The pitfalls of business continuity planning
Your service provider, tasked with looking after your company’s IT, has kept your business up and running for the past 10 years. Unfortunately, that kind of longevity in developing continuity plans can result in some providers overlooking or underestimating certain issues. Here are some of them.
Over-optimistic testing
The initial testing attempt is usually the most important. It’s when IT service providers can pinpoint possible weak points in the recovery plan. However, what usually happens is that they test the system in full, instead of via a step-by-step process. This results in them missing out specific points, with too many factors overwhelming them all at the same time.
Insufficient remote user licenses
A remote user license is given by service providers to businesses so that when a disaster strikes, employees can log in to a remote desktop software. However, a provider may only have a limited number of licenses. In some cases, more employees will need to have access to the remote desktop software than a provider’s license can allow.
Lost digital IDs
When a disaster strikes, employees will usually need their digital IDs so they can log in to the provider’s remote system while their own system at the office is being restored. However, digital IDs are tied to an employee’s desktop, and when a desktop is being backed up, they are not automatically saved. So when an employee goes back to using their ‘ready and restored’ desktop, they are unable to access the system with their previous digital ID.
Absence of a communications strategy
IT service providers will use email to notify and communicate with business owners and their employees when a disaster happens. However, this form of communication may not always be reliable in certain cases, such as when the Internet is cut off, or there are spam intrusions. Third-party notification systems are available, but they are quite expensive, and some providers sell them as a pricey add-on service.
Backups that require labored validation
After a system has been restored, IT technicians and business owners need to check whether the restoration is thorough and complete. This validation becomes a waste of time and effort when the log reports are not easy to compare. This usually happens when IT service providers utilize backup applications that do not come with their own log modules, and have to be acquired separately.
These are just some reasons why business continuity plans fail. It is important for business owners to be involved with any process that pertains to their IT infrastructure. Just because you believe something works doesn’t necessarily mean that it works correctly or effectively. If you have questions regarding your business continuity plan, get in touch with our experts today.
