Tips

Tips

• Assessing your disaster recovery readiness with specialized tools

  Learn how disaster recovery readiness tools can help you document your IT environment, automate the discovery of hardware and software and, ultimately, improve your DR readiness.  Continue Reading

• A comparison of today's business continuity standards

  More business continuity standards are being added to an already crowded playing field. Learn how to determine which ones are most useful for your organization in this tip.  Continue Reading

• Supply chain risk management best practices and business continuity

  Learn supply chain risk management best practices in this tip from business continuity expert Paul Kirvan.  Continue Reading

• How to choose the best data replication product: A checklist

  Learn how to choose the best data replication product and print out our free, downloadable checklist.  Continue Reading

• Array-based and network-based replication

  In the first part of our series on data replication techniques, you learned about the differences between asynchronous vs. synchronous replication. In part two, you will learn about array-based replication and network-based replication.  Continue Reading

• Data replication solutions: Host-based replication products

  In the previous part of our series on data replication techniques, you learned about the differences between array- and network-based replication. In part two, you will learn about the pros and cons of host-based replication products.  Continue Reading

• Replication technologies: Asynchronous vs. synchronous replication

  In this first part of our series on data replication techniques, learn about the differences between asynchronous vs. synchronous replication, and the pros and cons of each technology.  Continue Reading

• Call center disaster recovery plan checklists

  Learn about call center disaster recovery planning best practices, and read our call center checklists so you know what to include in your call center DR plan.  Continue Reading

• Getting started with outsourcing disaster recovery sites

  Disaster recovery outsourcing can save you money, but follow these tips before you sign on the dotted line.  Continue Reading

• Network disaster recovery plan basics

  A good set of network documentation can prove to be valuable in the event of a disaster. Learn about what to document and make part of your network DR plan.  Continue Reading

• Enterprise risk management and business continuity primer

  Enterprise risk management is an important aspect of BC planning. This tip will help you understand risks, threats and vulnerabilities to build a foundation for your work.  Continue Reading

• A look at Linux disaster recovery options

  Linux is essential in many businesses, and the need for Linux disaster recovery has grown. Here's a look at the most common disaster recovery options for Linux.  Continue Reading

• Successful business continuity exercises and creating exercise scripts

  A business continuity exercise takes team members through different disaster recovery scenarios to test if they are fully prepared for an emergency. This tip describes how to set up a successful BC exercise.  Continue Reading

• The impact of ISO 31000 risk management standard on business continuity

  Learn about the new of ISO 31000 risk management standard and how you can leverage it to improve your business continuity management program.  Continue Reading

• A different approach to your business continuity management program

  Explore another way to organize a business continuity management (BCM) plan -- with advance knowledge of the risks and outcomes to be addressed -- in this tip.  Continue Reading

• Top five disaster recovery and business continuity books

  Are you new to business continuity or want to brush up on best practices? Learn about the top five business continuity books for veterans and those new to the profession.  Continue Reading

• Microsoft Exchange Server disaster recovery tips

  Learn the best way to recover from a disaster affecting your Microsoft Exchange Server system and Exchange Server DR best practices.  Continue Reading

• Hot sites and cold sites in disaster recovery planning

  Learn about the differences between hot sites and cold sites in disaster recovery planning in this tip.  Continue Reading

• Are cloud disaster recovery services viable for the enterprise?

  Learn about whether or not are cloud disaster recovery services are viable for your organization, and the pros and cons of public vs. private clouds.  Continue Reading

• Off-site disaster recovery: DR solutions for remote offices

  Learn how to find the right off-site disaster recovery solution for your remote or branch office.  Continue Reading

• Disaster recovery strategies for virtual environments

  DR strategies can be deployed in virtualized environments if you have the time and money. Learn how to choose the best DR solution for your virtual environment in this tip.  Continue Reading

• Using storage clustering in disaster recovery environments

  Learn how to leverage clustered storage in your DR environment.  Continue Reading

• Developing an emergency evacuation planning strategy for your business continuity program

