ST1801

STRATEGY:
STRATEGY: BUSINESS CONTINUITY/DR
"The culture of disaster preparedness needs to be set from the top and talked about
at all levels of the organisation. Users need to know how they will access critical
systems if they can't reach the office for whatever reason, and this plan needs to be
tested outside of the disaster cycle, to ensure that those employees will be able to
keep working should disaster strike. All of this comes firmly under the auspices of
strategic decision-making, so it's time that the C-suite and IT departments aligned to
support one another."
This can lead to the frustrating situation
where the IT department is clamouring for
budget to deliver backup and DR, but they
don't have full visibility of the level of
investment available and the amount of
operational risk that executives are
prepared to accept. On the other hand,
business leaders suddenly get a wake-up
call in the shape of a high profile climate
or security-related disaster and demand an
"instant" solution that guarantees zero
downtime, without understanding that an
effective programme is not a quick fix
product that can be immediately installed.
Fundamentally, both sides are operating
in the dark and this lack of alignment
between the technical expertise of the IT
department and the strategic priorities of
the C-suite means that it's difficult for either
side to make good decisions.
Ideally, all technology decisions should
cascade from the business continuity
strategy. It's the responsibility of the
executive suite to decide what the business
imperatives should be when problems
occur and what level of back up is needed
to ensure regulatory compliance.
These directives should then be
interpreted by the IT department so that the
solution they select can meet the stated
requirements. There's also an important
role for the IT department in providing
technical counsel to the executive level, so
information needs to flow both ways.
GETTING STRATEGIC ABOUT TESTING
I'd like to see organisations applying more
strategic thinking to their DR testing
regimes. I often hear companies saying
that they're going to test quarterly, and
perhaps over a weekend. But disasters
don't happen quarterly, and they often
happen when the business is in full
operation.
A disaster, by definition, is going to be
something that hasn't been anticipated.
This actually means that events such as
major storms, which can be predicted and
prepared for to some extent, aren't the
concerns that should be driving the testing
cycle. It's more likely that a major issue will
be caused by human error, a patch that
goes wrong, or a newly evolved cyberthreat.
Business leaders need to be
confident that their testing regimes and the
associated business continuity
programmes are being continuously
enhanced and updated to meet the next
level of potential threat.
One of the benefits of using the cloud for
DR and backup is the ability to run test
programmes without impacting day-to-day
operations. This means that testing can be
carried out on an ad hoc basis if
necessary, allowing the business continuity
plan to evolve and adapt in real-time as
described above. The isolated test
environment can even be used to test software
patches before they go live - potentially
avoiding a disaster in the first place.
A CULTURE OF PREPAREDNESS
The culture of disaster preparedness needs
to be set from the top and talked about at
all levels of the organisation. Users need
to know how they will access critical
systems if they can't reach the office for
whatever reason, and this plan needs to
be tested outside of the disaster cycle, to
ensure that those employees will be able
to keep working should disaster strike.
All of this comes firmly under the
auspices of strategic decision-making, so
it's time that the C-suite and IT
departments aligned to support one
another. The nature of cloud - its cost
benefits and scalability plus the business
critical aspects of back up and DR - mean
that selecting solutions should be a board
level decision supported by the knowledge
and expertise of the IT department.
In today's world it's a case of when, not
if, companies will be affected by disaster,
and when they are they should be
confident that their business continuity
plan will do its job, so everyone else can
continue to do theirs.
More info: www.iland.com
www.storagemagazine.co.uk
@STMagAndAwards
Jan/Feb 2018
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