In the current business climate where budgets are increasingly stretched, competition is increasing, and the impetus is on doing more, there is a driving need for organizations to ensure operations are running smoothly. While the ever-important customer experience and day-to-day operations are the most obvious candidates, there is also the need to ensure all systems… Continue reading Planning for Disaster: The Best Practice Approach To Recovery

The cloud is no longer just a consideration. It’s a requirement. Some 78 percent of organizations expect cloud spending to increase in the next three years, according to a recent Economist Intelligence Unit survey. Just 6 percent said they had a quarter or less of their systems in the cloud. On the surface, this isn’t… Continue reading Reward Without Risk: How to Manage a Growing Cloud Deployment

Among DR/BC customers many plan to rely only on near real time replication and frequent snapshots as an appropriate (and only) solution for protecting data. And, while the near-real-time replication and frequent snapshots are essential to any disaster recovery and business continuity (DR/BC) solution for ensuring data is saved frequently, they work best as part… Continue reading Protecting Your Data

The old “once-in-a-lifetime” disaster seems almost common place nowadays. Recently that catastrophic image filled the news yet again. A very large forest fire broke out in the Smoky Mountain National Park and spilled over to the town of Gatlinburg, Tenn. The fire was something no one expected. High winds and a dry season created conditions… Continue reading Team Building Basics

Your hospital IT department has gotten tough on data security. It has strengthened firewalls, encrypted laptops, and instituted mobile device management that can remotely wipe mobile devices if they’re lost or stolen. Hospital policies require frequent password changes, and staff undergo annual training on HIPAA policies and procedures related to protected health information. Connections among… Continue reading Legacy Software: Healthcare’s Weak Spot on Security?

One of the challenges I have seen over my 30 years in the business continuity industry is for people charged with executing DR or BC plans to accept and execute the plans in the format they are written. Nowhere has this been more evident than in the area of IT disaster recovery plans. Now let… Continue reading You Want Me to Do What?

Every day we hear about cyber attacks impacting large retailers, small businesses, hospital systems, and even esteemed financial institutions. Is your organization prepared for this kind of assault? How prepared are you? What would your team do if a breach were discovered today? Does everyone in your company know what their role in cyber response… Continue reading How to Develop an Effective Cyber-Response Program