Will we stay or evacuate when a hurricane threatens?

How do you communicate with clients, vendors and employees?

Will our disaster plan work when the going gets tough? 

1.       Risk Assessment & Management 

a.       Identify & categorize risk of disaster on business

                                                               i.      Impact on revenue

                                                             ii.      Impact on clients/reputation

b.       IT systems assessment

                                                               i.      How much data can the organization afford to risk?

                                                             ii.      How long can the data be inaccessible?

1.       Email

2.       Core applications

3.       Non-core applications

c.       Related preparation costs

2.       Data Backup and Accessibility (based on “Risk Assessment”)

a.       Data backup

b.       Applications backup

c.       Data accessibility & ability to work from anywhere (during disaster period)

d.       Back-up power supply

3.       Restoring Data & Applications

a.       Purchase replacement equipment (if necessary)

b.       Restore applications

c.       Restore data (Are the backups up-to-date and intact?)

d.       Sync data and applications (ensure compatibility as previously)

e.       Ensure accessibility and ability to work from anywhere

4.       Test & Re-test Disaster Preparedness Plan

a.       Test plan definition

b.       Results and analysis

For more tips and best practices on preparing for Hurricane Season, contact our Houston Disaster Recovery Specialists.

A Disaster Preparedness plan is a critical part of preparing for disaster. Over the next few weeks we will outline a few basic steps on how to develop and implement a plan.

Appointing an Emergency Response Leader

The first step is to appoint a leader who will be responsible for creating and implementing the plan. This individual should have the authority to:  

·         Declare the emergency (and implementation of plan)

·         Classify the nature of the emergency

o        Natural (hurricanes may set off tornadoes, flood, illnesses, etc.)

o        Human (hurricanes have spawned physical and computer intrusions)

o        Environmental (hurricanes have caused power, telephone, Internet and transportation failure)

·         Relocate employees (if necessary)

Create an Emergency Response Team

Next, the team leader should appoint a team that will be responsible for:

·         Compiling, updating and verify contact lists for communication

o        Employees

o        Clients

o        Vendors

o        Distribution channel

·         Verify data is backed up and accessible throughout the disaster period

o        Data backup

o        Data restoration

o        Data accessibility (before, during, after hurricane)

 (*IsUtility® clients: All data on the system is automatically backed up and secured. This underscores the importance of a comprehensive plan  to provide safety and Internet access to employees in advance of a disaster)