Editor's Note: Preparing for the Worst

Managers describe their plans for protecting the business from disasters and avoiding classic blunders.

By Mitch Betts

April 19, 2004 12:00 PM ET

Recommended

Computerworld - Are you overspending on disaster recovery? I know it seems like a ridiculous question. How could you be? Newspaper headlines throw more risks -- and regulators throw more requirements -- in your face almost every day. Besides, this is a special report on disaster recovery, so of course it's full of suggestions of Things You Ought to Do, which usually require spending more money, not less. Even if your disaster recovery situation is pretty good, you still have to worry about your suppliers and outsourcing contractors.

But it is possible to overspend on disaster recovery, especially if you listen to every vendor saying you must do x, y and z to comply with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. (None of those sales weasels have actually read the law or its regulations, you can bet on that.)

Tim DeLisle, managing principal at Corigelan LLC, a disaster recovery consultancy in Chicago, says the way to avoid overspending is to establish three tiers of disaster recovery based on business requirements. It begins with the CIO asking business managers which few applications are truly critical and require recovery within 24 hours to keep the business afloat. You don't have to mirror everything! The second tier of applications, which require recovery in 48 to 72 hours, may need only inexpensive tape backup, while the third tier may need nothing at all, DeLisle says.

All that the business executives and regulators really require is that you take prudent steps for business continuity. You don't have to bankrupt the company.

See the full special report.

Mitch Betts is Computerworld's Features editor. Contact him at mitch_betts@computerworld.com.

Preparing For The Worst

Stories in this report:

Read more about disaster recovery in Computerworld's Disaster Recovery Knowledge Center.

Recommend Digg Twitter ShareThis

Email Print Send Feedback Reprints

Jump to comments

Additional Resources

Microsoft

DirectAccess and UAG: Better Together

Here are some of the key reasons why you would want to run Unified Access Gateway with DirectAccess.

Microsoft

Case Study: Energy Firm Tightens Protection, Simplifies IT Work

Review how one energy firm tightened protection and simplified IT work using business-ready security solutions.

Sybase

NEXT-GENERATION MOBILITY PLATFORMS

In this white paper, IDC analyzes the role of next-generation mobile enterprise platforms as organizations seek a more strategic deployment of mobile solutions.

Learn the important issues you must consider before starting your next mobility initiative. Get your mobility white paper from IDC now, compliments of Sybase.

White Papers & Webcasts

Why Email Must Operate 24/7 and How to Make This Happen
Learn how to avoid an email outage by implementing a hosted email continuity solution.

Insight from an Auditor: Ensuring a Successful PCI Audit
Ensure a successful PCI audit. Watch this webcast now.

Preventing Data Loss When Migrating to Microsoft 2007
Download this new white paper today!

Beyond Basic Back-Up: Disaster Recovery
It's not always a flood or fire- 50% of "disasters" are caused by users. Learn more now!

Serving Up Faster Registration
Download this Case Study now!

Disaster Recovery 2008: Reduced Costs and Improved Performance
How long can your Enterprise afford to be without your data? With an accelerated disaster recovery program, you never have to answer this...

Technical Guide: Using a Comprehensive Virtualization Solution to Maintain Business Continuity
Learn how virtualization reduces operational risk.

HP StorageWorks EVA4400 & Microsoft
Download this video, free, compliments of HP.

Virtual Workforce: The Key to Expanding The Business While Cutting Costs
How to cut costs while growing your business. Learn more now!

Data Protection and Disaster Recovery with iSCSI and VMware
Get this on demand webcast now

All White Papers | All Webcasts