Disaster recovery planning and management
Planning is the number one tool a business has at its disposal to prevent a crisis. Cyber attacks and natural disasters can be unavoidable and unpredictable. If DR teams plan for the worst, they can avoid being caught off guard. Get helpful disaster recovery advice, templates and tests that will prepare your organization for almost anything.
Top Stories
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Tip
30 Nov 2023
High availability and resiliency: A DR strategy needs both
An organization's resiliency during and after a crisis depends on many factors. High availability is one aspect of overall resiliency that DR teams can't afford to overlook. Continue Reading
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Tip
08 Nov 2023
Top 5 IT disaster scenarios DR teams must test
While most organizations are prepared to face small-scale interruptions, they cannot overlook a larger, more complex crisis just because it seems less likely to occur. Continue Reading
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Tip
20 Feb 2019
How to determine your disaster recovery objectives
Ideal recovery objectives are different for every business. Luckily, there are four basic steps you can follow to ensure you set the right RTO and RPO. Continue Reading
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Guide
15 Feb 2019
Disaster recovery strategy guidelines: Preparation and response
A disaster recovery and response plan should be unique to each organization, but there are universal best practices that can facilitate rapid and comprehensive incident response. Continue Reading
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Tip
30 Jan 2019
How to ensure a secure disaster recovery operation
As if recovering from a disaster isn't pressing enough, organizations also need to be mindful of potential security breaches when they are most vulnerable. Continue Reading
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Tip
24 Jan 2019
4 key qualities in a disaster recovery team consultant
An experienced and reliable disaster recovery consultant can offer significant benefits to a DR team. When choosing a DR consultant, it helps to be picky. Continue Reading
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News
17 Jan 2019
Assurance, ClearView merge business continuity services
U.S.-based Assurance Software's merger with U.K.-based ClearView extends the business continuity providers' international reach, helping customers who do business globally. Continue Reading
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News
02 Jan 2019
AsTech uses Flexential data center for backup and DRaaS
When remote automotive diagnostics provider AsTech grew too big for its on-premises data center, it turned to colocation with Flexential for backup and disaster recovery. Continue Reading
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Feature
31 Dec 2018
Disaster recovery plans, continuity take center stage in 2018
Were you worried about your DR plan in 2018? You're far from alone. Preparation for ransomware and natural disaster threats loomed over the heads of DR planners in the past year. Continue Reading
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Tip
31 Dec 2018
Focus more on disaster recovery strategy in 2019
Evolving disaster recovery technologies have eased some of the common DR burdens over the past year, but strategic areas such as funding and security could use some more attention. Continue Reading
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Guide
31 Dec 2018
Essential guide to business continuity and disaster recovery plans
Not confident in your BC/DR plans? You're not alone. Nearly every organization struggles with comprehensive BC/DR planning that covers all potential threats and setbacks. Continue Reading
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Tip
21 Dec 2018
Disaster recovery trends and technologies to watch
Major disaster recovery developments have changed the market yet again, and it's time to get ready for a new year in DR technology, before you end up lagging behind. Continue Reading
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Tip
19 Dec 2018
Disaster recovery planning tools: Predictive analytics for DR
Today, predictive analytics and AI are fully realized disaster recovery tools. In the unpredictable world of DR, predictive analytics is a particularly powerful technology. Continue Reading
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Tip
11 Dec 2018
3 common disaster recovery challenges from 2018
The past year was a big one for disaster recovery teams, for better or for worse. Major challenges included the prevalence of ransomware, GDPR compliance and the cloud. Continue Reading
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Answer
11 Dec 2018
How does VMware Admission Control work?
Get to know VMware vSphere's Admission Control tool and use it to reserve the resources necessary for VM failover with cluster resource calculations and slot policy. Continue Reading
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Answer
10 Dec 2018
How does vSphere HA application monitoring work?
Use heartbeats, VM monitoring and application monitoring to fully examine the causes of VM unresponsiveness. Adjust sensitivity levels to focus on the level of detail you need. Continue Reading
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Answer
06 Dec 2018
Ensure VM high availability with vSphere DRS and HA
Combine Distributed Resource Scheduler and vSphere High Availability to design balanced failover clusters. Pay attention to affinity rules, which can further support availability. Continue Reading
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Answer
05 Dec 2018
How does vSphere high availability affect VM restart order?
