Disaster Recovery Journal

Chances are very high that you have an iPhone, tablet or smartphone in your pocket, on your desk, or in your briefcase. You are connected to your office, your family and your friends at all times. This is in part thanks to the apps that we all like to download and use. We all use apps for time management, contact lists, playing games, budgeting, etc.

Since we're all using these devices and apps, we thought it would be good idea to take a look at the apps specific to disaster recovery and business continuity. We've put together a list of some of the more popular and maybe a few lesser known apps. Use this list of apps as a resource and of course, please post a comment letting us know if we've missed an app. (We are planning on updating the website with an app resource page - so the more feedback from you the better. You will notice that we did not include the apps that are essentially ebooks about disaster recovery and business continuity - this is another blog post all together!)

So maybe you've been working in the field of business continuity and disaster recovery for a while now - you've got lots of experience, a roster of happy clients, and you stay up-to-date with the latest trends and tools. But how do you add validity to your experience and set yourself apart from others who are new to business continuity or disaster recovery?

The short and easy answer is: certification. To learn more about certification and how this applies to your profession, we went to the experts and asked our questions to the team at the Business Continuity Institute (BCI).

This weekend marks the one-year anniversary of the disaster that shook Japan in 2011. The world literally watched in shock as this country was ravaged by a tsunami and earthquake. The damage was extensive, with explosions at the Fukushima nuclear plants, rolling black-outs, innumerable missing people and deaths, entire towns and villages being wiped out and deep economic ramifications for Japan's already fragile economy.

The 9.0 earthquake and tsunami have changed the lives of countless Japanese - many of whom who are still struggling to return to the life they once had.

It might appear obvious but business continuity plans are not very useful if your team is not aware of them. You might be thinking this is a ridiculous statement - but it does happen. Business continuity plans get created and approved but the education, training and awareness is not done to ensure that everyone impacted is up-to-date.

This glaring lack of communication can often end in even more headaches should a threat or disaster occur.

A few weeks ago we had a blog post about the business continuity plan (BCP) and what this really means for your organization. By thinking about the definition of the term and inherent actions within it, you can better understand what BCP really means for you and the longevity of your organization.

In this week's blog post, we'll take a deeper look at the disaster recovery plan (DRP). Of course, don't forget to visit the DRJ Glossary to get a very solid grounding in the basic terms and terminology associated with BCP and DRP.

Since you’re a visitor to the DRJ blog and website, it is generally understood that you’re here to learn more about the business continuity plan (BCP) and disaster recovery plan (DRP). The easiest way to get the basics on these two critical aspects to the longevity of any company or organization is to read the DRJ Glossary.

The DRJ Glossary provides a solid grounding on the key terms associated with BCP and DRP. For the purposes of this blog post, it is useful to include the definitions of each here:

Crisis Communications. Hmm, a pretty heavy term. This phrase makes me think of managing messaging, open communication lines, and being ready for the unexpected. What is interesting is that there are two types of crisis communications:

• the kind used by public relations agencies to protect the image of a famous/well-known person or organization.
• the kind of communications used when a disaster or threat becomes a reality.

At first glance it would appear that these two types of crisis communications are quite far apart. But actually, the techniques and methods used to protect and manage a public image are very similar to those practices used by a company that is experiencing a flood or service outage.

This is a crazy time of the year. Chances are you're juggling business demands, family demands, and not to mention last-minute holiday shopping! Yes, you've got a lot on the go and 2012 is right around the corner. So be patient when we suggest that now is the time when you need to make room in your busy schedule for your 2012 disaster recovery/business continuity planning and preparedness.

While it might seem that 2012 is far away and that you don't need to think about or even plan for the New Year just yet - you need to take a closer look at the calendar. Christmas is a short and action-packed four days from now. This means there aren't many working days left in December and lets admit it - often the first few days back at the office in January can be a bit slow and sluggish.

Don't know if you've noticed but it is December 1... Kind of amazing how quickly the fall months have passed and now a lot of us are looking ahead to the winter months. Depending on where you live, you may or may not feel the full-on cold, snow, sleet, ice, and overall frosty conditions - but regardless of your location, you will feel the impacts of winter. 

We are all connected and this means that even if you live for example in Texas, your business can and will be impacted by a snow storm in New England. What this means is that all of us need to be prepared and ready for the next few months of uncertain weather conditions. 

As a visitor and reader of this website - including all of the useful articles and webinars provided by DRJ, you know by now that you need to be ready and prepared. Disaster recovery preparedness and business continuity are no longer "ideas" they are hard and fast business necessities for small and large business and governments. But still for some reason, people like to believe that "it won't happen to them" and that "things will be okay".

It is hard to understand how people who manage businesses, raise capital, interact with other decision-leaders and run countries can somehow still have such a misguided understanding of disaster, threat and business continuity. Now, this blog post could easily turn into a rant about needing to be prepared - but we all know how much water a rant holds... So instead, to help drive home the need for being prepared and forward-thinking - we'll take a look at two instances of disaster and two very different experiences with it. Our hope is that this is blog post that you can show to your decision-makers who are on the fence about creating a disaster recovery plan and investing in a business continuity system. Or maybe you're still not sure - well hopefully this post will push you over the edge and get you on board with being prepared and ready.