Politicians in Illinois, a state subject to frequent seismic activity due to quaternary deformation, are wisely preparing their citizens for earthquake conditions by declaring February 2012 "Earthquake Preparedness Month," according to a press release from the Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA).

Calling it the "Great Central U.S. ShakeOut," reports state that more than 400,000 Illinois residents have registered to participate in the drill on February 7, in addition to millions of others participating in Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama, Indiana, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Missouri, in remembrance of the 1812 New Madrid earthquakes, the most intense recorded earthquake series that affected these states. 

The drill is reported to focus on "Drop, Cover and Hold On" protective actions, in which participants will practice quickly getting on low ground, under a stable surface and holding on tight so items dislodged from seismic activity are less likely to cause injuries.

"This drill is helping to raise public awareness of the earthquake risk in our region and teaches people what they can do to stay safe if an earthquake occurs," stated Jonathon Monken of the IEMA in the release.

While these Midwestern municipalities are taking appropriate steps for disaster preparedness, areas lacking such specific emergency protocols would benefit from enlisting the services of a certified third-party disaster consultant who can draft a continuity of operations plan tailored specifically to the characteristics of the municipality. The consultant can help draft emergency exercises and analyze points of weakness so that should disaster conditions manifest, the municipality will be optimally prepared. 

As Ted Brown, CEO of KETCHConsulting, mentions in a recent Storage Magazine article on disaster recovery sites, large well-funded corporations with aggressive recovery objectives may have the need and funding to design a secondary data center. But, while such sites are generally equipped to immediately continue daily operations at the primary site, they may not be appropriate for companies with smaller budgets, as the article estimates that internal recovery solutions could cost up to $25 million in fixed fees.

A markedly cheaper solution for businesses with fewer resources is configuring an external cold site. According to the article, for a fixed fee of as little as $5,000, a company can design a facility equipped with basic communication, power, heating, ventilation and air conditioning, but no technological infrastructure.

Alternatively, for fixed fees of as little as $15,000 a company could opt to design a more sophisticated alternate location called a warm site outfitted with technology but not the business' customer data, the article indicated.

However, the most viable option for companies with moderate budgets may be for them to design a fully functional external hot site equipped with the primary site's full data scope. While hot sites are the most costly of the external disaster planning solutions, estimated in the article at as little as $25,000 in fixed fees, a business owner must consider the time that can be saved through the quick deployment of a more complete alternative site with advanced technological capabilities.

Moreover, by using the services of a third-party disaster recovery service, a certified consultant can help your business level the playing field with external vendors and in many cases, cut fixed or rental fees in half. Further, with the best of these services guaranteeing free consultation unless the business definitively saves money, this option can be very low risk.  

Mercy Health of Joplin received $20 million in federal funds to build a medical center that will replace the former St. John's Regional Medical Center facility, which was destroyed in the storm. An additional $18 million was granted to the Missouri Department of Transportation to repair federal roads and highways, while $24.2 million will be split among local counties, cities and businesses looking to rebuild.

U.S. Senator Roy Blunt of Missouri applauded the federal aid, saying it's a responsibility of the federal government to step in when local administrators are challenged by the effects of a catastrophic storm.

"When a disaster surpasses the ability of states and communities to rebuild, I believe the federal government should prioritize spending to help the people whose lives and livelihoods are impacted," Blunt said in a statement. "These grants will go a long way in assisting Missourians."

The incident proved to be a challenge to Missouri's continuity of operations plan, as the tornado's direct trajectory landed a devastating blow to Joplin's most densely populated areas. It may also have served as a warning to municipalities around the country that had not recently reviewed their own continuity of operations plan.

Developing and analyzing this plan with the help of a dedicated consultant can help cities and counties rebound as quickly as possible from similar natural disasters.
 

In addition to talking about basic steps such as data privacy audits and data collection and retention, Richmond also detailed the reasons why it's important for companies to publicize the improvements they make to ensure the privacy of their users' personal information.

"A privacy policy is a legal document that customers rarely read," she wrote in her piece. "But, they do expect simple and clear descriptions of company data practices at key moments, such as when they're asked to provide data and when you add new features to a product or service or make policy changes."

Richmond also indicated that this is particularly valuable to small online businesses, many of which are only building up their perception in the public eye. Amazon.com was one company she cited in her report, as she lauded the internet-only retailer for the way it protects the customer data it uses to provide product recommendations.

As a result of its planning, customers are able to confidently share their information with the retailer, and in turn, the business is able to ensure a pleasant user experience. While companies may want to keep the steps they're taking to secure their own data more private, these organizations look for the same signs of trust when choosing a consulting firm that could help them with their data management.

