Guide to Disaster Recovery

Introduction to Disaster Recovery

Chapter 1

You Will Learn How To…

Develop a disaster recovery philosophy Describe the basic principles of disaster

recovery planning Describe and establish a business continuity and

disaster recovery function Understand the steps of disaster recovery

planning Understand the role of IT and network

management in disaster recovery

Disasters and Disaster Recovery

Disaster strikes often Everyday life is filled with incidents that

can disrupt business A disaster recovery plan allows for:

Business continuity during a disasterRestoration of normal operations

Developing a Disaster RecoveryPhilosophy

A disaster recovery philosophy is rooted in: An organization’s desire to protect and preserve its

positive public image An organization’s physical assets The lives of the organization’s employees

The image includes: High levels of customer satisfaction Faith of stockholders Other stakeholders for an organization

Organizations and Disasters

Many organizations have suffered through a disaster

The ones that have not are not immune Out of 250 organizations surveyed, three of

every 10 organizations surveyed for this book have been through a disaster

Disaster Recovery Planning

The process of assessing risks that an organization faces

Developing, documenting, implementing, testing, and maintaining procedures

Minimize losses after a disaster

Status of Disaster Recovery Planning

Nearly three of every four organizations have a disaster recovery plan in place

Disaster recovery planning is still a new process in many organizations

Disaster Recovering Planning Process

Too many people consider disaster recovery planning a mechanical process

There are certainly tedious and laborious aspects to developing a plan

Organizations have cultures, spirits, and images that permeate relationships with The organization Customers Business partners The public at large

Customers

A customer’s view of an organization is crucial to the organization’s success

Marketing managers hope customers see products as high quality and a good value

New customers are difficult and costly to gain Less costly to keep current customers satisfied Customer satisfaction is a prime marketing tool A good public image is an asset that takes years to

achieve and considerable diligence to maintain

Stockholder and Investor Relations

Maintaining investor faith is extremely important Institutional investor confidence is important Considerable effort is exerted to develop the faith and

trust of investors Efforts to maintain faith are less expensive than those

required to regain lost faith Organizations want to be viewed in the most positive

light possible Backup computers, emergency networks, and temporary

quarters are only tools

Disaster Recovery Planning

Intensified since September 2001 Three of every 10 organizations surveyed

report that their spending for disaster recovery planning has increased

One of every 10 organizations reports that spending has increased dramatically

Disaster Recovery Planning

Basic Principles of Disaster Recovery Planning

No off-the-shelf disaster recovery plan can meet the needs of all organizations

An effective plan recognizes an organization’s size and other defining characteristics

Planning Principles

A solid plan requires the support and participation of Upper-level management All business unit managers Legal counsel Directors of all functional departments such as

Human Resources, Facilities Management, IT, and Corporate security

Assessing risk requires time consuming, detailed analysis

Planning Principles

All policies and procedures must Support the critical needs of business operations Comply with all relevant laws and regulations Be understood by the parties responsible for

implementing hem Be approved by upper management

The plan must clearly delineate and document chain of command of the managers responsible for declaring, responding to, and recovering from a disaster

Planning Principles

The disaster recovery system must facilitate and allow control of communications among Decision makers Managers Staff External support organizations Law enforcement Emergency services Media

All policies and procedures must be available to all departments, managers, and staff during response and recovery

Planning Principles

All employees involved in disaster response and recovery must be trained to Implement documented procedures Address unanticipated problems

Procedures must be tested and rehearsed Planners must continually evaluate new threats and

business conditions as they develop During disaster response and recovery, the organization

must Evaluate the effectiveness of its procedures Monitor the physical safety and mental health of employees

Process of Disaster Recovery Planning

Implementing the plan and responding to disaster is an organization-wide effort

Plan development requires many types of knowledge and skills

Every organization-wide effort is laden with social and political obstacles that need to be addressed

Each step of planning is interrelated and builds upon the others

The disaster recovery planning team is responsible for developing the plan

Establishing Continuity and Recovery Function

Disaster recovery function consists of the people, departments, and support organizations that implement the plan and facilitate disaster recovery

How this function is organized depends on The geographical dispersal of facilities within an

organization The type of facilities occupied The number of employees Other factors

Staff of an Organization’s Disaster Recovery Function

A centralized authority or group Coordinates the development of disaster recovery

plans Plays a role in disaster response and recovery

Managers and staff in functional departments have enterprise-wide roles in disaster response and recovery

Department managers and representatives from business units have roles in disaster response and recovery to ensure the continued function of their business units

Understanding the Steps of Disaster Recovery Planning

Disaster recovery planning consists of eight major steps

Smaller organizations may be able to develop and document a plan in a few months

In larger organizations, initial planning can take many months and sometimes years

Management and all other members of the planning team need to understand The steps involved in developing a plan How these steps build upon each other and fit

together as a whole

Step One

The first step is organizing the disaster recovery planning team

The team must be a well-rounded group that represents all the functions of an organization

