DISASTER RECOVERY 
JOURNAL

P. O. Box 510110
St. Louis, MO 63151
(314) 894-0276 
Fax: (314) 894-7474
Internet www.drj.com 
E-mail drj@drj.com

EXECUTIVE PUBLISHER
Richard L. Arnold, CBCP
richard@drj.com

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Jon Seals
jon@drj.com

SENIOR EDITOR
Janette Ballman
janette@drj.com

ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Ed Pearce, CBCP
ed@drj.com

ASSISTANT EDITOR
Pamela Clifton
pamelaclifton@hotmail.com

COPY EDITORS
Jim Hammill, CBCP
Richard Sandhofer
richards@drj.com

ADVERTISING 
Robert Arnold
bob@drj.com

_____________

Corporate

President/CEO
Richard L. Arnold, CBCP
richard@drj.com

Vice President 
Robert Arnold
bob@drj.com

CONFERENCE COORDINATOR
Patti Fitzgerald, CBCP
patti@drj.com

CONFERENCE REGISTRAR
Merce Knese
mercedes@drj.com

CIRCULATION
Laura Baugh
laurab@drj.com

EXECUTIVE COUNCIL
Mike Croy, Forsythe
Jeff Dato, MBCP, KPMG
John Jackson
Edward S. Devlin, E.S. Devlin & Associates
James Hammill, CBCP, JMH Consulting Inc.
Pat McAnally, SunGard Availability Services
Brian Turley, Strohl Systems
Belinda Wilson, Hewlett-Packard


INTERNATIONAL
CONTACTS
England: Thom Hetherington
Business Continuity
Phone: 0161-237-1007
thomh@tempus.demon.co.uk
Japan: Shinji Hosotsubo
Crisis Management and Preparedness Organization
Phone: 03-3519-6270
fax: 03-3519-6255
hosotsubo@cmpo.org
Brazil: José Carlos Ferreira
Disaster Recovery Mercosul
Phone and fax: 011-3666-9506
jocaff@uol.com.br

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When You Least Expect It…

By MICHAEL BARBARA, CBCP

EDITOR’S NOTE: This article serves as a follow-up to articles published in the winter 2004 and summer 2004 editions featuring the trials and tribulations of a new BC professional.

One never knows when disaster will strike. As every business continuity professional (BCP) should know, being prepared to face any type of encumbrance is the true test of how effectively a corporation can recover from a disaster. Some of the most often cited references in the business continuity literature have shown that those entities that are not formally prepared to recover from a disaster close operations within a few years.
Ironically, I had the unfortunate luck to face two potentially disasterous events within a short time span. It was the level of preparation that contributed to an effective recovery.

All of a Sudden…
Since my arrival with the firm as a BC coordinator in March 2003, not much has transpired, necessitating my direct intervention with respect to a disaster occurring. Besides the odd network interruption, there was no need to call upon the BCP and formally declare a disaster. I was performing my usual duties as a BC coordinator: preparing BC plans, conducting BIAs, creating a DRP, nothing out of the ordinary for a person in my position.

Then, suddenly, two major events transpired within a 10-day span:

• On Thanksgiving weekend, a major water main erupted in the parking area in our building, requiring the aid and assistance from city workers. In brief, water had penetrated several important closed rooms, damaging very important work documents, furniture, and stationary. The work documents were stored downstairs for safekeeping since they were regularly referenced and needed not to be stored offsite. The entire clean-up process took approximately four days to fully contain the damages.
• Ten days after this first incident, a fire alarm was set off in the server room at 1 a.m. Receiving the call from the building’s security, I immediately proceeded to call all necessary resources and made my way to the office. Without delving into great details, the fire alarm was set off because something had occurred with the main uninterrupted power supply (UPS) unit that feeds our servers. After the fire department forcibly entered the double-paned glass window by removing it from its hinges, the necessary resources were contacted by the building’s main security and all was contained within a matter of six hours.

I learned many lessons that bear mentioning. I will also describe some of the key events that transpired during these incidents, which may aid some practitioners what to do – and what not to do – in case of disaster.

Lesson 1:
Always Be Prepared … and Expect the Unexpected
I this lesson in a previous article, but I cannot bear stressing the importance of “expecting the unexpected.” For instance, having the contact information of your most critical resources at your fingertips saves much time and effort when you need it the most. You don’t want to be squandering for hours, trying to retrieve critical information that could have been easily referenced if you had taken the appropriate measures to do so in the first place. Basically, effective planning and preparation is key to an efficient recovery. Such pre-determined lists need to be part of an on-going maintenance process that should be automatic.

Lesson 2:
Anyone Home?
In the same light as above, ensuring that more than a single mode of communication is documented within vendor, client, and internal resource lists is vital. Having multiple ways to contact someone ensures a critical person may be contacted. Possessing only home phone numbers is not realistic in this day and age. Cellular phone numbers, pagers, personal faxes, Blackberry PIN numbers, and e-mails need to be incorporated in the documentation process. I learned this step the hard way.

Lesson 3:
Outdated vs. Updated Information
Relying on the work of others, or depending upon work that has not been updated for some period of time, cannot be part of an effective business continuity/disaster recovery plan. Assuming that something has not changed because it has never changed in the past is denying the inevitable: outdated information will result in frustration and lost time looking for an updated version. Periodically reviewing and validating all of your critical information, from seldomly used vendor lists to often changing internal lists, must be instilled in the maintenance process of the planning cycle.

Lesson 4:
Resource Availability
As mentioned before, a first step in being well prepared is to properly document all information the corporation deems vital in case of a disaster. In the same vein, nothing can be further from the truth than possessing updated contact lists. Being thorough not only pertains to having all of the possible contact information from one key individual within a single function, it also means having multiple contact points for that same function. For example, I needed proper authorization to move all affected files during the flooding situation to a proper storage area with our third-party service provider in order to have them treated. I called everyone down the hierarchy within the respective department – approximately 15 people. After going through the whole list, I finally spoke to the administrative assistant. I learned you have to have more than one contact person per department.

Lesson 5:
The Post-Mortem Report
One of the most important processes stemming from the aftermaths of a disaster is the documentation of what transpired. Consolidating and validating the chronology of events that occurred is a tremendous task. After doing so for both events, the building’s reports did not coincide with what we had. Coordination was needed from both sides in order to collaborate and corroborate the sequence of events. Such a process needs to be properly determined and documented beforehand. Do I start with the cause of the events? Should I then process with the accounts from each party? I learned you cannot simply rely on one version of the story to recapitulate and comment on such disasterous events. A consensus needs to be discussed amongst all parties involved to establish clarity and reliability in the results.

The Road Ahead
This article adds credibility to the assertion that a disaster can – and does – occur at any moment in time. Having nothing chaotic happen during the first 18 months as BC coordinator and then, suddenly, being affected by two incidents within two weeks proves that point. Nevertheless, a positive outcome from these incidents is the reassurance and likewise acceptance of having a BC plan and full-time coordinator in place.
I was encouraged and honored for a job well done. Upper management felt justified in making the decision to implement a business continuity program. The events that transpired, and the handling of those events, have likely ensured the continued existence of a BC program for many years to come.

Michael Barbara, CBCP, is the recently-appointed business continuity coordinator at a law firm. He has been employed there since March 2003. He has previously worked as a business analyst and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in administration.

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