Cover image for The disaster recovery handbook : a step-by-step plan to ensure business continuity and protect vital operations, facilities, and assets
Title:
The disaster recovery handbook : a step-by-step plan to ensure business continuity and protect vital operations, facilities, and assets
Personal Author:
Edition:
2nd ed.
Publication Information:
New York : American Management Association, c2011.
Physical Description:
vi, 440 p. : ill. ; 26 cm. + 1 CD-ROM (12 cm.)
ISBN:
9780814416136
General Note:
Accompanies by CD-ROM : CP 030990
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30000010279685 HD49 W36 2011 Open Access Book Book
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Summary

Summary

Terrorist attacks. Data assaults. Natural catastrophes. Disease outbreaks. Recent years have taught us that not only was 9/11 not just a single, horrible occurrence, but that events of many types can--and statistically will--hit organizations of every size, threatening to disrupt and potentially even destroy those that are not fully prepared. This revised edition, filled with up-to-the-minute thinking and the latest legal and technological updates, provides readers with practical tools and ready-to-use instructions for assessing risk; clearly documenting recovery procedures; assembling a disaster team; testing and debugging every step; protecting material resources; and recovering vital records. In addition to a CD packed with forms and checklists, the book contains case studies, interviews, and all the practical guidance needed to create the kind of thorough disaster recovery plan every responsible organization must have in place.


Author Notes

MICHAEL WALLACE is VP of Application Engineering at Result Data, an IT strategy, business intelligence, and disaster recovery consulting firm. He is a member of the Contingency Planners of Ohio and the Project Management Institute. LAWRENCE WEBBER is a Certified Project Manager (CPM), a Master Business Continuity Professional (MBCP), and Director of Programs and Processes for System Design Advantage. "


Excerpts

Excerpts

CHAPTER 1 GETTING STARTED Overview of the Project Nothing is impossible for the man who doesn't have to do it himself. --A.H. Weiler INTRODUCTION The job of a business executive requires coordination of the many activities necessary to create a successful business. Markets must be analyzed, potential customers identified, strategies for creating and delivering products and services must be developed, financial goals established and reported, legislative mandates followed, and many different stakeholders satisfied. To ensure that all of these objectives are met, businesses eventually develop a series of processes designed to produce the desired result. But the world is a dangerous place. Earthquakes, floods, tornadoes, pandemics, snow storms, fire, and other natural disasters can strike at any time and interrupt these important processes. Terrorism, riots, arson, sabotage, and other human-created disasters can also damage your business. Accidents and equipment failures are guaranteed to happen. As an executive responsible for the well-being of your organization, it is critical that you have a plan in place to ensure that your business can continue its operations after such a disaster and to protect vital operations, facilities, and assets. You do this just like you do any other important task; you analyze the situation and create a plan. A disaster recovery plan keeps you in business after a disaster by helping to minimize the damage and allowing your organization to recover as quickly as possible. While you can't prevent every disaster, you can with proper planning mitigate the damage and get back to work quickly and efficiently. The key is having a well thought out and up-to-date disaster recovery plan. This chapter will lead you through the creation and implementation of a project plan for creating an effective disaster recovery plan. Building a disaster recovery or business continuity plan is much like any other business project. A formal project management process is necessary to coordinate the various players and company disciplines required to successfully deliver the desired results of the project. This chapter will give you a high-level roadmap of what you should expect as you prepare to lead or manage a disaster recovery project. A sample project plan is included on the CD-ROM accompanying this book. Adapt this chapter and the project plan to fit your business goals, company timeline, and scope of project. Most projects tend to run in a well-defined sequence. For example, to build a new house, first you clear the land, then build the foundation, then build a floor, and so on. Many things cannot begin until the previous step is completed. A business continuity plan (BCP) project is a bit different. In its early stages, most actions logically follow each other. However, once the basic elements are in place, the project bursts out on to parallel tracks, as each department documents its own area. How you proceed in your company is, of course, determined by your corporate culture, the resources you have to work with to complete the process, and the level of visible support from the project's sponsor. Most business continuity projects follow these steps: 1. An executive within the organization decides that a business continuity plan is needed. This might be due to an auditor's report or the result of a business disruption that was more painful than it would have been if a plan had been in place. Or it could be that an alert employee realized that a good plan did not exist and brought this to the executive's attention. This executive normally becomes the sponsor for the project. 2. The first (and most important) step that the sponsor takes is to select someone to lead the project. This person is most often called the Business Continuity Manager and is responsible for the successful completion of the project. 3. The project sponsor and the Business Continuity Manager meet to clearly define the scope of the project, the project timeline, and expectations. The Business Continuity Manager must be comfortable that the resources available are adequate to meet all the objectives of the project. 4. The Business Continuity Manager selects the team that will work together to complete the project. Both technical and political considerations are important in selecting a team that can successfully develop a workable business continuity plan. 5. The Business Continuity Manager together with the team now develops the project plan to be used in managing the project. Tasks are identified and assigned, task durations calculated, and activities are sequenced as the project plans are developed. 6. The project plans are executed. The Business Continuity Manager oversees the project as the plan unfolds, keeping everyone focused on completing their tasks, and ensuring that milestones are met and that important stakeholders are kept informed as to the project's progress. It is here where the actual continuity plans for the organization are created. 7. Once the business continuity plans have been developed and tested, the Business Continuity Manager closes the project by making sure that everything was documented properly and handing the project results over to the individual(s) responsible for keeping the plan up to date. Each affected department will normally have someone responsible for keeping their portion of the plan current. A report is also generated for the sponsor recapping the project and documenting lessons learned. In many organizations, the job of Business Continuity Manager is not taken as seriously as it should be. Management in these organizations only wants you to write something, anything to make the auditors go away. That's OK because as you build the plan, and as they begin to see the benefits, their interest and support will grow. A project plan organizes the team so members focus their skills on specific actions to get the job done. This respects their time and brings the project to a prompt, but successful, solution. Excerpted from The Disaster Recovery Handbook: A Step-by-Step Plan to Ensure Business Continuity and Protect Vital Operations, Facilities, and Assets by Lawrence Webber, Michael Wallace All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Getting Started: Overview of the Project
Chapter 2 Building the Business Case: Measuring the Impact on the Business
Chapter 3 Evaluating Risk: Understanding What Can Go Wrong
Chapter 4 Selecting a Strategy: Setting the Direction
Chapter 5 Build an Interim Plan: Don't Just Sit There, Do Something
Chapter 6 Writing the Plan: Getting It Down on Paper
Chapter 7 Administrative Plan: Orchestrating the Recovery
Chapter 8 Crisis Management Plan: Minimizing the Damage
Chapter 9 Technical Recovery Plan: Putting Humpty Dumpty Back Together Again
Chapter 10 Work Area Recovery Plan: Getting the Office Up and Running
Chapter 11 Pandemic Plan
Chapter 12 Emergency Operations Center: Take Control of the Situation
Chapter 13 Testing Your Plans: Test, Test, Test
Chapter 14 Electrical Service: Keeping the Juice Flowing
Chapter 15 Telecommunications and Networking: Your Connection to the World
Chapter 16 Vital Records Recovery: Covering Your Assets
Chapter 17 Data: Your Most Irreplaceable Asset
Chapter 18 Workstations: The Weakest Link
Chapter 19 Customers: Other People to Worry About
Chapter 20 Suppliers: Collateral Damage
Chapter 21 Fire: Burning Down the House
Chapter 22 Human Resources: Your Most Valuable Asset
Chapter 23 Health and Safety: Keeping Everyone Healthy
Chapter 24 Terrorism: The Wrath of Man
Index
About the Authors