Managing the Business Continuity of Information Technology

This field project is intended to provide a guide to overcoming the challenges to business continuity planning in IT. The need for business continuity planning is very real, yet this need is largely unfulfilled for many organizations. The goal of this project is to provide a concise and pragmatic collection of information necessary to guide an organization into preparing to respond to a disaster. Using the information provided here, an organization will be able to have a good grasp on what they need to do in order to be ready and able to recover from an event which results in the loss of part or all of their digital information. The breakdown of this Field Project Document is as follows: • Chapter 1 is an introduction to this research. • Chapter 2 is a brief review of the literature used to gather information for this project. • Chapter 3 investigates the reasons why many organizations do not have a BCP, and focuses on ways which can generate enthusiasm and support to make planning a priority. • Chapter 4 is a discussion on the challenges commonly faced with the IT aspect of business continuity. • Chapter 5 is a discussion of the risks an organization faces which may threaten the continuity of business. • Chapter 6 covers how to develop a plan for response in the event of a catastrophe. • Chapter 7 is a guide to the importance of testing and acceptance of a BCP. • Chapter 8 covers the importance of plan maintenance and why vigilance in the planning process is vital to success in a post-disaster environment. • Chapter 9 reviews several available technologies and how they may be leveraged towards creating an environment that can survive a disaster. • Chapter 10 is a summary and conclusion of the project