If you encounter a VM failure, you can use vSphere HA to automatically detect and restart VMs. Before you restart the VMs, you'll also need to meet resource and host criteria. Continue Reading
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Tip
26 Nov 2018
10 steps for optimal IT disaster recovery plan design
Have you ensured your disaster recovery planning is comprehensive and able to be understood by everyone involved? Our guidelines will help set you on the right path. Continue Reading
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Answer
26 Nov 2018
What's the difference between a hot site and cold site for DR?
The hot site vs. cold site debate requires users to understand how each DR site works and the resources needed. While one is more budget-friendly, downtime can be a deciding factor. Continue Reading
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News
15 Nov 2018
Everbridge mass notification sparkles for Tiffany
Tiffany & Co. uses the freshly updated Everbridge Critical Event Management Platform in a number of ways. It recently had to put the mass notification capability to swift use. Continue Reading
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Tip
09 Nov 2018
Disaster recovery vs. backup: Plan for and prioritize VM workloads
Before admins design a recovery plan, they must plan out which VM workloads need a disaster recovery environment and which need backups. Weigh these factors before making the call. Continue Reading
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Infographic
05 Nov 2018
Successful IT resiliency strategy based on high availability and DR
Stringent yet realistic RTOs and RPOs are crucial to resiliency plans aiming to minimize interruptions to businesses operations should disaster or disruptions strike IT resources. Continue Reading
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Podcast
31 Oct 2018
IBM manager: Cyber-resilience strategy part of business continuity
Cyber resilience is increasingly a must for company executives. IBM's Andrea Sayles details the latest threats, as well as best practices for how to be prepared for attacks. Continue Reading
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Answer
31 Oct 2018
How to create an emergency phone tree and template
When disaster strikes an organization, employees must be alerted. Using a call tree in emergency situations is a time-tested way to effectively communicate events and next steps. Continue Reading
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News
09 Oct 2018
Arcserve cloud platform eyes comprehensive business continuity
The Business Continuity Cloud brings together the spectrum of Arcserve's technologies. Through the web-based user interface, users can perform most jobs in a few clicks. Continue Reading
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Answer
04 Oct 2018
What 5 skills should a disaster recovery team leader have?
Is the right person in charge of your disaster recovery planning? Look for a DR team leader who has the knowledge to run the show and the accessibility needed from a good manager. Continue Reading
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Quiz
02 Oct 2018
Test your business continuity best practices knowledge
When crafting a business continuity and disaster recovery plan, it's helpful to keep in mind some basic best practices. Don't find yourself caught off guard by getting complacent. Continue Reading
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Tip
27 Sep 2018
Malware response plan recovers data in 6 steps
Responding to and recovering from malware is a complex process that requires significant preparation. With a response plan in place, you can be ready to prevent a malware disaster. Continue Reading
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Tip
18 Sep 2018
GDPR and disaster recovery: How to ensure you're covered
After all of the preparations and changes your organization has gone through to prepare for GDPR, make sure disaster recovery doesn't get swept under the rug. Continue Reading
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Tip
06 Sep 2018
Highlight these 4 areas in your malware incident response plan
The malware threat is on the rise, and recovery is no simple process. When planning a malware response, it's vital to get down specifics and eliminate unknown factors. Continue Reading
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Answer
29 Aug 2018
Can an SMB business continuity strategy compete with larger firms?
When crafting a business continuity plan, an SMB must try and meet customers' enterprise-level expectations, while using its available resources to the fullest. Continue Reading
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Guide
28 Aug 2018
Recovering from ransomware: Defend your data with best practices
What does it take to recover from a ransomware attack? In most cases, it's planning, testing and resources. Is your organization prepared for the worst? Continue Reading
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Tip
27 Aug 2018
4 areas where compliance with GDPR and disaster recovery intersect
Your disaster recovery plans may have to change following the need for compliance with GDPR. These four elements involve backups, personal data, security and archiving. Continue Reading
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Answer
24 Aug 2018
What standards for business continuity aid in compliance?
