Disaster Recovery / Business Continuity FAQs
What is the Business Continuity/ Disaster Recovery Plan
The business continuity disaster recovery plan is the plan, agreed to in advance by key management and participating personnel that will be followed to recover from a disaster. The plan forms the heart of the effort and its execution is the keystone that determines if the organization will recover with minimal disruptions or not. The plan should be a live document, with periodic changes and reviews to reflect the latest conditions. For example, if a new office is added along with a
Importance of A disaster recovery plan.
Adequate planning ensures that a business minimizes downtime and losses. It also allows for a coherent response to a disaster with critical players in the organization knowing the roles they will have to play. Therefore, it is imperative that the plan is up to date and complete with principals meeting regularly to review the plan. For example, if a new office is added which has personnel or activity that makes key contributions to revenue, does the plan reflect this? Has it been modified and all key players aware of the modifications?
By considering the plan a living document, a business ensures that the latest situation is factored in. However, changes made to the plan have to done in a systematic manner with responsibility of approving or making changes resting with a single person or a previously designated committee.
Creating a Disaster Recovery Plan
If adequate in-house expertise is lacking, several consultants offer multifarious services that develop robust DR plans. Even if the DR plan is developed in-house, it is a good idea to have it reviewed by outside experts to iron out any in house biases in planning. Software and templates are also available to develop DR plans and may be a cheaper and easier alternative
Importance of A disaster recovery plan.
Software Disaster Recovery Software
Templates MIT Recovery Plan Master
Plan Dependability and Execution
A dry run of the plan to work out any kinks is very advisable. After a dry run, a honest review with all the principals should be conducted. Adjustments should be made as needed. Periodic dry runs not only fine-tune the plan to adjust to any changed circumstances, but also impart continuing education to participants
What is Business Risk/Business Impact Analysis?
An important part of DR planning is understanding all variables that can and do affect the smooth operation of a business. Many methods, qualitative and quantitative in nature can be used to define these risks.
Business Impact Analysis is used to assess the financial or other loss sustained when Information System or business function is impaired or unavailable
What is BS25999?
BS25999-1 is a code of practice . A standard approach to Business Continuity Management (BCM) has been mooted for decades. Prototype draft standards have been published, but never really quite had the momentum to succeed. The void has been obvious and glaring for a long time. However, this landscape finally changed late in 2006, with the publication of the first part of BS 25999, a code of practice for business continuity management.
The concept pf the BS 25999 standard itself has also been on the table for quite a long time. BSI published a draft standard known as PAS56 back in 2003. This was largely for public comment: the normal process adopted by BSI as part of the development of major standards. In 2006 a draft version of BS25999-1 was published, again for public comment. Eventually, in November of that year, the standard was finally born, with a fanfare or announcements, conferences and podcasts.
What are the 7 P's
The Business Continuity Institute has identified seven P's from which an effective plan can be based:-
Programme - proactively managing the process People - roles & responsibilities, awareness & education Processes - organizational processes, including IT Premises - buildings & facilities Providers - supply chain, including outsourcing Profile - brand, image & reputation Performance - benchmarking, evaluation & audit
