Most organizations have never tested their ability to recover operations in the event of a disaster. Furthermore, those that have tested have found they were grossly unprepared and may not have been able to recover their data or applications.
IT-Lifeline / Customer Recovery Goals:
- Recognize a disaster and mobilize the appropriate resources
- Ensure safety of personnel and protect organizational assets
- Minimize the time and cost of a service disruption
- Facilitate recovery coordination and return to normal operations
- Satisfy legal, regulatory, and audit requirements
Recovery Process:
The typical recovery process is based on three major stages of response:
- Assessment & Emergency Response. The potential problem affecting the business function is detected. Key members of the disaster recovery teams assess the situation and respond appropriately.
- Notification. The recovery management team communicates the required response to affected customers, delegates and business partners. Those contacted are expected to notify personnel within their respective organizations.
- Recovery. If a disaster is declared, the recovery management team and applicable personnel will make the appropriate arrangements and travel to the pre-designated IT-Lifeline Business Continuity Center. The recovery management team will request that IT-Lifeline prepare the Recovery Center for their arrival. A series of pre-planned recovery steps will be executed at the recovery center to re-establish the data center and business operations environment.
There are numerous issues associated with an actual disaster recovery process. The success of a recovery operation is dependent on the amount of preparation and testing prior to declaration. IT-Lifeline works with organizations to ensure they have a written continuity plan that details a sound strategy that can be successfully exercised, practiced, rehearsed, and eventually, implemented.
