By Jesse Lake, Senior Editor – ECOMPEX In Focus
Monday August 24, 2009
Organizational disasters range in type and scope. An organization may be a part of a national, regional, or building-specific disaster such as a terrorist attack, hurricane, or water main break. Exposure from a small fire, technological disaster, or theft may also be contained to a single department, function, or record.
Regardless of the event, a well developed vital records plan supporting Continuation of Operations (COOP) serves as a starting point to mitigate risks, minimize loss, and resume business operations as efficiently as possible. As vital business functions resume, the leadership of the organization must focus on its strategy for long-term recovery and total restoration of operations to business as usual.
Organization's vital information and data is needed for the fundamental functioning and continued day-to-day operations of the business, therefore still needs to be accessed without delay under disaster situations or abnormal conditions. This requires that all vital information both digital and non-digital, be identified and protected by use of innovative information management system, which will allow an organization to quickly access vital information during any type of emergency or extreme circumstance.
The services and technologies records and information management (RIM) professionals use to manage the records program of the organization are important to building a good recovery foundation. RIM professionals should conduct inventories and interviews to understand how records are created and accessed throughout the organization. The file classification systems used, taxonomies, and indexing are also important for the identification of records after a disaster. Methodologies and best practices for filing, maintaining, and storing records provide additional security and protection.
Protecting, storing, and managing vital digital and non-digital information and data requires a new set of processes and procedures to ensure that they remain available and retrievable when a disaster occurs. A vital information management and protection program needs to be implemented through the use of innovative business technologies that can quickly and accurately manage this critical information. These technologies are extremely effective for the protection of active records, which are those records that are needed to perform current operations, subject to frequent use, and usually located near the user. Implementing an effective vital information protection program for your organization requires excellent planning, execution, and quality control.
After the disaster, RIM professionals need to use the best services and technologies to provide immediate access to vital records and recover damaged records quickly. By using ECOMPEX's information management solutions for vital data and records, an organization can quickly recover their critical and active information from any type of disaster. By use of mirrored hosting technologies and secured access, ECOMPEX's vital information management solutions provides organizations with 24/7 access to their information with complete security and protection for sensitive data.
Organizations cannot prepare themselves for every scenario for every event, as each disaster is unique. Training, reviewing, refining, and testing the vital records plan will improve organizational response during the chaos of a real event. Disaster and business continuity planning that implements the best services and technologies can place the organization in a highly probable position to quickly resume business operations and start down the path to business as usual. For quick response and recovery in the event of a disaster, ensure your organization is prepared with quality services and innovative technologies from ECOMPEX.
To learn more about ECOMPEX and its information processing services and technologies, contact Jesse Lake at jesse.lake@ecompex.com.
Sources:
What Is Disaster Recovery/Business Continuity Planning?
ARMA International Resources/RIM101 Articles
Pillars of Vital Records Protection, The.
Information Management Journal, Mar/Apr 2008 by Andolsen, Alan A