  It's critical to have a reliable and safe evacuation plan included in your DR/BC plan. Use these tables to construct one.  Continue Reading

• Disaster recovery site requirements: Building your own DR site

  Take these physical, operational and functional concerns into consideration before you build your own recovery site.  Continue Reading

• Terrorism and counterterrorism awareness for business continuity planners

  Find out how terrorism and counterterrorism can impact your business continuity planning efforts.  Continue Reading

• Disaster preparedness and recovery for flood disasters: What DR planners need to know

  Floods pose a serious threat to companies, their IT infrastructure and their data. This tip offers advice on DR preparation specifically relating to floods.  Continue Reading

• Facilities management guidelines for business continuity professionals

  If facilities management is integrated with other aspects of disaster recovery and business continuity, disasters may be more easily resolved.  Continue Reading

• Emergency management planning: What business continuity professionals need to know

  Learn about what goes into emergency management planning including activities, standards and best practices.  Continue Reading

• Selecting a managed business continuity service provider

  In this tip, determine whether or not you need a managed BC service provider for BC/DR planning purposes and the steps to take to get the best results.  Continue Reading

• Fire suppression systems and your data center disaster recovery plan

  Fire suppression systems are important to have in case of a fire. Learn about the pros and cons of the most popular fire suppression systems in this tip.  Continue Reading

• IT disaster recovery preparation: A roadmap to DR readiness

  Learn about the most important things you need to do in order to fully prepare for disaster recovery in your data storage environment.  Continue Reading

• Emergency notification systems in business disaster recovery planning

  In this tip, learn about different emergency notification system options for your DR plan.  Continue Reading

• Common pitfalls in disaster recovery procedures

  In this tip, read about the five most common pitfalls in disaster recovery procedures.  Continue Reading

• Small business disaster recovery planning strategies

  In this tip, learn about essential disaster recovery strategies and tools for better DR planning.  Continue Reading

• Top five free disaster recovery plan templates

  Check out our compilation of the top five free disaster recovery (DR) plan templates. Download our free templates and then read our DR plan template guides.  Continue Reading

• Applying disaster recovery concepts to your supply chain management process

  The supply chain management process is critical for many organizations today. This tip explores how DR concepts fit into your SCM process.  Continue Reading

• Emergency power systems in data center disaster recovery planning

  Learn how to choose the best emergency power system for your data center disaster recovery plan.  Continue Reading

• Five steps to a business impact analysis in disaster recovery planning: BIA 101

  Follow these five steps for a better business impact analysis in your disaster recovery plan.  Continue Reading

• Disaster recovery checklists for a successful DR program

  In part two of this series, look at DR checklists on governance, HR materials, legal materials and more to help you organize a successful DR program.  Continue Reading

• Disaster recovery documentation: The ultimate disaster recovery checklists

  Keeping track of all your DR and BC tasks and activities can be overwhelming. Here's a compilation of DR checklists to assist in your DR documentation.  Continue Reading

• How to determine the appropriate failover disaster recovery site: hot, cold or warm

  Choosing between a hot, cold or warm disaster recovery site can be difficult for many storage administrators. This tip will help you decide which is right for your facility.  Continue Reading

• Information security policies and disaster recovery professionals: What you need to know

  It's important for the information security department and DR professionals to work together in a company for added security and data protection. Learn the proper steps you need to take in this tip.  Continue Reading

• A guide to creating a business impact analysis for business continuity planning purposes

  A business impact analysis (BIA) is an important part of your business continuity plan. Learn how to create a business impact analysis in our top five tips collection.  Continue Reading

• Disaster recovery costs: Making testing and planning cost-effective

  DR can often seem daunting to many storage administrators because of its cost. Here are nine ways you can get more cost-effective disaster recovery.  Continue Reading

• Business continuity/disaster recovery jobs and career strategies

  DR and BC professionals looking for work face tough challenges in this economy. Two BC/DR recruiters offer advice about what to do and what not to do when looking for work.  Continue Reading