Business continuity and disaster recovery compliance is a valuable asset and may require a deeper understanding of modern standards and changes your organization needs to make. Continue Reading
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Answer
15 Aug 2018
What does the ISO 22330 business continuity standard cover?
With ISO/TS 22330, the International Organization for Standardization covers the issues related to the people involved in BCDR incident response. Continue Reading
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Tip
30 Jul 2018
With a data recovery plan, take advantage of all resources
Data security and data recovery have a lot in common, and both can cause a lot of strife if not handled properly. Are you using every disaster recovery resource available to you? Continue Reading
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Tip
23 Jul 2018
Five tips for disaster recovery insurance and funding
Having a complete disaster recovery plan is essential. So is having DR insurance and the money available to fund the recovery. These steps will help you succeed with the latter. Continue Reading
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Tip
18 Jul 2018
Five data recovery planning steps to protect vital assets
Accurately restoring lost data after disaster strikes requires planning, patience and logic. If your goal is a smooth recovery process, here's what you'll need to know beforehand. Continue Reading
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Tip
06 Jul 2018
Use an IT outage communication plan to recover from a host crash
Efficiently recover from a host crash by maintaining transparency for your stakeholders and evaluating the resources available for a full root cause analysis. Continue Reading
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Quiz
25 Jun 2018
Can you recover from ransomware? Take our quiz and find out
Ransomware recovery is a complex, often expensive process. Are you prepared in the event of an attack? It may be time to ask yourself the difficult (or perhaps easy) questions. Continue Reading
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Answer
18 Jun 2018
Is your cloud DR strategy agile enough?
As business requirements evolve, not every DR tool can keep up. In the age of agile IT, there are drawbacks to consider with a cloud-based disaster recovery strategy. Continue Reading
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News
14 Jun 2018
Iron Mountain data recovery adds ransomware protection
The isolated nature of Iron Mountain's latest Iron Cloud offering is important to its battle against ransomware. The Virtual Cleanroom provides an offline recovery environment. Continue Reading
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Tip
11 Jun 2018
3 signs you may need a business continuity service provider
Using a BC/DR service provider may give your recovery plan a much-needed boost. As new technologies and standards arise, a partner can address changing needs. Continue Reading
- 06 Jun 2018
- 06 Jun 2018
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Opinion
06 Jun 2018
A data replication strategy for all your disaster recovery needs
Know your IT environment inside and out to choose the right data replication product for your organization's current and future disaster recovery requirements. Continue Reading
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Opinion
06 Jun 2018
Disaster avoidance requirements ensure business continuity
Include disaster recovery and avoidance requirements as design goals when creating storage and production environments to ensure business continuity during weather events. Continue Reading
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Answer
30 May 2018
Which modern disaster recovery tool is often overlooked?
When crafting a DR strategy, there are a number of useful tools available. To avoid missing out on some serious benefits, make sure you take a look at all available options. Continue Reading
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Tip
29 May 2018
Best practices for social media and business resilience
Solid business continuity and resilience depend on a thorough examination and update of company social media policies. Otherwise, you may have a disaster on your hands. Continue Reading
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News
17 May 2018
Protection from ransomware requires layered backup, DR
A strategy for protection and successful recovery from ransomware includes everything from monitoring tools to offline storage. Organizations should use multiple methods. Continue Reading
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Feature
02 May 2018
Test your ransomware recovery plan to safeguard data
Testing your restore process prior to an attack is a major part of surviving a ransomware infection. Reduce recovery time and ensure data is secure with planning and preparation. Continue Reading
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Tip
24 Apr 2018
What to do when a BC/DR plan goes awry
Insufficient testing or not knowing what to expect could result in a failed business continuity plan. Luckily, there are steps you can take if your BC/DR planning goes belly up. Continue Reading
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Answer
17 Apr 2018
How does the ISO 22316 standard cover resilience?
Definitions for business continuity and resilience sometimes clash, but both processes help an organization stay on its feet. A new ISO standard tackles the latter. Continue Reading
- 03 Apr 2018
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Opinion
03 Apr 2018
Want IT resiliency? Look to both security and disaster recovery
Security, protection from hackers and ransomware, disaster preparedness and disaster recovery are all means to the goal of resilient IT infrastructure and business processes. Continue Reading
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Answer
30 Mar 2018
What are vital elements of a workplace emergency response plan?
