Business Continuity vs Disaster Recovery

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Business Continuity vs Disaster Recovery
ITs Role in Business Continuity

• Katina Blue
• Director of Business Continuity
• NC State University

2
Business Continuity Defined

• Advanced preparation and planning for a
  catastrophic event that could suspend or cause
  you to change the way normal operations are
  performed.
• Procedures that describe how the business will
  continue operations in an alternate way if an
  event occurs.

3
Disaster Recovery defined

• The disaster has happened!
• Response procedures that describe how the
  business recovers from the event.

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Different meanings of Disaster Recovery

• More commonly used to describe an IT disruption.
• Universally used now to describe the response
  actions to any type of disaster.
• Loss of research, computer lab fire, building
  fire, train derailment.

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Simply Put

• Business Continuity Planning before the
  disaster happens or it is imminent
• Disaster Recovery Planning for an event that is
  occurring or has occurred

6
ITs role in Business Continuity

• IT is still a department!
• Develop business continuity plans for the IT
  department.
• (alternate worksites, identifying and
  prioritizing critical functions, identifying
  software, equipment and supplies, identifying
  critical telephone numbers, vital records, and
  critical employees) plan includes declaration
  and reconstitution procedures
• Organize an IT BCDR Committee.

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Recommend Business Continuity Strategies

• Telework once a week
• Order all laptops with wireless
• Wireless access points in all facilities
  connected to generator
• Aircards
• Use of Flash drives
• Backup solutions in the My Documents folder
  nightly through 3rd party providers
• Low jack on laptops

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ITs role in Business Continuity

• Educate business units about IT recovery
  strategies and solutions
• Collaborate with Business Continuity office
• Develop internal and external reciprocal
  agreements
• Catalog vendor resources
• Review critical business units planning
  assumptions

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ITs role in Business Continuity

• Define RTO (downtime tolerance)
• Define RPO (data loss tolerance)
• Document tape recovery solution (nightly
  incremental full volume)
• Ensure the bandwidth can handle remote access
  potential

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ITs role in Business Continuity

• Prioritize recovery of applications
• Map servers to applications failure to that
  server affects xxxx applications xxx business
  units
• Document ERP systems recovery
• Inventory assets and vendor support information

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ITs role in Business Continuity

• Redundant network solutions
• Redundant website
• Ancillary equipment Rapid Acquisition
• Telecommunication recovery

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Educate the campus

• Help Desk should be aware of how to handle and
  communicate emergency information requests
• Publish remote access options
• Communicate emergency information via web,
  dedicated telephone line

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Exercise Plans and Maintenance

• Test recovery strategies
• Exercise with business units
• Include IT Business Continuity planning in Change
  Management process
• Hold IT staff accountable for reviewing and
  updating plan

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Final Comments

• Dont plan in silos
• IT BCDR is not a project but a valued component
  of the organization
• Commit to BCDR by establishing a position with
  full-time or added responsibilities
• Establish a business continuity network within
  the Community College system

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Thank you!

• Questions/Comments