Information technology disaster planning plays a crucial role for businesses in ensuring they can still operate after a facilities catastrophe, natural disaster, or other serious disruption. Failing to prepare can mean revenue standstill, profit losses, and major headaches while trying to recover. As a precaution, a majority of companies draw up what is known as a business continuity plan, or BCP, which provide guidelines for responding to a variety of problems. An information technology business continuity plan is just a piece of the puzzle and must share the same objectives as a company’s comprehensive BCP.
In the event of a disaster, the continued operation of a company depends on the ability to replicate vital IT systems and data. A business continuity plan outlines how a company will prepare for a disaster, what the company’s response will be and what steps it will take to ensure that operations can be restored. It is imperative that continuity plans are tested on a periodic basis to ensure that they will work when called upon.
Facility backup generators, off-site data duplication, failover ISP and telephone connectivity, and even redundant satellite sites are just some of the components that may comprise an organization’s business continuity plan. Whether a business operates 24/7 or can effectively function using the previous week’s data, each plan is different and unique to each organization.
Have you reviewed or tested your business continuity plan lately? After all, there’s no such thing as a benign disaster.