Emergency response planning needs to be specific and varied enough that it will enable an organization to recover in the event of many different kinds of incidents. Continue Reading
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Feature
30 Mar 2018
Key elements of an effective incident response playbook
In this book excerpt, cybersecurity expert and author Bryce Austin highlights the importance of creating an effective incident response plan and delineates its key elements. Continue Reading
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News
22 Mar 2018
Tintri replication speeds agriculture firm's backup, restore
Tintri hybrid flash enables Life-Science Innovations to complete replication every night for all of its servers. The system can provide a server restoration in seconds. Continue Reading
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Answer
14 Mar 2018
What is a short business continuity history?
From mainframes to the cloud, the business continuity profession has seen a lot over the decades. How did we get to the business continuity process of today? Continue Reading
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Tip
08 Mar 2018
Don't let your BC/DR plan get lost in the shuffle
How can you maintain consistency in your BC/DR strategy in a world of constantly evolving technology? If it's a reactive part of IT, you're already behind. Continue Reading
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News
28 Feb 2018
Nakivo Backup & Replication software gets automated
Nakivo updates its software for quick and automated recovery. While the vendor has a focus on virtual data protection, it has expanded to include cloud support. Continue Reading
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Tip
28 Feb 2018
Lessons in business continuity and disaster recovery planning
When crafting a business continuity and disaster recovery plan, you have to anticipate the unexpected. Here is what we can learn about BC/DR from two high-profile disasters. Continue Reading
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Podcast
26 Feb 2018
IT business continuity and disaster recovery: Past to future
From protecting mainframes to recovering from cyberattacks, the methods for business continuity and disaster recovery have changed, but the practice remains vital. Continue Reading
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Answer
21 Feb 2018
Which data protection trends will take off next?
Expect data protection technologies to veer toward an expansion of recovery capabilities, as organizations need to be able to recover in multiple locations -- and fast. Continue Reading
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Tip
19 Feb 2018
Converged backup and recovery strategies offer efficiency, reliability
Are you confident in your backup and recovery strategy? Make sure you have locked down the speed, testing and security of both processes to recover data appropriately. Continue Reading
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Tip
14 Feb 2018
A ransomware recovery plan for SMBs in five steps
SMBs are especially at risk of cyberattacks. Follow these steps, and even with a limited budget and staff, you could successfully recover from ransomware. Continue Reading
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Answer
29 Jan 2018
What are the top disaster recovery trends for 2018?
Expect disaster recovery market trends to include consolidation and simplification. Vendors should also note that quick failover and recovery time remain top needs for customers. Continue Reading
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Tip
15 Jan 2018
Create your best GRC program with business continuity and DR
Any governance, risk management and compliance program should work with an organization's business continuity process. There are challenges to consider, though. Continue Reading
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News
08 Jan 2018
IT DR planning helps Frost Museum of Science weather Irma
The Frost Museum of Science in Miami braced for Hurricane Irma with a solidified DR planning, storage and data center infrastructure, and it suffered minimal damage from the storm. Continue Reading
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Tip
08 Jan 2018
Using virtualized disaster recovery to fight ransomware
When it comes to fighting and protecting against ransomware, there are some major features of virtual disaster recovery that top physical environments. Continue Reading
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Tip
03 Jan 2018
Don't overlook these business resilience plan essentials
Business resilience planning requires preventive and proactive protections across power supply, systems, cybersecurity and backup procedures. Staff planning is important as well. Continue Reading
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Feature
27 Nov 2017
Data center disaster recovery plan template and guide
Read our guide on data center DR planning, and then download our free template to assess how your data center facility and its infrastructure would perform during a disaster. Continue Reading
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Feature
08 Nov 2017
Free business continuity policy template
A business continuity plan can help organizations of any size prepare for a disaster. Resiliency, recovery and contingency planning are key elements to get systems up and running. Continue Reading
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Feature
25 Oct 2017
Business continuity and disaster recovery testing templates
BC and DR testing can be major challenges for any organization. Our free templates offer ways to incorporate testing into your overall management process. Continue Reading
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Tip
02 May 2017
Protection against ransomware takes flight with canary files
As ransomware attackers get smarter, it's important for data protection systems to step up their game. Canary files and infection detection are a good start. Continue Reading
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Answer
02 Mar 2017
How do I design and initiate a call tree procedure?
