Do you subscribe to TechRepublic newsletters?Well I do and I noticed a section where TechRepublic listed “disaster recovery template” as one of their top searches.Curious, I popped over to their website to find out what the results were.One of the most important steps a company can take to protect themselves is to properly plan for a disaster.And planning for recovery is often a complicated and time consuming process.The good news is that there are several extensive whitepapers on the topic.Some whitepapers exceed 20 pages.However, we agree with some TechRepublic forum feedback - most DR templates are just too long and complicated for a first step.
So we decided to remedy the situation by creating a 2 page disaster recovery template that can be used to summarize a company’s most important disaster recovery information.We distilled the most important information into bite-sized chunks so that you can quickly complete the template and post it where it will be readily available in the event of a disruption.
If you’re like most IT executives who are relying on tape backup as the crux of your disaster recovery strategy, you may agree, it’s not much of a strategy at all.And perhaps you are left wondering late at night, “How are we going to keep the email up and running in the event of fill in the blank?”Soon after what seems to be a passing thought, those OTHER fires consume much of your time.Where DO those fires and crises come from anyway?
“Usually from not-so-urgent things that people ignore because they are distracted by the crises of the moment.Then ignored, they cause the next fires and crises,” writes Getting Things Done author David Allen. Mr. Allen wrote a great piece in a recent issue of the Huffington Post entitled “The Curse of the Eternally Urgent.”His tips are relevant to anyone who maybe putting something off for tomorrow instead of completing the task/project today.Sound like someone you know?
After chatting with a few IT guys, I’m starting to understand how putting off disaster recovery planning is easy to do.Especially when you’re working at a growing company and those pesky fires appear.You know what worked in the beginning (i.e. tapes), won’t work today.But take Mr. Allen’s advice and complete the project in a series of action items. “I think you’ll find that many big and important projects have a two-minute-or-less next action on them. You can move several big and important projects forward, and feel better about making progress, by doing a few two-minute-or-less next actions,” writes Allen.
Before you rush off to design the perfect disaster recovery plan (or better yet, outsource it to experts like Simply Continuous), read Mr. Allen’s article.
A co-worker of mine asked “Is disaster recovery fun?”Now I didn’t want to say “no” but I didn’t have proof that it really could be fun…until I found the following VMware video on YouTube.I guess disaster recovery with virtualization technology and a catchy tune can make almost anything fun. Check it out.
What is DPV?No, it’s not a new drug that promises to grow hair on your balding head or a cure for eyes that tear too much.At Simply Continuous, we’re a practical bunch.We’re experts at solving your IT disaster recovery and business continuity needs and you can’t get more practical than that. DPV stands for Data Protect Vault.Data Protect Vault for Data Domain is a hosted service that deduplicates, replicates, and stores business-critical data offsite where it will be readily available whenever and wherever you need it.With Data Protect Vault, customer data is securely stored with NO tapes, software, or equipment to manage.
As you may know, the RTO for companies using tape backup is pretty slow, but upgrading to a more responsive backup and recovery program can be way too expensive. We wondered, “how can we make offsite backup easy, reliable, AND affordable?” Well, with Data Domain as our partners, we think we came up with a pretty handy solution for growing companies who rely on offsite tape backup.And we did it without you having to break the bank.
When approached by vendors offering “Disaster Recovery” or “Disaster Preparedness” solutions, the first thought of many people is “I have more pressing problems than worrying about the next great earthquake/tsunami/flood/apocalypse.” Much to the consternation of DR/DP vendors, such thoughts are usually correct.
When most people visualize the word disaster, they think of major catastrophes, such as the Loma Prieta earthquake, hurricane Katrina, or the recent Southern California wildfires. While disasters like these are of high impact, meaning that they have the potentially to significantly effect the viability of a person, family or business, they’re of low frequency, and though it’s nice to be prepared for the impending meteor strike, there are probably better uses for one’s much time and effort.
This doesn’t mean one should ignore Disaster Recovery, it simply means that Disaster Recovery is generally a misnomer, a series of activities that have been incorrectly labeled. What most vendors are really selling, what the services offered really provide, is Disruption Recovery. Unlike disasters, disruptions happen with great frequency.They’re usually less catastrophic, but their net impact for a given business can be severe. A disruptive event might include a server disk-crash, a power failure, a water-main break, or any number of hundreds of day-to-day events that can cause a business to loose the ability to operate. Preparing for disruption is generally cost-effective and rational.
The steps taken for Disaster Recovery, including backing up and replicating critical data, determining the core assets of a business and determining how to continue operations if the office becomes unavailable, are all the same activities one needs to undertake for Disruption Recovery; it’s only the images evoked by the words “disaster” and “disruption” that are different. But language is a powerful thing. If DR vendors want to ensure that they’re thought of as a necessary service rather than an optional one, they need to start working on moving the capital d away from the improbable and towards the common.
As the Hello World! post for this blog, we want to start by sharing lessons learned by investment advisers effected by Katrina. The Securities & Exchange Commission provided summary findings in their June 2007 Compliance Alert. Here’s the relevant excerpt:
Particular provisions of the advisers’ Disaster Recovery Plans that appeared to be effective with respect to the adviser’s ability to provide uninterrupted advisory services to clients in a compliant manner after a disaster included:
a pre-arranged remote location for short-term and possible long-term use
alternate communication protocols to contact staff and clients, such as cell phones, text messaging, web-based email accounts, or an Internet website
remote access to business records and client data through appropriately secured means that ensure ongoing compliance with Regulation S-P and other confidentiality requirements
temporary lodging for key staff where necessary as a result of a relocation of the firm
maintaining accurate and up-to-date contact information for all third-party service providers, including custodians, broker-dealers, transfer agents, pricing services, and research firms
familiarity with the business continuity plans of such third-party service providers
contingency arrangements for loss of key personnel, such as the president or primary portfolio manager, either temporarily or permanently
effective training of staff on how to fulfill essential duties in the event of a disaster, including compliance matters
periodic testing, evaluation, and revision of disaster preparedness plan
maintaining sufficient insurance and financial liquidity to prevent any interruption to the performance of compliant advisory services
Check it out.