Features

Features

• Developing an emergency communications plan: A template for business continuity professionals

  Communicating details in a crisis is a vital part of BC and resilience planning. Follow the steps below and the associated template to prepare an emergency communication plan.  Continue Reading

• How to use a risk assessment matrix: A free template and guide

  A risk assessment matrix identifies threats and vulnerabilities that present the greatest potential for disruption or damage. Use this free template to focus risk mitigation.  Continue Reading

• Free business impact analysis (BIA) template with instructions

  If you need to perform a business impact analysis, this guide and our free, downloadable template will assist you in your business continuity planning.  Continue Reading

• A free business continuity plan template and guide

  A business continuity plan is critical for an organization when an unplanned event occurs. Follow this template and BC planning guidelines to get on the right path to resilience.  Continue Reading

• How to manage disaster recovery in SQL Server

  SQL Server offers a platform for hosting relational databases. Enacting a disaster recovery plan that won't disrupt mission-critical SQL Server workloads is essential.  Continue Reading

• IT resilience management, planning top of mind for DR pros

  Resilience is a key issue for disaster recovery pros. This year, readers sought to build up their skills and learn more about the role of resilience in DR.  Continue Reading

• How to use AI for disaster response

  AI systems can be a dynamic method to automate disaster response, but they need to be well trained in interpreting disasters to be effective. Here are some tips to get started.  Continue Reading

• IT risk assessment template (with free download)

  Risk assessments are a critical part of a disaster recovery plan. Find out how to prepare a risk assessment and then download the included free template to create one.  Continue Reading

• Business continuity interview questions for aspiring managers

  Business continuity managers must be ready for anything, and that includes interviewing for the role. Here are some common business continuity interview questions to prepare for.  Continue Reading

• Organizational resilience questionnaire for recovery teams

  Following organizational resiliency standards such as ISO and BSI can prepare organizations for disaster. These questions provide a starting point to validate OR readiness.  Continue Reading

• Zerto keeps Texas bank from being left in the cold

  During Winter Storm Uri, Woodforest National Bank enacted its DR plan and used Zerto to bring its servers back online shortly after its primary data center went completely dark.  Continue Reading

• Titan HST says emergency comms usage shifted during pandemic

  Vic Merjanian, CEO of emergency mass communication platform vendor Titan HST, says the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the technological push toward a contactless world.  Continue Reading

• Castellan Solutions says COVID-19 forced BCDR rethink

  COVID-19 caught organizations flat-footed in terms of business continuity, and new challenges will arise as vaccines are distributed, according to Castellan Solutions' CEO and COO.  Continue Reading

• Create an incident response plan with this free template

  Want to boost your organization's ability to fight cybersecurity threats? Uncover the essentials to creating an incident response plan and download our free, editable template.  Continue Reading

• Where disaster recovery strategy stands post-2020

  Predictably, some 2019 forecasts of what disaster recovery might look like in 2020 didn't quite hit the mark. However, funding and cybersecurity were evergreen concerns.  Continue Reading

• Commvault vs. Zerto: How do their DR products compare?

  Learn how Commvault Disaster Recovery and Zerto Enterprise Cloud Edition can help organizations protect, recover, and retain their virtual and on-premises data and applications.  Continue Reading

• Colocation in disaster recovery: Everything you need to know

  Colocation is an important DR strategy and it's a vital resource for ensuring mission-critical systems and data files can be securely protected and available when needed.  Continue Reading

• Business continuity vendors bolster offerings during pandemic

  Organizations must ensure their pandemic business continuity and technology DR plans address cybersecurity, as well as remote employees, social distancing and company shutdowns.  Continue Reading

• How IT handles edge storage challenges from COVID-19

  The COVID-19 'wake-up call' has stressed IT and storage teams, but those already using public clouds could adapt to new edge storage requirements posed by remote work.  Continue Reading

• CCPA compliance still unclear long past deadline

  Despite the July 1 CCPA compliance deadline having long past, many executives are still unclear how the law applies to their business. Privacy experts weigh in on the latest enforcements.  Continue Reading

• Compare AWS CloudEndure vs. Azure Site Recovery services

  Learn how DRaaS heavyweights AWS CloudEndure and Microsoft Azure Site Recovery compare when it comes to architectures, features, integrations, pricing and other considerations.  Continue Reading

• Terms to aid your pandemic recovery planning process

  When updating your organization's pandemic plan, it can help to have these terms handy. These tools, processes and standards are key to a solid recovery plan.  Continue Reading

• Ransomware resilience starts before cyberattacks hit

  Ransomware is still common, especially in the coronavirus age, so you need to be ready. Explore ransomware recovery tips from an IT manager who dealt firsthand with an attack.  Continue Reading