A call tree can be an important piece of disaster recovery planning. Follow these steps for call tree design and execution to ensure your company is ready for unplanned events. Continue Reading
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Tip
11 May 2016
Risk assessment analysis and BIA data in BC plans
Examine how BIA and RA data are used to formulate business continuity strategies. It's common to bypass these steps, but the data can result in more precise and focused BC plans. Continue Reading
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Tip
28 Apr 2015
Use business continuity to boost your corporate governance process
Business continuity planning can round out a corporate governance plan by identifying potential areas of failure and how to survive them. Continue Reading
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Tip
18 Jun 2014
Six steps to build an effective enterprise risk management program
Follow these six steps to develop an enterprise risk management program that maps risks and establishes countermeasures. Continue Reading
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Feature
03 Feb 2014
10 mistakes to avoid in your disaster recovery planning process
Don't make your DR planning process harder than it is by trying to do too much or cutting corners. Careful planning is key to a successful recovery. Continue Reading
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Podcast
02 Apr 2012
Building a DR site vs. outsourcing disaster recovery
Paul Kirvan explains some of the pros and cons of using a third-party vendor to provide a backup DR site versus building your own site. Continue Reading
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Tip
16 Jan 2012
Removing a bad patch using Microsoft Windows Server Update Service
This tip offers information about how to remove a bad software patch using Microsoft Microsoft Windows Server Update Service. Continue Reading
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Feature
01 Aug 2011
Disaster recovery in the cloud explained
Discover whether or not disaster recovery in the cloud is a good choice for your organization, and the pros and cons of different cloud DR approaches. Continue Reading
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Tutorial
27 Jun 2011
Business impact analysis questionnaire template
Download our free business impact analysis questionnaire template we've created to help you jumpstart your BIA process. Continue Reading
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Tip
29 Mar 2011
Free disaster recovery planning templates
Download our free templates today to help create the best disaster recovery plan for your business. Continue Reading
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Feature
25 Jan 2011
Disaster recovery security: The importance of addressing data security issues in DR plans
Data security issues have a constant presence in the IT industry and should be addressed in DR plans. It's not enough for storage managers to only cover basic security measures. Continue Reading
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Tip
24 Jan 2011
Disaster recovery planning for your help desk: A help desk template
The help desk is a vital part of IT operations, but it's often not included in disaster recovery plans. Download our help desk template for DR planning. Continue Reading
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Answer
06 Dec 2010
Maximum tolerable period of disruption (MTPOD) vs. RTO and RPO
Learn what maximum tolerable period of disruption (MTPOD) means for disaster recovery planners vs. the terms RTO and RPO. Continue Reading
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Quiz
05 Jul 2010
Business continuity planning methodology quiz
Test your knowledge of business continuity with our business continuity planning methodology quiz. Continue Reading
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Answer
02 Jun 2010
What is a business impact analysis questionnaire and what types of questions should be included?
Harvey Betan explains that a BIA questionnaire is used to gather valuable and important data about a company, the industry and other background information in this expert response. Continue Reading
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Tip
19 Mar 2010
Due diligence on a disaster recovery plan enables business continuity
Creating an effective disaster recovery plan is essential to business continuity, regardless of ambiguity around IT controls for data protection. Continue Reading
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Answer
02 Nov 2009
What's the difference between a disaster recovery plan and a business continuity plan?
Kevin Beaver describes the difference between disaster recovery and business continuity planning in this ask the expert response. Continue Reading
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News
19 Oct 2009
Disaster recovery site options: Hot, warm and cold sites
Learn about the pros and cons of three disaster recovery site options: hot, warm and cold sites. Continue Reading
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Tip
15 Jun 2009
Change management in disaster recovery and business continuity planning
Change management is an important process for business continuity and disaster recovery planning for several reasons. Learn about change management best practices and its role in BC/DR planning. Continue Reading
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Tip
16 Mar 2009
Including employees in your disaster recovery plan
To really ensure business continuity, organizations need to protect and support employees while continuing to manage the business. This tip examines key issues that are affecting employees in business continuity and disaster recovery situations. Continue Reading