For example, by choosing a consulting group with a proven history of providing savings on hot site contract negotiations, and years of experience in the industry, business owners are working toward ensuring a more pleasant disaster recovery, should it's best data protections fail.

However, while virtualization offers businesses the ability to cut costs and streamline their IT operations, these services still need to be backed up so that a serious data loss during or after a disaster can be mitigated. But, by taking simple steps with the right assistance, business owners and IT managers can gain the knowledge they need to back up their virtual infrastructures and make the best decisions for their business.

According to a recent report by the cloud computing research firm Cloudtweaks, there are some features that business owners should examine before choosing how to best backup this essential business data. For example, cost-effectiveness was cited as an important aspect, as the research group indicated that as much as 50 percent of a company's IT budget can go toward backup if owners fail to make the right investment.

In addition, the researchers advise business owners to look for a backup vendor that is capable of migrating data from physical to virtual (P2V) and virtual to virtual (V2V) servers. The report also suggested that backup services that provide an efficient use of storage and flexible backup storage options could be highly valuable to business owners.

But, some busy business owners may not have the resources to dedicate a member of their IT staff toward handling all aspects of the company's data backup. As such, a disaster recovery consulting group that provides support for this business data – as well as the hot sites and workgroup centers clients need for their physical activities – can be the biggest asset.

Contacts:
Robert Nakao
Alyssa McCarthy
Dan Martin

Ted has booth #2108

Continuity Insights website info: Continuity Insights Information

Breakout Sessions website: Breakout Sessions

Monday April 16 – 2:30 pm to 3:45 pm
E4
DR & BCP Are Not One & The Same: Do You Have Both?
Edward (Ted) B. Brown III, President & CEO, KETCHConsulting

Far too often DR and BCP are treated synonymously. While many organizations have excellent DR plans, they may often have poor BC plans. Attendees will leave this session knowing if they truly have a BC plan, for both the business processes and all employees. Attendees will learn about the critical components of a BC plan, how to get management buy-in, what to ask the vendors, what to look for in solutions and the common missing elements. This session is your roadmap for a complete BC plan.

Pre- and Post-Conference Workshops website: Register

For more information: More Info

POS6A - Thursday, April 19, 2012, 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

A Workshop On Emerging Trends And Approaches: Integrating And Collaborating Resources In Preventing Violence In The Workplace

Presented by KETCHConsulting

Workplace Violence in general is a complex and dangerous occupational hazard affecting every type of workplace requiring ongoing multiple intervention strategies in cooperation and coordination with the organizational leadership. Taking proactive protective measures that recognize that the workplace could be at risk from a disgruntled employee or domestic violence spillover into the workplace are realities workplaces must be prepared to address. This workshop presentation address the “Five Stages of An Active Shooter, and will attempt to address the value of proactive Workplace Violence Prevention Programs that incorporate an integrated and collaborative approach using multiple intervention strategies that should move the proactive prevention approach to reality. An approach if driven and reinforced through senior leadership commitment can underscore the importance of tying management commitment to worker safety, supporting a critical analysis of workplace environments to identify and manage at risk situations, examine current capabilities, review limitations and illustrate the value of collaboration in minimizing the impact of policy decisions on workplace security. In the end, consider the legal implications of hollow workplace violence prevention policies and violence prevention plans.

Presented by Felix P. Nater, CSC, President of Nater Associates, Ltd., Security Management
Consultants, and Ted Brown, CBCP CBCV MBCI, President & CEO of KETCHConsulting

Cost:$395.00 (if attending PRE1 and/or POS6B, deduct 10 percent. Two or more registrants and ACP members receive a 10 percent discount. Discounts cannot be combined.)

To register: KetchConsulting

For more information: Send More Information

POS6B - Thursday, April 19, 2012, 1:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

A Tabletop Exercise On Crisis Management Planning, Workplace Violence Prevention And Response Planning As A Business Continuity Consideration
Presented by KETCHConsulting

Workplace Violence, though preventable, requires vigilance and a devoted management commitment to worker safety and security in reducing the conditions and situations that ultimately expose the workplace to the violent act of homicide by a disgruntled employee or domestic violence spillover incident in the workplace. This workshop and discussion will attempt to show that having the ability to examine current capabilities and limitations in the pre-incident phase allows a proactive organization the opportunity to assess capabilities and limitations and plan for the eventuality even if such an event never occurs. The logic applied is similar in the evacuation drills and exercise in order to identify organizational and individual responsibilities during a Hostile Intrude/Active Shooter Incident. Using a modified desktop simulation exercise, we will present a domestic violence scenario gone awry in a workplace setting that attempts to engage as many entities within the organization in exercising the value of coordination, cooperation and collaboration. In the end, the objective is inspire attendees to review their own capabilities by adopting new approaches, and changing current practices or updating existing policy and procedures.

