COSE Update - September 2008 - (Page 25)

able to do everything at once, but identify the low-hanging fruit,” Goodman advises. A Physical Plan. Where are the nearest building exits in case of a fire? One accounting firm Mintz consulted with realized that boxes of paperwork blocked hallways. Keep on hand names and contact numbers for key building personnel. Goodman suggests finding out who is the “building incident manager.” That could be a property or building manger, a floor warden or department manager. Finally, practice fire drills, designate a meeting spot for all employees outside the building, and document this process. Data Backup. “Just a few years ago, e-mail wasn’t considered a mission-critical application by a lot of people,” Goodman says. “Now it is. Some companies are under compliance to have an e-mail safe for seven years.” Computers store data on hard drives, which potentially can crash. Magnetic tape is a medium for storing, but it is not a permanent solution. “Disk storage isn’t as expensive as it used to be,” Goodman says, noting that disk is more reliable than tape, but it doesn’t hurt to be redundant and store data on both, of course keeping these mediums in a fireproof storage locker off-site (the owner’s home, a storage facility, etc.). For data-intensive businesses, consider placing tier one applications and servers in a reliable data center environment. Goodman says the minimal amount of basic coverage is roughly $250 a month for up to 100 gigs of data. Mintz notes that Yahoo! and mozy.com offer a backup service for $99 per year for businesses that require less complex data solutions. A Telephone Plan. If your phone service is hosted “in a cloud,” and your company has IP phones or relies on an Internet connection for service, where will calls be directed if your headquarters shuts down because of a power outage, fire or other unforeseen emergency? Sturgeon emphasizes the importance of redirecting IP phone services to a designated back-up location, whether that is a company cell phone or another physical location. Consider maintaining an analog landline for emergency purposes. That way, if cell phone towers fail, Internet services go down and your VoIP phone systems are out of order, you can rely on the old standard, advises Patrick Shannon, health and safety emergency response supervisor at Lubrizol in Wickliffe. and available,” he says. Also, if you haven’t already started succession planning, at least put some thought into who will take control if something happens to you or key managers. “What happens if the leader dies?” Goodman asks. “Who will take control?” Network Redundancies. “So much of our world is contingent on technology, it’s difficult to run business without it,” Sturgeon says. Build network redundancies into your BCP. If you rely on a VPN connection or public Internet service, what is your backup plan if it goes down? “We’re not faxing orders or picking up the phone as often as we send e-mails or order inventory online,” Sturgeon points out. “If we lose those network links, we are unable to produce, to bill, to move funds, to trade stocks—we are unable to do a lot of things.” Identify what network connections you rely on for critical business functions. Who are contacts at each service provider? Document this information (You can’t e-mail your service provider if your Internet is down…do you have phone numbers on hand?) Think: communication in layers. The Old-Fashioned Phone Tree. Maintain and regularly update a phone tree of all employees, vendors and individuals critical to your business operation. Distribute this phone list to key employees who will be responsible for notifying staff in case an emergency arises. Keep the list in hard-copy form at your home so it can be accessed in event of a network shutdown, power failure, fire or other physical disaster at your business. “Test your phone tree every six months to make sure people’s home numbers or cell phones haven’t changed,” Mintz advises Assign roles. Determine who in your business will serve as the point person directing the emergency plan. Clearly assign roles necessary to carry out emergency procedures and assign these roles to employees. Create a steering committee, Goodman advises, and include people involved in everyday operations and IT functions. “They already have the daily pressure of always being robust and up, Set a Notification System. How long would it take you to contact by phone every employee? Even if your staff roster includes fewer than 10 individuals, you may spend 20 minutes dialing and verbalizing a warning or important message. A notification system simultaneously dispatches thousands of SMS (short message service) text messages. “Most organizations view a notification system as a key way of informing a large number of people very quickly,” says Roy Phelan, chief operating office of Inspiron Logistics in Cuyahoga Falls. Small businesses can benefit from a text system because instant messaging drastically improves crisis communication efficiency. “You can send a text message and say, ‘Everyone needs to hop on this conference call so we can explain a situation that occurred with the business,’” Phelan says, illustrating one way of utilizing a notification system. He also notes that companies can partner texting with fire alarms by sending an SMS notification that “This is a real fire.” “It doesn’t replace a fire alarm, but it increases a higher sense of urgency,” he says. Test and Evaluate. Do not assume all systems will run smoothly without running regular tests. “Provide a foundation for your business continuity plan by always testing that plan and improving it,” Mintz says. Conduct a fire drill. Test your phone tree. Call your phone service provider and ask to exercise your backup plan. And when storing data, be sure to check that your backup service is working properly. “Continue to carefully assess how your company functions internally and externally,” Mintz says. “Determine the staff, materials, procedures and equipment necessary to keep the business up and running. “Prevention doesn’t cost that much money,” she adds. “Clean-up can cost a ton.” ● september 2008 • cose update • 25 http://mozy.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of COSE Update - September 2008

COSE Update - September 2008 Contents Memo Upfront Vision Tech Business Interrupted The “Bigness” of Small Business What’s the Plan? People Telecom Advocacy Communications Health Pipeline Connect Arts My Cause Plugged In

COSE Update - September 2008

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