The Disaster Recovery Handbook

Katrina, 9/11, and the BP oil spill are the kinds of deep-impact disasters that every company dreads. But even everyday threats--a roof collapsing, a computer network failing, a gas truck toppling over on the highway and shutting down distribution lines--can seriously disrupt operations, sometimes permanently.

Disaster preparation isn't a "nice-to-have"; it's an imperative. The Disaster Recovery Handbook is your all-in-one toolkit for surviving any potential danger by building a comprehensive recovery plan that spells out exactly what to do, when, and by whom. With a practical, reality-based focus, the book emphasizes getting critical business functions up and running as quickly as possible, and supplies step-by-step instructions and project management tools for making it happen. You'll find guidelines on how to:

- Gather a top-notch team of knowledgeable coworkers, and clarify both the scope of the project and specific tasks and deadlines.

- Identify all of the probable threats that could disrupt your business, and use that information to create a complete risk assessment picture that pinpoints vulnerabilities.

- Select a recovery strategy for quickly restoring vital business functions to a serviceable level, a step that vastly reduces the risk of catastrophe shutting down your doors.

- Write a clear, complete recovery plan for your organization--or customize one of the four plans supplied on the accompanying CD.

- Prepare instructions for salvaging a crippled IT system, or any vital technical function--from restoring a single piece of machinery to maintaining a customer service call center during a disaster.

- Safeguard your irreplaceable data, which can be lost or compromised from factors such as server failures, fire, user errors, or a security breach.

- Plus much more.

All-new chapters provide an overview of project management essentials to ensure your plan is a success, guidelines for effective communication in the early stages of a disaster, instructions on writing disaster recovery plans for every vital business function, tips for mitigating the effect of widespread pandemic, and more.

Packed with forms and checklists on the companion CD, helpful "what to do" sidebars, and recommended strategies for specific scenarios, the second edition of The Disaster Recovery Handbook is your one-stop guide for both avoiding potential trouble and recovering quickly when disaster strikes.

Michael Wallace is vice president of consulting services at Result Data, an IT strategy, business intelligence, and disaster recovery consulting firm. He has 25 years of experience in information systems, including positions as programmer at Reynolds & Reynolds, and president of Q Consulting. He is a member of the Contingency Planners of Ohio and the Project Management Institute.

Lawrence Webber is a Certified Project Manager (CPM) and a Master Business Continuity Professional (MBCP). He has held a variety of positions in the information services field for more than 25 years.