Implementing a Modern Disaster Recovery Plan That Provides Flexibility and Recovers People, Data

Traditional disaster recovery is IT-based and focuses on relocation as a solution. Mobile recovery provides IT recovery as well as reducing impact on personnel.

Mobile recovery has made significant strides in technology and development that make it a very affordable and much more dynamic solution for business interruptions ranging from the mundane to the catastrophic. In essence, mobile recovery brings the recovery assets to the personnel, as opposed to further inconveniencing personnel by requiring them to relocate. This option, and when used in coordination with other technology, provides flexible solutions for a wide scope of business interruptions.

The traditional focus of disaster recovery has been primarily IT based, focused on preserving data necessary to return to business. Often times these plans account for storing the data at an alternate location, and during a business interruption, either sending the data via tape or other method to a new work site, or relocating personnel to the co-location (co-lo) facility where the data is also being stored.

However, in an actual disaster situation, if relocation is the plan, two things usually happen. Employees refuse to go, or they bring their whole family – brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, dogs and cats – also affected by the disaster. A company’s policy on relocating family is an internal decision, however, it is a decision best made prior to a disaster and evacuation.

To be clear, planning to relocate to an alternate worksite is better than no plan at all. Despite regulations and wake up calls, several companies are still hitting the snooze bar and doing the bare minimum – if anything – regarding preparation for a disaster. However, a business opting for relocation is only prepared for a limited number of disasters and there are several company leaders with fingers crossed hoping they never have to implement their “check-the-block” solution in a real-life situation.

Unfortunately, there are several gaping holes in the traditional recovery method. The first is assuming that in a disaster, the business is going to be an employee’s primary concern. In a fictional scenario, it is easy for a person to get word that “a disaster” has either impacted or is imminent and migrate with their co-workers until “the crisis is averted” and everything returns to normal. But in a real scenario, most employees’ thoughts will turn to the welfare of spouses, children and other extended family in the area.

Additionally, alternate workspace is either dedicated or shared. Dedicated workspace means it is reserved for the organization at all times. No matter what, the company has access to this space. This is very expensive, so much so that many organizations requiring dedicated space invested in building their own alternate worksites.

Shared is significantly cheaper in price, because it is just that: shared. The primary risk for shared sites is they are oversold. Several different companies in the same area may have access, and when multiple needs arrive, the site is either too crowded or simply not available because it was populated on a “first come, first serve” basis.

Finally, the most important hole in this plan is relocation only accounts for the worst-case scenario. But what if the business infrastructure is only partially damaged? What if it is not a natural disaster but a service interruption – such as a fiber cut severing communications? A disaster recovery plan that only accommodates a business in the unlikely event of total destruction is not very encompassing.

As more and more businesses have learned, a disaster recovery plan must account for people. Some experts would even argue personnel are the most critical element in need of recovery. If a business is impacted by a natural disaster, it is a reasonable expectation that employees may be coordinating a “personal recovery” in unison with the company’s business recovery. Minimizing the impact from the business side on personnel can increase morale, and more importantly, not put employees in a situation to where they have to choose between their family and their job.

In the past, mobile recovery may have seemed more expensive, less effective, and an actual long-term solution. This was due primarily to “mobile” recovery being synonymous to “modular” recovery, implementing buildings similar to mobile homes. However, there is a new face to mobile recovery: satellite and generator supported 18-wheelers that can set up and recover an organization wherever necessary.

Additionally, new technology has led to developments that can increase bandwidth for sending information to and from locations and compressing files, allowing mobile recovery centers to send data and receive data at – close if not faster – speed of regular business operations.

These Mobile Recovery Centers (MRCs) can also be customized. A business can request a call center configuration, a work center configuration, data center, even a mobile bank with security features is available.

Finally, used in coordination with data centers, quick-ship services (the ability to rapidly deploy specific hardware to a location) make mobile recovery a solution to almost any interruption.

The Technology advancements that make Mobile Recovery more accessible

The MRCs themselves present several advantages over modular buildings. First, the MRCs are in the same travel class as an RV, so travel restrictions are greatly eased. Once set up, an MRC does not require the building permits necessary to populate a modular building. There is no electricity, plumbing, permits or other issues associated with Modular. The MRC parks, expands and is generally operational within four hours.

The ability to compress data makes mobile recovery an option. Data can be compressed and stored at a data center at a distant location. That data can be accessed in a variety of ways by the organization:

• The servers themselves can accompany an MRC to a recovery site.
• Information can be transferred across standard available Internet options from the data center to the deployed MRC or satellite if necessary.
• “Virtual Tape Libraries” VTLs now offer all the benefits of tape, in addition to specific advantages for restoration. VTLs are not intrusive and are also able to upload data at a much faster rate than standard tape.
• Voice can also be compressed to be sent over Internet wireless or satellite, allowing for more “lines” to be accessible at the MRC.
• Recent technology has increased the value of Mobile recovery.

The human benefits of Mobile Recovery

As mentioned earlier, a company may be taking a serious risk if they are planning on competing with an employee’s personal recovery. Additionally, a business must determine who “key personnel” are and what are “essential operations.” While many people’s first response will be senior leadership, one grey area is an organization’s call center.

A call center is a vital aspect of a business operation. They are usually in direct contact with customers generating revenue or providing technical support. However, these employees are considered “unskilled” and are usually paid entry-level or part time wages.

In many areas call center employees consist of students who are able to attend school around their work schedule or mothers who enjoy the supplemental income and the flexibility to care for children and other family members.

