Michael Kraner President Michael Kraner is the President of Primary Support, an information technology firm specializing in premium consulting, full service support, and customized solutions to companies of all sizes. Primary Support’s mission is to help companies enhance their technical efficiencies to gain competitive advantages that will help increase their business productivity and profitability. Primary Support also has a special small business unit focusing on the unique needs of emerging companies.

[ CLOSE THIS WINDOW ] Plan, Protect and Prosper: The Essential Disaster Recovery Planning Approach by Michael Kraner An act of god. An act of terrorism. An act of human error. Many forces can turn a smooth running business into a downward disastrous spiral. Whatever the cause, a disaster is any event that negatively interrupts an organization from operating. And a company's only true protection from fire, flood, earthquake, human error and system error is a solid and constantly evolving disaster recovery plan (DRP). A DRP will ensure the protection and operational continuity of a business, because it is created with your company's unique workflow and processes in mind. But no DRP will be effective if it is created after a disaster; the key is to plan now. The goal of disaster recovery is simple: to guarantee that your business, large or small, can survive any external or internal emergency. To accomplish this seemingly heroic feat, the plan must address several concerns: How can the company recover mission-critical data and applications? How can the company resume mission-critical workflow? How can the company execute necessary contingency plans? Disaster Is Blind For the larger companies, disaster recovery has always been an important process. But as all companies become dependent on technology, DRP has become an essential practice for every organization, regardless of size. For disaster recovery to be truly successful, however, it must be viewed as a dynamic process, one that changes as the world evolves. For the security and safety of your business, the plan must constantly be monitored, tested and reevaluated. Disaster Strikes, Rumors Abound Following the terrorist attacks of September 11th, the information technology community was abuzz with the failures and successes of companies effected by the tragedy. Some businesses had a disaster recovery plan, others had no backup at all. Here's a rundown of what the rumor mill was whispering about. Large investment bank had live synchronous feeds to other locations. The bank was fully backed-up and able to use data up to the point of disaster. Small investment house did not remove backup tapes from the site before the attacks. The firm lost all data, could not resume workload and was forced to suspended operations. Small law firm with no disaster plan and no backup tape lost all data and its ability to operate. Small service-orientated business had no backup data off-site and no backup plan. The lack of records extended into complete loss of employee records and contact information. Redundancy Is Good: Repetition Works All disaster recovery planning must focus on redundant, no-fault tolerant systems with multiple points-of-failure. For large companies, these plans may include live synchronized data backup with remote backup sites, where operations can continue immediately. Smaller companies may store backup tapes at a safe off-site location. No matter what the company's size, a focus on redundancy is crucial; avoiding single point-of-failure is vital to disaster recovery planning. Since all systems will break or fail at some time, this approach is critically important. Assume A Perfect Storm & Expect Smooth Sailing Ahead Preparing for the worst may increase the effectiveness of your company's disaster recovery planning. DRP will greatly reduce the negative effects of a disaster and ensure continuity. The key to success begins with thorough preparation, including a complete understanding of organizational workflow. Senior management, along with business and technology leadership must agree on the most vital data and processes. But to fully understand how a disaster may effect all areas of an organization, special attention should be paid to potential monetary losses and recovery time. Draw Up a Map Implementing a disaster recovery plan should be approached in several steps, all which require imagination, forethought, brainstorming and constant maintenance: Identify critical components (data) Evaluate business impact Implement business continuity strategies Design a Disaster Recovery Plan specific to your company's needs Implement plan using the latest in hardware / software technologies Train all employees on the importance of disaster recovery and its processes Test plan Reevaluate, update, test and revise quarterly Conclusions Be prepared and your company can survive any challenge. With a proper disaster recovery plan, any business, big or small, can walk away from a disaster with its processes, data and bottom line in tact. But the only way to prevent a system and company melt-down is to implement a recovery plan today. As recent events have shown, disaster recovery planning may be your company's only lifeline.