The Latest Security Acronym – BCDR
Information Technology, like the Russian language, loves acronyms. Not sure where that came from! Once I read that the Russian people love to create acronyms because they have such long hard words to pronounce. Seems to me that in America we use acronyms more for the fun of it. Right? I mean what’s not to like with the acronym TEAM (Together Everyone Accomplishes More)? Or FUN (Finally Understanding Nothing)! Hahaha!! You get my point. But what is BCDR? It has to be important. And, no. It doesn’t stand for Black Cat in a Dark Room! Although that was a great guess. Security can be total obscurity! Thank you for that. In reality, BCDR stands for…
Business Continuity Disaster Recovery
Continuity has always been at the heart of the back-up process. Now it gets front-billing. BDR was the acronym for backup disaster recovery. Now, however, there is the significant realization that disaster recovery must be accomplished by expecting the unexpected. Technology can help with that. But there’s more to it.
What about the business processes? That’s the continuity part. So BC, as business continuity, is in essence saying that just because you get all your data back on your server it doesn’t mean that your business is suddenly able to walk in step with current business demands. Continuity is significantly lost when disaster comes. Whether natural or criminal, storm or hacker.
There needs to be a plan stating what steps are necessary that enable your business to get back into the rhythm of the daily requirements of your business. A continuity plan details the steps to get back in step with customers, vendors, employees and business goals. Important!
Margret Rouse has written an excellent article on BCDR, where she says,
Business continuity (BC) and disaster recovery (DR) are closely related practices that support an organization’s ability to remain operational after an adverse event. The goal of BC/DR is to limit risk and get an organization running as close to normal as possible after an unexpected interruption. As cyber threats increase and the tolerance for downtime decreases, business continuity and disaster recovery gain importance
Is it THAT important?
You may be saying, “Why bother with all the extra work, cost and consideration? Our company just isn’t that big. There’s not that much we’d need to do!” Datto produces devices that store data. They are certainly at the heart of the recovery process. In answering the question, “What is BCDR,” Datto says,
No matter the size of your organization you can’t afford to not have a BCDR plan in place. Truth is, one in ten businesses will experience a disaster that results in loss of data and or services. Both are critical for business to function. Out of those that experience [disaster] 25% close their doors for good. Game over.
So it is important, and important for us all. Big or small. You simply don’t want another reason for seeing your business cease to function and call it quits.
Sufficient Backup Power?
Perhaps you feel you’ve got it covered. After all, you might say, “We run a tape every night, make a disk weekly, and have a NAS box sitting next to our server. We are really covered.” Did you think that? Please listen closely…
Traditional backup methods such as tape, disk, and strict NAS devices are no longer sufficient.
And if I can make it more clear with an image, I am more than happy to oblige. After all, at Alliant we are truly concerned about your business continuity and disaster recovery.
So, the traditional method takes months, weeks, days. The intelligent business continuity plan reduces the recovery time to hours, minutes or seconds. Time is money. When you can’t process your customers’ business needs, they go somewhere else. Will they come back? Perhaps. But why put them to such a test? Why not be prepared to keep in step with your customers’ needs with a Business Continuity Disaster Recovery plan from Alliant? We are ready to help. (626) 461-1300. Tell the friendly tech who answers, “I read all about BCDR in the RTN Newsletter. Now I want to put it into action!” And I thank you!
What does BCDR look like?
Before I let you go. Please take a moment to think through four elements of what an effective BCDR program looks like.These four descriptives come from a great article at Sirus Edge written 2012 – running way ahead of the curve! What do they do, these business that have a successful BCDR plan?
- They begin with the end in mind. That is, they have a clear vision of where they want to go and how they plan on getting there.
- They are proactive. That is, a full resilient plan is not merely a reaction to a disaster so it won’t happen again. While a true disaster can point to shortcomings that cannot be anticipated, how much better to think through all expected and unexpected events before they occur, for the sake of clarity and completeness. By studying recent disasters/disruptions of other similar businesses, you can learn from their mistakes. “History can be a great teacher.”
- They understand that BCDR is more than a technology issue. Technology components are tools to support the business objectives. Therefore, contingency planning is a factor of business planning. Understand your business better by thinking through what recovery means. For you.
- They are prepared for the real recovery. Human nature would lead us down the path of least resistance or simplest testing. However, that is not adequate preparation for “real recovery.” “It is best to utilize realistic scenarios that match the vulnerabilities your company faces, as much as possible.” Another way of considering this aspect is to acknowledge that testing your BCDR Plan is more than going through a checklist. As one person. At your desk.
Is Alliant part of your BCDR Plan? We should be! You know your business. We know the technology that runs your business. Include Alliant (626) 461-1300.
