, your space needs grow, as well. Sure, your data storage needs change over time, but we’re referring to your actual, physical space needs. Whether you are switching office space, warehouse space, or just need to rearrange the office, chances are you’re going to have to shift some vital computer bits as well. Moving your servers and your infrastructure around can be complicated. Are you ready?
The first thing you need is a game plan. Just how do you intend to accomplish this, anyhow? By developing a plan of action, you can save yourself a lot of time and effort. Knowing what connects where and how close the infrastructure needs to be to other parts is essential. Knowing what you plan to do, however, is only the first step.
No matter how well you’ve planned, sometimes things go wrong. While you probably already have a disaster plan in place for your company, it’s a good idea to have a mini plan for the move. What will you do if you drop a server? What if you don’t have the power available to run all of the equipment in the new location? Every moment your system is down is money out of your pocket. By planning for emergencies ahead of time, you can have the preparation already done if something goes wrong. This way you can implement the fix as quickly as possible, and get back to business.
Moving your infrastructure is never fun, but with a plan you can be sure that even if something goes wrong, you can handle it. Take a little time to do this before you start disconnecting, and you’ll be sure to complete the move and be back up and running in no time.
Planning For Scheduled Downtime
Sooner or later, you’re going to have to have a little downtime on your network. You can use the time to install patches, upgrade your hardware, and install some hardware, all of which will be needed in short order. Nobody wants to shut down, and all businesses want to get back up and running as soon as possible, so here are some tips to minimize both your downtime and the headaches associated with having it.
- Always try to schedule your downtime for when your system is the least busy. Planned downtime, by its very name, is something you plan. It’s not about averting a crisis or mitigating damage and hoping to get things back up soon - it’s about scheduling time for the system to be down while you do a little maintenance. Only you can know when you are least busy, but chances are that midnight on a weekend is a better time than 9:00 am on a Monday morning. You don’t want your staff out of work or your clients and customers to have to wait, after all.
- All the same, there will likely be those few people who want to access the network when it is down, even in the middle of the night. Be sure to warn your employees, clients and customer that this down time is coming. That was they can plan around it and know that it’s not a security issue. Tell them when you’ll be back up and running, and that the system will be operating even more smoothly than before.
It’s better to have a little planned down time now than an unplanned emergency later, but it doesn’t have to be a big hassle, either. Plan and give notice, and you’ll be back to business in no time.