"Business Continuity Planning
Where Do You Start?"

Part 1 of the series on Disaster Recovery Planning

By Geoffrey C. Tritsch and Dr. Robert Kuhn
COMPASS CONSULTING INTERNATIONAL, INC.

Introduction

No campus is immune. In the wake of the tragic events of September 11th, there is sure to be a resurgence of disaster preparedness planning. Towards that end, ACUTA has asked Compass Consulting International, Inc. to put together a series of articles on this significant and timely issue. Over the next 6 issues of the ACUTA Newsletter, we will try to give you a framework to think about disasters, preparedness, avoidance, mitigation, recovery, and planning.

Here's an outline of what we will cover, month-by-month:

• November Where Do You Start?
• December Did the Lights Go Out? (Events, Results, and Impacts)
• January What Are You Afraid Of? (Risk Analysis)
• February What You've Got and What You Need. (Information Gathering)
• March Writing and Selling the Plan
• April A Living Disaster Plan (not Living with a Disastrous Plan)

"Where Do You Start?"

What you need for a plan depends a great deal on what you're trying to accomplish. To start, we suggest you ask yourself a few questions:

• Why are you developing this plan?
  (We're really concerned. We need it for a risk audit. Somebody said so. Where have you been since September 11? ...)
• Who is driving the planning process?
  (IT, Risk Management, External auditors, Senior Executives ... Every successful project has a champion, someone high up to shepherd it along. Who will be your champion?)
• What are the business issues related to this planning process?
  (Is the scope of the disaster preparation a single service (like telecommunications or the financial system), all campus technology, or the institution as a whole? Is there a commitment to provide the resources (people and dollars) that are needed for the disaster planning process, as well as a commitment to address the shortcomings that you find?)
• What are the desired end results?
  (Real protection, a workable plan, getting them off my back, a "cookbook" with call-out lists and step-by step procedures, a methodology...)

How you answer these questions can make a significant difference in what you do, how you do it, how long it will take, what resources you need, and, ultimately, how successful you might be.

General Dwight D. Eisenhower said, "In preparing for battle, I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable." This is also true for disaster planning. It is important to understand that the real value in disaster planning lies not in the report that is produced (although call-out lists and procedures are definitely of value), but in the following three areas:

1. The decision-making/assessment process. (What could happen? What if it did? How do you prevent, mitigate, or resolve the impact? Is it worth it?)
2. The data gathering process. (What do you have? Where is it? Who uses it? For what? How is it at risk?)
3. The increased awareness that results from such a project.

In the next installment, we will begin to look at the assessment process.

Disaster Recovery Planning Series, Part
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |6 | Next|

Sample Business Continuity Planning and Disaster Recovery services.

Geoffrey Tritsch, President of Compass Consulting, has been a technology consultant specializing in higher education since 1980. He is a frequent presenter at workshops and conferences and a contributor professional journals.

As Senior Consultant with Compass Consulting, Dr. Robert Kuhn focuses on assisting clients with management and planning for information technology. His core competencies extend deep into the fundamentals: systems and applications technologies and complex networking.

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