• Business risk assessments in IT disaster recovery planning

  Business risk assessments are an important factor in IT disaster recovery (DR) planning. Learn how they can help organizations identify and reduce potential threats, and ensure business continuity (BC).  Continue Reading

• Developing a small business disaster recovery plan: Disaster recovery procedures for SMBs

  Learn how to develop a disaster recovery procedure for your SMB and how to get started with DR planning.  Continue Reading

• Evaluating your disaster recovery program's maturity level

  Although many organizations have a DR plan in place, many are not mature or extensive enough. Learn how to evaluate your DR program's maturity level.  Continue Reading

• The pros and cons of IT disaster recovery outsourcing

  Outsourcing DR is becoming a popular option for many companies because of its lower cost. Learn about the pros and cons of outsourcing DR in this tip.  Continue Reading

• The importance of incident response plans in disaster recovery

  Incident response plans are essential in DR and BC because they give added protection to sensitive company data. But many companies do not have one.  Continue Reading

• Business continuity plan auditing best practices

  Follow these guidelines and advice when auditing your business continuity plan to ensure a successful audit.  Continue Reading

• Mapping COBIT and ITIL to your IT disaster recovery process

  COBIT and ITIL are two frameworks that provide measurable controls to assist you in reviewing your DR process.  Continue Reading

• Acquiring key personnel to maintain and update your disaster recovery plan

  Your organization must have the right group of people who will work together to choose the right tools to properly maintain and update your DR plan.  Continue Reading

• Creating a pandemic response for your disaster recovery plan

  As more and more people are affected by the H1N1 flu, companies need to include a pandemic response into their DR plans.  Continue Reading

• How to prepare and plan for a pandemic disaster

  Learn how to prepare, plan and recover from a pandemic disaster in this latest podcast with Paul Kirvan.  Continue Reading

• Disaster recovery plan basics: Updating and reviewing DR plans

  Each organization must decide when it is right to review and update their disaster recovery (DR) plan, but how do you know when it's right for your company?  Continue Reading

• Metrics for measuring business continuity management

  Metrics in tier one and tier two models can be used to measure business continuity performance, ensuring business processes are fulfilling company objectives.  Continue Reading

• Is your disaster recovery (DR) plan out of date?

  Although many organizations initially implement DR plans, many neglect to update critical information to keep them running smoothly.  Continue Reading

• The pros and cons of network-based data replication

  Learn about the pros and cons of network-based data replication for DR.  Continue Reading

• The importance of workforce continuity in a disaster recovery plan

  Strong workforce continuity is important to have in a disaster recovery (DR) plan. Companies must prepare employees for disasters in order for a DR plan to run smoothly.  Continue Reading

• Twelve tips for business continuity management in a recession

  Follow these 12 tips for the most successful business continuity management during a recession.  Continue Reading

• Disaster recovery planning fundamentals: DR testing basics

  A disaster recovery plan is useless unless your company goes through the right steps to test it.  Continue Reading

• Network access during the disaster recovery operations process

  Just as a working network is absolutely essential for normal business operations, the same is true during disaster recovery (DR) operations.  Continue Reading

• Top server virtualization myths in disaster recovery and business continuity

  There's a lot of hype surrounding server virtualization, which is a popular topic in business continuity and disaster recovery. Here's a look at the top server virtualization myths.  Continue Reading

• A sample disaster recovery network checklist procedure

  Because the goals of disaster recovery are time sensitive and critical, checklists make an ideal tool when faced with a situation where those plans get called into service.  Continue Reading

• Properly sizing your uninterruptible power supply for disaster recovery purposes

  If you ever had to try to figure out how big a UPS you need to provide temporary power for your IT equipment, you may have many questions; this tip sheds some light on the subject.  Continue Reading

• Disaster recovery strategies: Eight tips for better DR planning

  Achieving more reliable disaster recovery is still a challenge for most organizations. Learn eight tips for better DR planning in this tip.  Continue Reading