If a call center is relocated for any reason, causing a disruption to the worker’s extracurricular schedule, it may very well lose that worker. Most students are not going to cut class to work their rotation on a call center. Most mothers are not going to pay for childcare to work a part-time job that will basically cover the cost of childcare.

While a company can hire temporary workers to answer phones, they will lose an experienced workforce familiar with company policy, the proper procedures in dealing with customers and proper channels of escalation. This learning curve could very well result in customer dissatisfaction.

If a call center implements an MRC, the MRC can be set up in vicinity of the original building’s parking lot. The routine for its workers does not change. If a worker needs to run home on their lunch break to let in a contractor, it is not nearly as disruptive. The organization maintains some semblance of normalcy for call center employees as well as customers.

Here is another example: In a disaster area, cash is the only accepted legal tender. For whatever reason – telephone and communication lines are disabled, locals directly impacted are left homeless, many vehicles are inoperable due to damage sustained in the event, and most travel routes are severely impaired. FEMA arrives in the disaster area and starts issuing checks. However, the closest local bank has also sustained considerable damage, and is not suitable for service.

Now if this bank chain is counting on redirecting customers and others to another branch on the other side of town, there could be a problem. These people cannot easily get to the other branch – it is too far to walk and there is not enough transportation. Further, the bank comes across as apathetic to the plight of their community.

However, if this bank uses mobile recovery, an MRC can drive right up to the parking lot of the disabled bank, set up, and safely and securely cash the FEMA checks, enabling the members of the community to get on with their recovery process. In addition, it is also employing its own people, allowing them to get on with their recovery and get back to normal.

One final example: A manufacturing company has determined that in the event of a disaster, the plant will be inoperable and will relocate employees to other plants in the region, who will work additional rotating shifts to compensate for the loss of the disabled plant. The factory is the primary employer of the small town. A tornado strikes, and in the aftermath it is discovered that the factory itself is intact and functional. However the front office has been destroyed.

This certainly presents a dilemma: If the company relocates its workforce, they are abandoning and otherwise functional factory. There are those that will not go, which will create a greater strain in manpower. Those that do will have to choose between uprooting their family or leaving their spouse to deal with the recovery on their own. Either way, there will be a significant economic impact on the town if the primary employer of the town leaves.

However, an MRC could be dispatched to serve as the front office of the factory, keeping the factory open, enabling the company to remain closer to pre-disaster production levels; and benefiting the employees and the town by keeping them local.

These examples are generalized but based on actual scenarios. Mobile recovery has a proven success record, and in many ways the flexibility was the key to a successful business recovery. Mobile recovery provides a complete solution capable of supporting a business through any interruption, whether it is something as mundane as providing workspace for a planned renovation or completely supporting the day-to-day tasks in a disaster zone.

Selecting a mobile provider

One of the biggest misconceptions of mobile providers is they operate like a rental business: your business has been interrupted, you need some workspace, you call up and rent an MRC that is sent to your location. However, most recovery providers operate more like an insurance company: a company determines their needs before hand, and pays a monthly fee to have access to the equipment when necessary.

Here are several questions to ask a prospective disaster recovery provider, especially a mobile recovery provider:

• Do you have multi-site fees? Some recovery providers charge more to contract to different locations, some don’t. If a business has multiple, regional or national branches, it might be beneficial to find a provider who will service all locations.
• What is the method of mobile recovery? Verify the mobile recovery is not passing off modular recovery as mobile recovery. Modular transportation has several restrictions, which could be compounded by roads being closed or hampered due to a natural disaster. Additionally, the setup is lengthy due to various building codes in need of approval.
• What is the average cost of deploying and the average time to deploy? Make sure there are no hidden costs, clauses and the means of transportation and distance is logical.
• Are you able to test the option? In addition to a business testing and learning areas of improvement, the test can also expose areas of improvement for the provider. Be sure you are able to test real world scenarios, such as deploying a mobile to your site or to multiple, simultaneous locations.
• How many times has the business sold the solution to your area? Many people expect that if they are paying to use something in a time of need, it will be there when they need it. However, assets and hardware are usually oversold. Ask the recovery provider how many times an asset has been sold in your area. The answer provides you with an idea of the risk of that asset not being available.
• Does the vendor own its hardware? Many vendors have what is “virtual inventory” or “at time of disaster” inventory. They contract with a third-party to provide hardware. However, in addition to extending the supply chain, vendors may only be able to provide what is available and what has not already been used in a declaration. This method may less expensive, but it is up to the business to determine if they can risk not having all of the equipment they initially deemed necessary to conduct a business recovery.
• What kind of logistical support does the vendor have? Verify the vendor can transport their equipment or has a reliable means of doing so. Some vendors rely on another third-party provider that may be strained in a regional or catastrophic disaster. For example, in a disaster area, FEMA may need drivers, and the organization initially tasked to be the vendor’s logistical support may instead go to the highest bidder.
• Who determines what classifies a disaster? Businesses need to make sure a vendor is going to allow the organization to manage their needs at a critical time. In this day of 24/7/365 connectivity, a downed server, extended power outage or loss of communications could be considered disaster by a business.

Flexibility is the key to recovery

Some of the best disaster recovery advice ever heard: Make a plan, but do not be confined to it. Contingencies and unexpected scenarios will occur in a disaster. Alternate workspace as the sole method of recovery locks a company into a few narrow alternatives. Mobile recovery incorporates the greatest amount flexibility into a company’s recovery plan.

Mobile recovery is a tool, as is quick-ship, data center storage and archiving, communications and fixed site. Used in coordination these tools can be used to build a plan allowing leadership to uncross their fingers, and rest assured knowing their organization has the ability to react to any business interruption.