• Business continuity challenges emerge as work from home ends

  As governments consider reopening, organizations must address how it affects business continuity planning, such as accounting for WFH employees returning to offices and the potential for outages.  Continue Reading

• DRaaS guide: Benefits, challenges, providers and market trends

  Disaster recovery once involved setting up an off-site facility and duplicating expensive storage gear. Today, DRaaS offers an alternative to traditional approaches.  Continue Reading

• How to understand DRaaS pricing and budgeting

  Learn how to get the most value out of your disaster-recovery-as-a-service investment by conducting a thorough business impact analysis and following a few simple steps.  Continue Reading

• DRaaS market faces multiple challenges in 2020

  Difficult times are creating a strong DRaaS market, yet providers must still deal with many critical issues over the next several months, such as supporting growing customer base.  Continue Reading

• DRaaS vs. cloud DR: What are the differences?

  Disaster recovery as a service and cloud DR have the same end goal, but there are pros and cons to each approach that admins must consider before going with one over the other.  Continue Reading

• 10 DRaaS vendors to vet before devising a data recovery plan

  DRaaS enables organizations to leave the management of their DR plan to a third-party provider, saving time, money and resources. Learn what services these 10 DRaaS providers offer.  Continue Reading

• 5 hot disaster recovery-as-a-service providers

  With more natural and man-made disasters, DRaaS providers are essential to helping organizations protect their mission-critical workloads while realizing potential cost savings.  Continue Reading

• 5 steps to create a coronavirus crisis management response plan

  The COVID-19 pandemic has thrown a wrench into many traditional BCDR plans. Here are five tips to update your crisis response plans and help your business weather the storm.  Continue Reading

• Complete crisis management guide and free template

  This guide to crisis management and free template can help your business respond to an unplanned emergency, such as the current COVID-19 pandemic.  Continue Reading

• Using a pandemic recovery plan template: A free download and guide

  Outbreaks like the latest coronavirus can spread fast. Download our free pandemic planning template and read our step-by-step guide on pandemic planning for businesses.  Continue Reading

• Ensure your DR strategy meets the challenges of a new decade

  Traditional disasters and new cyberthreats have organizations reexamining their DR plans to ensure they maintain high levels of availability and can restore operations quickly.  Continue Reading

• Preparing an annual schedule of business continuity activities

  Many activities comprise a business continuity plan, and the better you manage them, the more successful your overall business continuity program will be.  Continue Reading

• Free service-level agreement template for DR plans

  Download our free SLA template to help you get started planning the performance and response time requirements associated with disaster recovery activities.  Continue Reading

• 4 approaches to creating a business continuity and DR strategy

  Learn which approaches an organization can take -- including using a single provider, a managed partnership or DIY -- when implementing their business continuity and disaster recovery strategy.  Continue Reading

• Need a BC/DR plan? MSPs provide one source of expertise

  Smaller businesses may lack in-house expertise for developing a BC/DR strategy, but managed service providers may be able to lend a hand with the planning task.  Continue Reading

• Business continuity services, DR planning key to recovery success

  Although all-in-one options for business continuity and disaster recovery planning are lacking, organizations can create a system using the various services and tools examined here.  Continue Reading

• Top 5 disaster recovery and planning questions asked in 2019

  What were your top DR planning questions in 2019? While the cloud seems top of mind every year, newer trends like blockchain and orchestration also made the list.  Continue Reading

• Business impact analysis checklist: 10 improvements to your BIA strategy

  A business impact analysis is a critical part of disaster recovery planning. Avoid potential disruptions and smooth out the planning process with this BIA checklist.  Continue Reading

• Recovering from ransomware soars to the top of DR concerns

  Ransomware recovery may not have always been a featured topic in TechTarget's 20 years of coverage, but it's certainly made an impression in the last few.  Continue Reading

• Data replication technologies: What they are and how to use them

  Data replication can play a big role in a disaster recovery plan, so make sure you're familiar with the different types of replication and where they work best.  Continue Reading

• Free IT disaster recovery plan template and guide

  A DR strategy is the cornerstone to ensuring infrastructure and applications continue to operate when a major outage hits. Our free DR template outlines the needed steps.  Continue Reading

• Sample business continuity plan template for small businesses

  Our step-by-step business continuity plan for small businesses enables an organization to restore mission-critical operations during an unforeseen event.  Continue Reading

• What is a business resilience plan and why do you need one?