• Change management in disaster recovery and business continuity planning

  Change management is an important process for business continuity and disaster recovery planning for several reasons. Learn about change management best practices and its role in BC/DR planning.  Continue Reading

• Disk array-based data replication: The pros and cons

  Disk array-based data replication often seems like the simplest replication method with the least management overhead. Learn if it's right for your disaster recovery purposes.  Continue Reading

• Data replication options for disaster recovery

  Choosing the right data replication option for disaster recovery can be tricky. Here's a look at the replication options available today.  Continue Reading

• Data replication tools for disaster recovery

  For companies whose recovery time objective (RTO) and recovery point objective (RPO) for business-critical applications is a few minutes, data replication tools represent an efficient strategy for disaster recovery (DR).  Continue Reading

• The economic benefits of a hot site disaster recovery investment

  A vendor-hosted hot site for disaster recovery purposes is an expense that may be better managed via an internal hot site. Learn more about the economic benefits of a hot site disaster recovery investment.  Continue Reading

• Disaster recovery team planning: Guidelines on DR roles and training

  With the amount of standards surrounding business continuity (BC) and disaster recovery (DR), the roles personnel play in planning need to be established. Learn guidelines for establishing disaster recovery roles and training.  Continue Reading

• IBM Tivoli Storage Manager Disaster Recovery Manager best practices

  Learn about IBM Tivoli Storage Manager (TSM) Disaster Recovery Manager and how to set it up to automate disaster recovery and reduce the complexity of media management.  Continue Reading

• The swine flu outbreak: Business continuity and disaster recovery planning for a pandemic

  This article looks at how swine flu may impact your organization and offers practical advice on how to mitigate the impact on your organization.  Continue Reading

• NFPA 1600 vs. BS 25999: Which is right for your business continuity program?

  The amount of business continuity standards has been growing rapidly in recent years. This tip discusses the NFPA 1600 and BS 25999 standards to help you determine which is best for your business.  Continue Reading

• Risk management for disaster recovery planning

  Disaster recovery (DR) planning is typically driven by risk management. This tip focuses on mitigating some of the risks associated with data and storage.  Continue Reading

• Using a tabletop exercise for disaster recovery planning

  A tabletop disaster recovery (DR) exercise provides a practical check list of procedures to follow during a disaster. Learn about the critical procedures and planning documents needed to ensure every disaster scenario has been covered in your ...  Continue Reading

• Including employees in your disaster recovery plan

  To really ensure business continuity, organizations need to protect and support employees while continuing to manage the business. This tip examines key issues that are affecting employees in business continuity and disaster recovery situations.  Continue Reading

• Disaster recovery planning for both internal threats and external threats

  Both internal threats and external threats can wreak havoc to even the best disaster recovery plan. Read important tips about why your disaster recovery plan needs to go deeper than just a business impact analysis.  Continue Reading

• Using business continuity templates for disaster recovery

  Formulating business continuity (BC) and disaster recovery (DR) plans requires a significant amount of time and effort. This tip explores how document templates can guide you through the disaster recovery planning process by providing ready-made ...  Continue Reading

• Disaster recovery planning for mobile phone users

  Any disaster recovery plan that includes cell phone support must restore text messaging capabilities as well as email to text and text to email linking mechanisms. This tip discusses best practices for including mobile phones in your disaster ...  Continue Reading

• Business continuity in the finance and healthcare sectors

  Despite operational differences in financial and healthcare organizations, the need for business continuity is strong in both. This tip discusses how the business continuity and disaster recovery lessons learned in these sectors can be leveraged in ...  Continue Reading

• What you need in a disaster recovery (DR) plan

  Recent reports indicate that as many as half of all SMBs lack a business continuity (BC) or disaster recovery (DR) plan. This tip provides a list of items that companies often discover missing in their disaster recovery plans, policies, procedures ...  Continue Reading

• Top reasons why disaster recovery tests fail

  Too many disaster recovery (DR) plans end up being a documentation exercise and never rise above the day-to-day priorities of the business. This tip explores the top reasons why disaster recovery tests fail and how you can prevent these problems.  Continue Reading

