The 20 Truths of Business Continuity

If you’ve been responsible for business continuity planning for any length of time you’ve probably seen a number of program characteristics that you can absolutely count on. After 20 years of helping organizations with their business continuity and disaster recovery plans I’ve noticed some of these inescapable traits, or truths, that never fail to surface.… Continue reading The 20 Truths of Business Continuity

Taking Action with Notification

The nation has spent more than two years under a “heightened state of awareness.” The term has made its way into our national lexicon – ultimately, at the expense of maintaining any sort of true meaning. If heightened awareness becomes the norm, what happens when awareness needs to be translated into action – on local,… Continue reading Taking Action with Notification

Making Plan Distribution, Usage Easier for Everyone

In the aftermath of 9-11, CEOs and corporate planners recognized the need for an available, usable corporate business continuity plan. The old standby of a (large) binder containing the detailed plan sitting under the bed or in the trunk of the car was always problematic. The lack of security, problems in updating, and version control… Continue reading Making Plan Distribution, Usage Easier for Everyone

Four Steps to Selling Print-to-Mail Recovery

It is hard to believe in today’s business environment – where executives and board members are held more accountable than ever before for the companies they lead – that any business would operate without a plan to protect the printing and mailing of critical documents. In fact, studies show that only 23 percent of businesses… Continue reading Four Steps to Selling Print-to-Mail Recovery

Business Continuity: Key Factors for Success

Someone recently asked me, “What is the single most important factor in regard to business continuity in Windows environments?” To be difficult, I said it was a three-part answer. First, recognize that many parts of a Windows environment are already fault resilient. This includes most of the infrastructure technologies, such as Active Directory, DNS, WINS… Continue reading Business Continuity: Key Factors for Success

Give BIAs the Axe with Workshop Approach

The business impact analysis (BIA) has long been considered the favored tool used to develop a business case for a disaster recovery program. For as many years as I’ve been in this industry (13) it has been the standard approach (with some minor variations) that companies employ to determine the impact(s) that a business disruption… Continue reading Give BIAs the Axe with Workshop Approach

Choosing a Location for Your Disaster Recovery Facility

When planning a new backup data center facility, there are many things to consider – facility size, level of equipment redundancy, budget constraints, etc. One important component often overlooked is the importance of choosing a good location to build the facility. For long-term viability, reliability, and operational efficiency, choosing the right site will go a… Continue reading Choosing a Location for Your Disaster Recovery Facility

Business Continuity as a Business Issue

Recontextualizing the Role of IT in Business Continuity/Disaster Recovery As fiduciary responsibility increases with new regulations and a greater focus on accountability, business continuity is no longer driven primarily by fiscal concerns. With business continuity becoming an enterprise issue instead of just IT’s problem, business is finally beginning to view IT as an integrated part… Continue reading Business Continuity as a Business Issue

Protecting Your Remote Office Date Using Replication

Recently there has been a growing need among companies to protect their data – and not just at company headquarters – but also at remote locations. Most organizations invest heavily in protecting data at the corporate headquarters, while leaving remote offices less protected, or possibly not protected at all. This lack of protection is mainly… Continue reading Protecting Your Remote Office Date Using Replication