  Just like business continuity has become indispensable, having an IT resilience plan in place is crucial to keeping your business up and running today.  Continue Reading

• Disaster recovery for small businesses leaves no room for excuses

  Are you putting off investing in disaster recovery efforts for your small business? If your reasons include a lack of urgency and funds, we have some news for you.  Continue Reading

• Ransomware attack recovery pointers for when you've been hit

  Ransomware recovery is a complex and expensive process, and an attack can happen to anyone. Taking precautions and acting early could save your data -- and a good amount of money.  Continue Reading

• Using the cloud for disaster recovery? You'll need these key terms

  If you're planning on implementing a cloud-based disaster recovery plan, be sure to familiarize yourself with core aspects of crafting a cloud DR plan and choosing a provider.  Continue Reading

• Natural disaster recovery planning: 4 frequently asked questions

  When crafting a disaster recovery plan, don't rule out natural disasters as a major threat. Don't let a storm catch you off guard after making your recovery preparations.  Continue Reading

• Words to go: Disaster recovery planning checklist

  Working on a disaster recovery plan? Don't forget to include these vital tests, exercises, plans and assessments when preparing for a disruptive event.  Continue Reading

• A condensed look at the IT resilience market

  A lot is going on in the market for resilience. Acquisitions, partnerships and other consolidations have bundled DR planning offerings, creating one-stop shopping experiences.  Continue Reading

• How to use AI for business continuity and disaster recovery planning

  Are you incorporating AI into your BC/DR planning? If not, there are multiple opportunities to include AI in the planning process, both before and after a disaster occurs.  Continue Reading

• BC/DR plan template: How to prepare for an active shooter event

  A standard BC/DR template typically covers weather, equipment failures and fires. In recent years, more organizations are naming active shooting scenarios as a BC/DR concern.  Continue Reading

• Disaster recovery plans, continuity take center stage in 2018

  Were you worried about your DR plan in 2018? You're far from alone. Preparation for ransomware and natural disaster threats loomed over the heads of DR planners in the past year.  Continue Reading

• Test your ransomware recovery plan to safeguard data

  Testing your restore process prior to an attack is a major part of surviving a ransomware infection. Reduce recovery time and ensure data is secure with planning and preparation.  Continue Reading

• Key elements of an effective incident response playbook

  In this book excerpt, cybersecurity expert and author Bryce Austin highlights the importance of creating an effective incident response plan and delineates its key elements.  Continue Reading

• Disaster recovery for cloud computing: Burning questions

  Disaster recovery is a delicate, vital process that every organization needs to consider. With the rise of cloud computing, is cloud disaster recovery a viable option?  Continue Reading

• Data center disaster recovery plan template and guide

  Read our guide on data center DR planning, and then download our free template to assess how your data center facility and its infrastructure would perform during a disaster.  Continue Reading

• Network disaster recovery plan template

  If your organization doesn't have a network disaster recovery plan, download our free network DR plan template for tips on how to get started.  Continue Reading

• Free business continuity policy template

  A business continuity plan can help organizations of any size prepare for a disaster. Resiliency, recovery and contingency planning are key elements to get systems up and running.  Continue Reading

• Business continuity and disaster recovery testing templates

  BC and DR testing can be major challenges for any organization. Our free templates offer ways to incorporate testing into your overall management process.  Continue Reading

• 10 mistakes to avoid in your disaster recovery planning process

  Don't make your DR planning process harder than it is by trying to do too much or cutting corners. Careful planning is key to a successful recovery.  Continue Reading

• Disaster recovery in the cloud explained

  Discover whether or not disaster recovery in the cloud is a good choice for your organization, and the pros and cons of different cloud DR approaches.  Continue Reading

• High availability guidelines and VMware HA best practices

  Elias Khnaser discusses VMware High Availability best practices in this chapter excerpt. After you read the excerpt, download the full backup and high availability chapter.  Continue Reading

• Disaster recovery security: The importance of addressing data security issues in DR plans

  Data security issues have a constant presence in the IT industry and should be addressed in DR plans. It's not enough for storage managers to only cover basic security measures.  Continue Reading

• Using data deduplication products as part of an IT disaster recovery strategy

  Data deduplication has gained a lot of traction in the data backup and recovery world over the past few years. When integrating data deduplication products into your IT disaster recovery strategy, there are a number of things you need to consider. ...  Continue Reading

• Mobile data recovery services for disaster recovery FAQ

  Paul Kirvan discusses mobile recovery services for disaster recovery (DR) in this FAQ. Paul has more than 20 years experience in business continuity management as a consultant, author and educator. He is also secretary of the United States' chapter ...  Continue Reading

• Data center emergency power strategies in disaster recovery planning

  Despite all the precautions you can take to provide uninterrupted power to your data center, situations can occur that threaten your center's continued operations. Learn about emergency power strategies in disaster recovery planning.  Continue Reading

• Can you define failover and failback?

  Failover is the process of shifting I/O and its processes from a primary location to a secondary disaster recovery (DR) location. This typically involves using a vendor's tool or a third-party tool of some type that can temporarily halt I/O, and ...  Continue Reading