Presented by Felix P. Nater, CSC, President of Nater Associates, Ltd., Security Management

Cost:$395.00 (if attending PRE1 and/or POS6A, deduct 10 percent. Two or more registrants a
nd ACP members receive a 10 percent discount. Discounts cannot be combined.)

To register: Register

For more information:Send More Information

According to the media outlet, 2011 was a difficult year for business owners, as many had their grand plans derailed by storms, earthquakes and tsunamis. However, what separated SCG and Trakulhoon from the pack was the approach he took to disaster recovery planning following political upheaval in Thailand in 2010, where the company is based.

SCG, which operates more than 200 companies in the cement, paper and petrochemical business, enacted a plan that, aside from political disruptions, was designed to ensure smooth operations and deliveries in the event of natural disasters.

After adjusting to previous challenges, SCG was able to continue even as severe flooding covered nearly a quarter of the country in 2011, the news source said. As such, SCG was able to remain in contact with clients and customers in the aftermath. In addition, Trakulhoon oversaw the movement of more than 400 of the company's employees to hot sites, and even helped workers whose homes were affected by the flood secure temporary hotel rooms.

"If their houses are flooded, how can they come to work?" He told the news source. "Some had to move out of their homes and rent apartments. I'm glad that when everything settled down, our employees turned themselves into volunteers to help other flood victims."

As a result, business owners that are aspiring for similar accolades may be wise to consult a disaster recovery specialist that can help them best adapt to whatever challenges 2012 has in store.

Just as with regular doctor's visits, business owners should also be performing regular check-ups for the company's disaster recovery plan, as this can help ensure business continuity in the event of a natural disaster or serious data breach. Most experts suggest this revision process should occur at least twice a year. But, while business owners may know they need to perform this kind of regular assessment and how often, they may not be aware of the best ways to go about its implementation.

While every business continuity expert provides their own personal touch to this routine, most recommend the same steps. For starters, business owners are generally instructed to keep their disaster recovery plans current, meaning that information such as conference bridges, vendor contact information and backup generators should be reviewed and altered when necessary.

Business owners should also book test dates so that they can conduct exercises and improve these files regularly. That's because in the event of any challenge, the chain of command needs to be strong throughout the company. As such, every player needs to know how to access, reference and execute the details of the plan, and familiarity may be the key.

Still, exact exercises may be difficult to design during the course of a normal workday, as every business owner and employee feels the stress of daily deadlines. As a result, employers who want to ensure that their business is prepared for any challenge should contact a disaster recovery consulting firm that can provide hands-on assistance.

Highlighting this disparity was a recently article published by CSO Australia, security and risk management company based in Queensland, which released tips for business owners due to the recent earthquakes that have hit New Zealand and Japan.

According to the news source, the biggest mistake companies can make is by only putting in place basic security measures to secure their data. While beneficial, a firewall, data backups and strong passwords can only provide so much support. Since customer and business data could be lost, the financial records of thousands of individuals can be at stake. And while it is possible, but unlikely, that an instance of data loss might not result in significant harm to consumers or the company, the damage the company's reputation could suffer, as a result of lost data, could be far worse than any material loss.

While working together, however, IT professionals and business owners may only be able to accomplish so much, especially if it's a young business where neither party has prepared this type of document before, or in instances where tensions arise. In this case, a disaster recovery consulting firm with years of experience can be the most beneficial asset to a company.

In addition to providing valuable advice and a fresh, objective prospective, these consulting organizations can arrange for training to be completed with one of their representatives, allowing employees to engage in table top exercises and other beneficial security protocols.

However, on December 16, Hinchey along with his fellow members of the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate voted to provide $6.4 billion for the FEMA Disaster Relief Fund. An additional $1.7 billion will be given to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to help secure against damage from future disasters.

While ultimately this was a victory for Hinchey and those seeking disaster relief, the congressman issued a statement expressing his dissatisfaction with the delay many Americans experienced as a result.

"Congress waited far too long to approve comprehensive disaster relief funding, but the good news is that adequate funding will be available for farmers, families and businesses who are still struggling to overcome the challenges created by Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee," Hinchey said in a statement.

However, business owners that experienced a slow disaster recovery due to these storms may want to invest resources in initiatives that could help them better prepare for a smoother small business recovery the next time around. By working with a disaster recovery consulting firm, for instance, small business owners can learn how to best safeguard their operations and essential data from threats.