Successful business resumption is a result of planning, and to develop a full-scale plan requires time and resources. What is meant by “planning?” If your company was hit with a disaster, are you certain that there are procedures “to put into action,” and that your key people are aware of their responsibilities and know how… Continue reading Surviving A Disaster Takes A Plan, Not a Miracle!

Over the past several years, a steady flow of large scale disasters have occurred across the nation. Terrorist bombings, earthquakes, spectacular fires, large scale floods, wildfires, workplace shootings, and civil disturbances have all grabbed headlines. This series of events has led to an increased focus on the issue of emergency preparedness, as individuals wonder “Could… Continue reading Preparing For An Emergency: A Step-By-Step Approach

This article is intended to provide insight into the successful development and implementation of a business continuity plan. The authors relate the business planning process to disaster recovery planning, and demonstrate that procedures and tools are transferable between the two disciplines. Computer software tools and team building techniques facilitate recovery/restoration plan assembly and encourage buy… Continue reading Business Continuity Planning: A Case History

The telephone rings…and rings again. You roll out of your nice warm bed, punch the switch on the bed lamp, pick up the phone as you note the time, 4:13 a.m. “Charlie,” a voice says, “you better get down here real quick. The whole building is up in flames.” Even through the fog, you recognize… Continue reading Who Does What In The Event Of A Disaster?

Disaster Recovery Planning (DRP) can be a thankless and frustrating job. The key is not falling into the rut of not caring. DRP is important to every company and can be critical to their survival Even though upper management may not realize it, you as a disaster recovery planner are a key player in the… Continue reading Disaster Recovery Planners: Don’t Get Frustrated

The disaster recovery planning field is maturing. The basics of prevention and recovery are well treated in the workaday literature and are understood and implemented by risk-averse companies. Industry standards are in place that define such things as recovery-site strategies, personnel safety objectives and data backup techniques. In fact, senior management’s traditional reluctance to spend… Continue reading Recovery In the Real World

So, you’re the Chief Financial Officer, of a medium-sized company and you just received some great news! Your chief information officer just told you that your company is well protected against a potential disaster because your data center has a reciprocal agreement. But that’s not even the best part! The really great news is that… Continue reading Reciprocal Agreement Plans: Fact or Fiction?

Getting Top Executives to Support Your Effort If your business spends time and dollars today to devise strategies to protect your share of the marketplace from competitors, it needs to devote time and effort to prevent these same competitors from penetrating your market when disaster strikes. When viewed in this light, executives will realize that… Continue reading Why Business Recovery Planning is an Absolutely Necessary Competitive Strategy

Senior management frequently categorizes disaster recovery programs as additional insurance coverage. To be sure, the protections anticipated by most insurance policies are inherent in any executable disaster recovery plan and yet MIS organizations that have fostered the concepts of disaster recovery within their companies have soon come to subscribe to the philosophy that disaster recovery… Continue reading A Key Component In Any Quality Program

I am a disaster planner, who, like most all other disaster planners, has a tough time getting management committed to performing the tasks necessary to adequately address disaster planning within my organization. Why is it, that all these managers who attend my sessions on the whys and wherefores of Business Continuity Planning, those same individuals… Continue reading Tough Problem, Simple Solution