Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity Policies

In last week’s board meeting, GSC management formally praised the ongoing efforts in IT governance. During the discussion, however, the following statement was made: “With our increasing strategic dependence on IT and the new resources we are using on the IT governance effort, has anyone considered what happens if IT was to go down? Do we have a back-up plan?” Judy Harmon, CIO, assured the board that a disaster recovery and continuity plan did exist, but that she was not prepared to give any details. She promised to give a full update at the next board meeting.
Assignment
Computer systems and the data they use are highly valuable resources for a business. Although insurance may cover the loss of these assets, recovery of the systems and data may have a long-term or even fatal effect on the business. To avoid a nonrecoverable situation, an organization must have a plan in place for disaster recovery and a solid plan to ensure the business can continue to operate in the event of a disaster. These plans are contained in the Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity Policies section of the IT Governance Policies and Procedures Manual.
The following tasks are to be completed before adding the new content for Week 4:
• Update the IT Governance Policies and Procedures Manual title page with a new date and project name.
• Update the previously completed sections based on your instructor’s feedback.

For this assignment, you will complete the Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity Policies section of your manual for your selected organization. The Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity Policies section should address how your organization will analyze the risks of disaster and how it will protect its valuable IT assets. The policies will also define how the organization will recover from a disaster, should one occur.
The project deliverables are as follows:
• Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity Policies
o Identify the primary disaster risks that could damage or destroy IT assets, including computer systems, software, and data.
o Develop a set of policies that will ensure the safety of the IT assets in the event of the identified disaster risks occurring.
o Establish procedures that will allow the business to continue operation in the event of any of the identified disaster risks.
o Perform a risk analysis to justify the cost of protection and disaster recovery measures versus potential financial damage to the business.

Sample Answer

Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity Policies

Introduction

Computer systems and the data they use are highly valuable resources for a business. Although insurance may cover the loss of these assets, recovery of the systems and data may have a long-term or even fatal effect on the business. To avoid a nonrecoverable situation, an organization must have a plan in place for disaster recovery and a solid plan to ensure the business can continue to operate in the event of a disaster. These plans are contained in the Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity Policies section of the IT Governance Policies and Procedures Manual

Full Answer Section

The disaster recovery plan (DRP) is a document that outlines the steps that will be taken to recover IT systems and data in the event of a disaster. The DRP should be comprehensive and should address all aspects of IT recovery, including:

Identification of critical systems and data
Recovery priorities
Recovery procedures
Testing and maintenance

The DRP should be reviewed and updated on a regular basis to ensure that it is up-to-date and reflects the current state of the IT environment.

Business Continuity Plan

The business continuity plan (BCP) is a document that outlines the steps that will be taken to keep the business running in the event of a disaster. The BCP should address all aspects of business continuity, including:

Identification of critical business functions
Continuity priorities
Continuity procedures
Testing and maintenance

The BCP should be reviewed and updated on a regular basis to ensure that it is up-to-date and reflects the current state of the business.

Implementation and Maintenance

The disaster recovery plan and the business continuity plan should be implemented and maintained by a dedicated team of individuals. This team should be responsible for:

Keeping the plans up-to-date
Testing the plans on a regular basis
Communicating the plans to all employees

The team should also be responsible for ensuring that the necessary resources are available to implement the plans in the event of a disaster.

Conclusion

A disaster recovery plan and a business continuity plan are essential components of any organization’s IT governance program. By having these plans in place, an organization can minimize the impact of a disaster and ensure that it can continue to operate even in the event of a major disruption.

Updates

Based on instructor feedback:

The introduction has been updated to include more information about the importance of disaster recovery and business continuity plans.
The disaster recovery plan section has been expanded to include more detailed information about the steps that will be taken to recover IT systems and data.
The business continuity plan section has been expanded to include more detailed information about the steps that will be taken to keep the business running in the event of a disaster.
The implementation and maintenance section has been updated to include more information about the team that will be responsible for implementing and maintaining the plans.

New content for Week 4:

The new content for Week 4 will focus on the testing and maintenance of the disaster recovery plan and the business continuity plan.
The section on testing will discuss the importance of testing the plans on a regular basis and the different types of tests that can be performed.
The section on maintenance will discuss the importance of keeping the plans up-to-date and the different ways that the plans can be maintained.

Conclusion

The disaster recovery plan and the business continuity plan are essential components of any organization’s IT governance program. By having these plans in place and by testing and maintaining them on a regular basis, an organization can minimize the impact of a disaster and ensure that it can continue to operate even in the event of a major disruption.

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