The need for disaster recovery management

Vishnu K. Mahmud, Contributor, Jakarta

The attack on New York and Washington has prompted many corporations to review their disaster recovery management systems. In addition to the loss of human lives, corporations based in the twin World Trade Center buildings have lost millions of dollars in computers, office equipment and vital documents.

A few years ago, these losses would have been enough to bankrupt a company as it would have taken time for them to regroup, reorganize and rehire the resources needed to continue their business. If a company plans for disasters properly, they can get back in business within hours. In short, they should have a disaster recovery plan.

What exactly is disaster recovery? According to Ian Whalley of Jakarta's Global Hostnet (http://www.globalhostnet.com), disaster recovery is "a component of business continuity planning and represents the preparation and activation of alternative operating facilities in times when the primary facilities are not available". All companies should have business continuity plans to anticipate disasters such as earthquakes, riots or fire.

One of the most prized assets for a company is their digital data. All documents will have a digital copy stored on the network and it is vital that the data is backed up continuously. There are many ways to do this. One way is to make backups daily or weekly using magnetic tapes and then store them offsite. Another is to make instantaneous copies of network data using a dedicated connection to a separate offsite server, a concept known as "mirroring".

The first option is less expensive but subject to data loss. If for example a company makes backups every 5 p.m., and a virus was to hit the server at 4 p.m., all new data from yesterday would be lost. The mirroring option is more secure as it copies data the moment it is created. Should a virus hit the server, the network administrator would switch over to the backup server and carry on. This option is a bit more expensive, as it requires a dedicated line and network but then again, how much is your data worth?

According to Djarot Subiantoro of Sigma Indonesia (http://www.sigma.co.id), disaster recovery is not only vital for corporations, but also mandatory for the banking industry. Bank Indonesia has ruled that every bank should have a disaster recovery center at least 20 to 30 kilometers from their operation center.

Global HostNet and Sigma, well-known for their IT company Bali Camp, offer disaster recovery services. Both companies have world-class data centers along with redundant power backups and dedicated backbone networks to secondary centers outside of Jakarta. The data centers are manned and managed 24 hours a day. But more importantly, both companies offer disaster recovery consultancy services to undertake the integration of a customer's disaster recovery plans with a clients operational plans.

As Subiantoro states: "It's worthless if the IT is up and running but there are no people or mechanisms to do the transaction or operation".

There should be set procedures during emergencies such as establishing a chain of command and installing key decisionmakers. What are the priorities of the business, what should be done, who should be contacted, etc. Some companies may focus too much on the IT angle without even considering the business aspects in an emergency.

Should the staff not be able to get to the office for any reason, such as flooding, fire or earthquake, both Global Hostnet and Sigma can offer a secondary office space far from the client's main site for their staff to handle the most important and time sensitive transactions. This is extremely vital for banks, IT companies and financial institutions.

More information can be found online via the Disaster Recovery Institute (http://www.dr.org). The institute also offers professional certification to ensure the high standards of the disaster recovery industry. Whalley is an associate disaster recovery planner.

These past few weeks have shown the vulnerability of the world's business and economy. Business continuity planning and disaster recovery management are vital for companies to continue to operate and employ millions of people. Should they encounter problems, it is fundamental for these businesses to solve them immediately in order to continue serving the public.

Otherwise, these companies could go out of business, lay off personnel and start a cycle that could eventually shake the confidence of the local and world economy. A teacher once told me: Luck favors the prepared mind. Anticipating and preparation are vital for business survival.