Ready set, go--
Your server crashed, your hard drive died, and your office caught fire...what do you do?
A wise person once said, "Adversity is a fact of life. It can't be controlled. What we can control is how we react to it." Once the panic attack ebbs, what action follows? Do you know what to do?
Luckily, fire safety drills are standard building management practice to help people prepare for an emergency. These drills are critical exercises to verify that emergency systems, procedures, and conduct work. How about your data?
Do you have a fire drill for your IT?
-Is there a checklist of disaster recovery procedures, passwords (who has access to this list), data fire-proof lock box off site, logged backups archives?
-Who can you call to get data checked and back online, server facility? IT support?
-Where is the list of IT assets, hardware and software warranties with serial numbers?
-How long would it take you to get back online at a different location?
Your insurance can replace everything but your data. Before you start snipping away at your IT budget, if you conduct an IT data dire drill and fail, it might be advantageous to hire a consultant to put together a check list, a report on your technical assets, and design a workable disaster recovery plan for your company.
Before I close this topic, one final quotation, more food for thought from those wiser than myself, in the words of Jean Jacques Rousseau, "adversity is a great teacher, but this teacher makes us pay dearly for its instruction; and often the profit we derive, is not worth the price we paid."
Many in the industry--survivors of many perfect storms, the most bizarre series of coincidences, gremlins gone mad--who live in a world where fact is always stranger than fiction-- can provide experiences and perspectives to design and train staff in proper disaster recovery procedures. In other words, profit from the experiences of others, these tips are priceless.
