Be Prepared for
Anything—Not Just Disaster
reprinted with permission from HP
Most
companies spend time anticipating and planning for disasters. But in a
global economy, where opportunity and risk go hand-in-hand, other events
can be as devastating to the unprepared as any hurricane.
The corporate landscape is
dotted with potential landmines that can take a toll on businesses:
- Skyrocketing energy costs
and environmental mandates are forcing cuts in energy consumption.
- Security audits can distract
IT staff if the organization is not sufficiently prepared.
- E-discovery requests can
hijack resources and negatively impact productivity.
- Loss of key personnel can be
a setback if a company doesn't have a succession plan in place.
- Lost storage media, like a
stolen laptop, can lead to tarnished reputations and lowered revenues if
removable media isn't encrypted and digital keys well-managed.
Many executives believe their
chance of suffering a disaster is slim and operate their businesses
accordingly. In enterprises with multiple locations, however, natural
disasters and human-generated events are very likely, says Rob Enderle,
principal analyst with technology analyst firm the Enderle Group. "While
the incidence of disaster is slight locally, when the entire world is
factored in, a major problem is not only certain, it is a recurring
event."
Disaster preparedness plans
help minimize downtime, keep employees focused on their core
responsibilities, and safeguard against the loss of revenue, customers and
reputation. "You must have plans for each type of threat ready to execute
at a moment's notice," Enderle says.
1. Prepare for
disaster
A computer infrastructure is the central nervous system of
a business, and companies can't afford for it to cease functioning.
Downtime affects employee productivity, alienates customers and negatively
impacts company reputation.
To ensure continuity and
availability, conduct a business impact analysis to determine which
services are the most crucial to protect and which have the highest
priority to restore. The analysis also should assess the likelihood of
types of risks to the business, and prioritize goals: generating revenue,
supporting customers or providing services to employees? Create a plan and
test it regularly.
2. Combat high energy
costs
Rising costs and environmental mandates have companies
examining ways to cut energy consumption. In many cases, computers can
help. Reduced energy consumption can be achieved through alternative forms
of cooling, virtualization, and replacing energy-hogging servers with
newer models engineered to use less energy. The IT staff can learn how to
leverage technology assets to cut energy consumption.
3. Plan for an
audit
In some sectors, companies face periodic audits to ensure
they're complying with regulations such as the U.S.'s Sarbanes-Oxley Act
and the European Union's Data Privacy Directive. Audits can be targeted at
financial record-keeping, data privacy, security or legal compliance. Any
type of audit can disrupt a business if IT isn't prepared. Companies must
learn what steps they can take to prepare for these events.
4. Anticipate e-discovery
requests
The process of legal discovery, which uncovers relevant
information before going to court, now relies heavily on electronically
stored data. Both the content and mismanagement of e-mail, instant
messaging and other electronic records have led to fines, judgments and
convictions.
As a result, companies that do
business in the U.S. (or that have U.S. partners or subsidiaries) are now
subject to stricter standards for preserving and producing electronic
business records. Using software tools and a records-management process
can help manage and automate the process of electronic discovery, or
e-discovery, in case of lawsuit.
Even if a company doesn't do
business in the U.S., however, the level of organization required for
e-discovery preparedness can help it prove it is following privacy laws or
other electronic information regulations now common across the
globe.
5. Plan for
succession
Companies invest heavily in IT leaders, yet they seldom
have a plan for a handling the transition caused by the unexpected
departure, resignation or death of an IT executive. Succession planning
helps minimize the impact of an abrupt departure in leadership by grooming
future IT leaders, preserving institutional knowledge and smoothing
transitions.
6. Secure removable
media
Every organization that handles confidential information of
any sort is well aware of cases where a single laptop theft or the
improper disposal of hard drive has led to embarrassing and harmful data
breaches. That's why removable media are increasingly encrypted, or
locked, using digital keys. Unfortunately, as digital keys proliferate,
the chance of losing, misplacing or accidentally destroying them is
growing, too. A global key management system can help keep digital keys
safe, organized, replicated and audited.
Databranch engineers are
available to assist you with your disaster preparedness plans, please call
our office to schedule a security audit that fits your needs.
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