Disaster Recovery Journal

My  topic of choice for today’s webinar listen-into was the one on Cyber Threats and Cyber Security by Brendan Byrne from IBM in which Brendan shared both IBM’s and other organizations experiences from the dark world of cyber threat.

According to a recent IBM survey, the biggest threat perceived by Business Continuity professionals is cyber-security.  Some of the challenges faced include BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) which is on the increase; the widespread use of social media with its pros and cons; workforce mobility and the increasing use of cloud-based solutions.

The relocation of your company’s technical infrastructure to the cloud may appear to be a frightening one—every aspect of your technology will need to be adjusted to appropriately reflect its new location. However, there is good news: according to a recent article in CIO, more than half of businesses are moving their capabilities to the cloud, and the majority of these companies are noticing increased profit.

One of the core reasons cloud solutions save customers money is because companies no longer need to utilize resources such as manpower (and the salary to fuel this manpower) to keep their infrastructure running. A cloud server will practically run itself, since there is no complex architecture to maintain.

If you are new to the cloud hosting industry, you may be slightly confused by the variety of options available regarding cloud storage. You may keep hearing the term “cloud computing” and not quite understanding what it means. You may not even be sure if the cloud is just hype. Choosing a cloud hosting provider can be difficult, but with just a few tips, you will be fast on your way to your new host.

Today marks a rather somber anniversary - the anniversary of the earthquake and tsunami that attacked and devastated Japan. Over 18,500 people were killed, 300,000 people were displaced and there are still 3,000 people unaccounted for. 

Along with the deaths and missing people are the residual impacts this disaster left behind: countless people are still displaced, reconstruction is slow to happen, many small business owners are still left waiting for government assistance, and questions still linger about how this disaster could have been predicted.

The BCI has started its ‘award season’ with great élan and enthusiasm and has added to its growing repertoire of BCI Regional Awards taking the headcount to six this year.

Australasia and Europe have now joined their Asian, Indian, Middle Eastern and North American counterparts in the BCI Global Awards Programme, which puts the international spotlight on BC achievements and talented BC professionals around the world.

Each day on the news, there is a new headline regarding a large corporation that has had its website intruded by anonymous hackers who have released a surprisingly large amount of personal information. The first step to maintaining a large website is to understand the fundamentals of network security.

One of the goals we have set for this year's BCAW is to make Business Continuity a global trending topic through the initiation of a tweet-a-thon. ‘Tweet-off’ will be at 10:30 GMT on Monday, 18th March 2013, marking the beginning of Business Continuity Awareness Week 2013 (BCAW) and will run throughout the whole week, and beyond.

What is a trending topic?

Virtual Private Server (VPS) hosting is a great solution for those whose needs and expectations are not met by shared hosting or whose website has outgrown their shared hosting plan. Virtual Private Servers provide users with root-level access to the server, while still keeping the ease and simplicity of a shared hosting account.  Essentially, VPS is like a dedicated server, except that you “own” only part of the server’s resources.

You may ask, why not choose dedicated server hosting then? Businesses who choose VPS hosting usually cannot afford dedicated servers, but would like more from their hosting services than provided by shared hosting. While dedicated servers are a big financial and technical investment, VPS offers an “in between” option between this and shared hosting - complete with technical support and no requirement to own the hardware.

The business world today is all about staying current and competitive in your industry. As your small business looks to the future, consider these tech upgrades to help your business remain up to date and competitive in today's market. The following suggestions are relatively easy and affordable for most small businesses to implement:

Ensure Your Internet Speed is Up To Par

For both small- and large-scale businesses, there appears to be a growing trend: executives are adopting cloud computing into their everyday activities with little to no aid from their in‐house IT departments.  In fact, the role of the Chief Information Officer (CIO) is changing at a rapid pace due to the quick evolution of cloud computing and cloud hosting. 

Since the introduction of the computer, IT departments have been tasked with fixing various infrastructure issues regarding storage, email and accessibility.  As cloud technology evolves, it would appear that these positions are also evolving; the use of applications such as Dropbox and Google Apps have virtually eliminated these issues, allowing IT employees to work on more critical problems.