• Disaster recovery planning strategies for email

  Email has become a mission-critical application. Loss of email access can result in lost revenue opportunities, missed contractual obligations and reduced employee productivity. This tip discusses best practices for ensuring email continuity.  Continue Reading

• Conducting a risk assessment for SMBs

  When developing a disaster recovery (DR) plan, conducting a business impact analyis (BIA) is how we determine the potential impact of a disaster on the business. In this tip, Pierre Dorion discusses the risk assessment process.  Continue Reading

• Disaster recovery sites: How to choose the correct location

  There are no clear standards for choosing a disaster recovery (DR) site. So how do you determine the appropriate level of geographic diversity? This tip breaks down how to choose the correct location for your DR site.  Continue Reading

• Business continuity planning on a shoestring budget

  Upgrading DR capabilities is now a major priority for IT decision makers in small to midsized businesses (SMBs). In this tip, Garry Kranz discusses how your business can do business continuity (BC) planning on a constrained budget.  Continue Reading

• Conducting a business impact analysis for SMBs

  A business impact analysis (BIA) can be the most daunting task in business continuity planning and its complexity sometimes overshadow its value to SMBs. This tip offers a simplified approach by focusing on the essential elements of a BIA.  Continue Reading

• How to create a Windows disaster recovery plan

  When disaster strikes, or site outages occur, there's absolutely no substitute for a carefully crafted, well-orchestrated and thoroughly tested disaster recovery (DR) or business continuity plan. The following list is a helpful reminder of the key ...  Continue Reading

• Outsourcing data storage considerations for SMBs

  Outsourcing data storage and backups is an effective way for small to midsized businesses (SMBs) to capitalize on IT without making the investment themselves. This tutorial provides a list for small to midsized businesses (SMBs) to consider when ...  Continue Reading

• How to create a business impact analysis for disaster recovery in 10 easy steps

  A business impact analysis (BIA) is crucial to a disaster recovery (DR) plan. This tip will identify the processes, systems and functions that are critical to a DR plan and help you allocate resources to ensure operational continuity during ...  Continue Reading

• Communication in the workplace during a disaster

  Effective communication can be crucial to a disaster recovery (DR) plan. In this tip, Leo A. Wrobel and Sharon M. Wrobel discuss best practices for ensuring effective communication with employees in the event of a disaster.  Continue Reading

• Five questions to ask disaster recovery service providers

  For many companies, disaster recovery (DR) and business continuity (BC) planning are rushed reactions to a disaster. Proactive DR and BC support can be established with relatively little time investment by employing DR outsourcing services. This tip...  Continue Reading

• Disaster recovery site options

  When planning, setting up and operating a disaster recovery (DR) plan, having alternate sites for IT operations is critical. In this tip, Ed Tittel discusses the specific features, functions and costs of hot, warm, cold and mobile sites.  Continue Reading

• Ten things you must have in your disaster recovery plan

  While disaster recovery (DR) plans are made to be followed, the recovery team must be given the flexibility to deviate from the plan's tasks while still following recovery objectives. In this piece, Ken Koch discusses ten tips for ensuring the ...  Continue Reading

• Achieving effective change management with a disaster recovery (DR) plan

  How can your organization get a handle on change management as it relates to disaster recovery (DR)? In this tip, Kevin Beaver discusses how you can please IT auditors and show management that their DR money is being well spent by leveraging ...  Continue Reading

• How to create a corporate disaster recovery policy

  For the dedicated technologist, disaster recovery (DR) planning can be fun. However, the temptation to plunge into this pool of excitement without planning is often overwhelming. Resist the temptation. This tip discusses how establishing a corporate...  Continue Reading

• RAID levels and application suitability, Part one

  With disk protection for business data, one size does not fit all. Applications and the various categories of data within a given application require different levels of protection. This tip discusses the individual types, or levels of RAID, and how...  Continue Reading