In April 2011, I appeared as a guest on the ZDNet Webcast, “20 Ways to Prepare, Survive and Recover from an IT Disaster.”
During the live, one-hour show, ZDNet blogger David Gewirtz, TechRepublic blogger Scott Lowe, TechRepublic Editor-in-chief Jason Hiner, and I discussed the critical importance of preparing for and responding to a disaster–natural or man-made.
Here’s the complete list of 20 things the panel discussed:
- Planning is key
- Design disaster plans with “APIs”
- Backup, backup, redundant backup
- Set up alternate sites and backup HQs
- Understand your entire supply chain
- Choose vendors with rock-solid DR plans
- There will be lawyers
- There will also be germs
- Define your chain(s) of command
- Monitor the implementation of your plan
- Test your plan with disaster drills
- Operate DNS servers in multiple locations
- Create a database of important master lists
- Learn to ruthlessly prioritize
- Put “the ship” first
- Plan for people as well as servers
- Develop and pack “bolts” kits
- Train and educate everyone
- Build for robustness and failure
- Be flexible
How would you rate your IT department's level of disaster readiness?
Every IT professional should watch this webcast. You can view the recorded Webcast through ZDNet’s download directory or by clicking the link above.
Note: This Webcast was sponsored by HP and Intel. You must be a registered TechRepublic or ZDNet member to view the Webcast and the registration information you provide will be shared with the sponsors.
