How to make an organization more resilient

Many government offices and businesses in the Washington, D.C. area operated only intermittently these past ten days because of the weather. CDW Government LLC (CDW-G), a provider of information technology solutions to business, government, and education, offers a useful digest – titled “Seven Habits of Highly Resilient Organizations” — of seven activities that federal IT executives and other organizations should undertake to ensure that interruption to critical operations during weather emergencies or other disruptions is minimal.

Small and mid-sized organizations are especially at risk when disaster strikes, since few have the resources or knowledge to develop full-scale continuity plans. Protecting the organization’s physical property is important, but even more important than an organization’s physical property is ensuring the integrity of its data, communications capabilities, and the information technology infrastructure to support both — regardless of the circumstances surrounding a disaster.

CDW-G highlights seven habits that it recommends organizations adopt to ensure they are prepared for any business contingency and that they remain resilient in the event of unplanned interruptions. These habits can help organizations prevent costly downtime, reduce inconvenience to customers, and minimize damage to an organization or agency’s reputation. These habits are provided by CDW-G’s team of technology specialists and systems engineers, who are experts in evaluating and designing technology solutions for government agencies, educational institutions and healthcare facilities.

1. Conduct a business impact assessment

Because even the most thorough disaster preparedness plan will not be able to justify the cost of including every mission process — especially for small organizations with limited resources — it is important to inventory and prioritize critical processes for the entire organization.

Organizations should tier data based on its import to operations. For example, processes that need to be resumed within 24 hours to prevent serious mission impact, such as citizen service delivery, or that will have major effect on stakeholders could receive an “A” rating, while those that need to be resumed within 72 hours could receive a “B” rating followed by those “C” functions that can be restored in more than 72 hours.

In addition, several software packages can help an agency or institution assess its disaster preparedness and map out strategies that fit the organization’s needs and goals.

2. Take steps to protect data

CDW-G says that aside from people, information is the single most critical asset for virtually any organization. Organizations should back up data frequently to ensure records are kept, and consider upgrading the backup equipment