Requires a high-level manager as a champion Ideally, the champion should be the CEO or a

high-level manager designated by the CEO

Step One

The team must also have a designated leader, or two people who act as co-leaders

Each participating department should assign a primary representative and an alternate to the team for continuity

The team should be trained in disaster recovery planning Once in place, it should establish a schedule of activities,

including meeting times and dates for completing the eight steps of planning

There should be an awareness campaign about disaster recovery planning within the organization

Step Two

Assessing the risk that an enterprise faces is the next step

A business impact analysis is a method of assessing risks and determining the potential economic loss that could occur as a result of these risks All business processes must be identified and analyzed The planning team should review legal and contractual

requirements to determine the consequences of business disruption

The results help guide disaster recovery planning and help the team develop procedures for recovering from various types of incidents

Worst Disasters

Step Three

The third step is establishing the roles that each department, business partner, and outside service organization plays in disaster recovery

The planning team determines the contribution that each department can make to the plan and disaster recovery

Organization with multiple locations must identify local departments and employees who can participate in disaster recovery planning

The planning team also determines the role that other organizations should play in the plan

Step Four

Developing actual disaster recovery policies and procedures is the next step

Disaster recovery policies are the guidelines that govern the development of disaster recovery procedures

Disaster recovery procedures are step-by-step methods designed to restore an organizational function or business process

Developing policies and procedures to recover from disasters requires attention to detail and thorough analysis

Procedures must be established for each step of disaster recovery and response

Step Five

The fifth step of the disaster recovery plan is to document the policies and procedures developed in the previous step

Part of this documentation is done in conjunction with drafting, reviewing, and approving policies and procedures

The approved documentation is included in the actual disaster recovery plan

A group must be established to manage documentation and the cycles of reviews, approvals, and updates

The document must include all contact information

Step Six

Implementing the disaster recovery plan is next During this step

The final plan is distributed to all of the departments, organizations, and employees involved in disaster response and recovery

The planning team begins to intensify the internal and external awareness programs to ensure that all parties know about the plan

Executives are briefed on the plan and their roles in disaster response and recovery

Staff in all departments are trained on general and department specific procedures

Any outside services or equipment is purchased or contracted

Step Seven

The next step is to test and rehearse parts of the plan, and eventually to run a live simulation of a disaster

A disaster recovery rehearsal is a live simulation in which all departments and support organizations run through the entire disaster recovery process, just as they would during an actual disaster

Managers in eight of every 10 organizations surveyed think that testing and rehearsing disaster recovery plans is beneficial

Plan Testing and Rehearsal

Step Eight

The final step is often called the maintenance phase Once the plan is developed and tested, the planning

team must continually Assess the emergence of new threats Adjust for changes in organizational structure Determine the impact of new technology on recovery procedures

In many industries, planning teams may also need to monitor changes in laws and regulations that may affect their disaster recovery requirements

When procedures are changed and documentation is updated, training requirements and staff skills must be updated as well

Frequency of Plan Updates

Role of IT and Network Management in Disaster Recovery

Most organizations rely heavily on their computer systems and communications networks

The IT and network management in every organization have essential roles in disaster recovery planning and response

Knowledgeable representatives from IT and network management need to be assigned to the team

IT Representation

At least one representative is needed for each of the following functions: Data center operations Network management Desktop computing Voice communications

At least one person is needed for each major IT application, including Financial management support Supply chain systems Enterprise resource planning (ERP) Human resources support

IT Representation

During risk assessment and business impact analysis, IT and network managers need to Help the team answer critical questions about the

potential consequences of system downtime Assist in developing and documenting procedures for

end-user departments and the IT departments that facilitate disaster response and recovery

IT Representation

During risk assessment and business impact analysis, IT and network managers need to Help develop and deliver training to department

managers and employees who will assist in recovery procedures for computer systems and networks

Help test and rehearse procedures to ensure that their organization can effectively recover from a disaster

IT Managers Role

IT and network managers have a key role in supporting and managing the ongoing disaster recovery plan

Plans and procedures must be updated IT and network managers must determine

How each new upgrade or additional application affects these plans and procedures, then

Inform the staff who maintain disaster recovery documents of the necessary changes to keep the plan current

Develop new training materials as needed

Chapter Summary

Disaster recovery planning is the process of assessing risks that an organization faces, then developing procedures to return to normal operations quickly

No off-the-shelf disaster recovery plan can possibly meet the needs of all organizations

Understanding the basic principles of disaster recovery planning can keep team members from getting lost in the long process

Chapter Summary

The disaster recovery function consists of the people, departments, and support organizations that implement the disaster recovery plan and facilitate recovery

There are eight steps in the process of developing a disaster recovery plan

Most organizations rely heavily on computer systems and communication