Business Continuity & Disaster PreparednessJim Locke, PrincipalResultWorx Technology Group

What is a “Disaster”

•Any incident that causes an unplanned disruption to critical business operations▫Natural Disasters▫On-premise incidents (fire, water damage,

etc.)▫Disruptions in communications, power▫Loss of critical business information

Some Examples of DisastersNatural Disasters (Local)• Wildfires• High Wind Damage• Water/Mud Damage• Earthquake

Business Interruptions• Power Failure• Loss of Internet Access• Loss of Telephone• Loss of Data• Loss of Critical Equipment

Nobody is Immune

•Disasters affect businesses of all sizes•Virtually all businesses will experience

some sort of disaster in the course of doing business

•40% of ALL businesses that experience a major disaster will never reopen

•The effects of a disaster can be minimized with proper planning

Business Continuity

•Identify your critical business operations•“How will you continue to operate if…”

▫Your office or facilities are destroyed or unusable

▫You have a power failure▫Telephone or data communications fail▫You suffer a catastrophic data loss

•There are appropriate business continuity solutions for businesses of all sizes

Critical Business Operations

•Identify business operations will you need to be able to perform to stay in business?▫Example: payroll, sales, customer service

•What equipment and services will you need to perform these operations?▫Example: Telephone, Computer, Electricity

•Which personnel and vendors are critical to your operations

•Document this information!

Office / Facilities

•Identify a location that you could work from temporarily▫Starbucks / Home Office▫Local office suite▫Co-operative arrangement with another

office•Identify equipment that you will need in

order to operate at that facility for a minimum of 30 days; Loss in productivity is your enemy

•Create contact lists for employees, vendors, etc that you will need

Power Failures

•Many buildings have aging or inadequate power

•Power failures, spikes and brownouts are a leading cause of failure for computers and phone systems

•Purchase a properly rated uninterruptable power supply (UPS) to support your operations▫Cost: Typically $75-$400▫Minimum of $15,000 Warranty▫Automatic Voltage Regulation (AVR)

Communications Failures

•Telephone Service▫Use of call forwarding▫Use of mobile phones or voice-over-IP

systems▫How will you fax?

•Internet Service▫Small Office Solutions – Use Internet cafés,

free WiFi or wireless data cards▫Larger Office Solution – Use redundant

data connections (e.g. T1 and Cable)

Preparing for Data Loss

•Use multiple drives with fault tolerance for critical data, if possible

•Adopt a suitable backup solution with suitable on-site and off-site storage

•Remember – Data recovery costs much more than backup

Automated Backup Solutions

•Backup media▫Just Say NO!

Tape (60% failure rate) USB Key (Limited use due to viruses and data

theft)▫Good

On-line Backup Hard drive

▫Best Hybrid – Local hard drive and online backup

Backup Methods

•File Backup▫Backup all or selected files▫Good for lost or damaged files, not good for

catastrophic failures•Image Backup

▫Takes a snapshot image of the entire hard drive that can be restored to a new drive

▫Restoring individual files more time consuming

▫Virtualization•Hybrid

Data Storage

•On-site Storage▫Media should be stored in a data rated,

fireproof safe whenever possible•Off-site Storage

• All solutions need to have off-site storage• Establish a rotation schedule

Other Backup Considerations

•Security▫Recommend password protected

encryption▫Physical controls▫Media and Data Destruction

•Perform regular testing of backups•Rotation Schedule•Media Replacement Schedule•Regulatory Requirements

Recommended Solutions

•StorageCraft Desktop/Server Protect▫Image Based▫Backup to USB hard drive in fireproof data

safe▫Rotate offsite to another hard drive

•Backup and Disaster Recovery Device ▫Image based▫Backup to fault-tolerant, redundant hard

drives▫Uploads backup nightly to off-site storage▫Virtualization of servers▫Data recovery tools

Final Thoughts

•Document your plan and essential processes

•Distribute copies of the plan to the staff responsible for implementing it

•Routinely test your plan, especially the ability to recover data

•Review and update your business continuity plan annually for▫Changes in operations▫Changes in critical equipment▫Changes in personnel, vendors, etc

Planning Resources

•SBA Disaster Recovery•Ready.gov•Institute for Business & Home Safety•FEMA•American Red Cross

QuestionsPlease feel free to contact us:

Jim Locke(626) 689-4491jlocke@ResultWorx.com