Business Impact Analysis,Research Paper Example

Establishing a successful framework for business continuity in the wake of disrupted operations or when a disaster strikes requires a comprehensive understanding of such areas as financial assets and their influence on business operations as well as information systems resources that are readily available. It is imperative that knowledgeable and experienced team members recognize the most critical priorities in these scenarios, including sustainable business functions, the availability of financial resources, and recovery time frameworks. Security policies may be in different stages of their life cycles; therefore, the stage must be evaluated to determine how to move forward in the event of a significant disruption (Johnson and Merkow, 2011). In the event that disaster strikes, the systems team should already have established roles and responsibilities to assess the damage and to take the steps that are necessary to promote recovery with as little permanent malfunction as possible (Johnson and Merkow, 2011).

It is imperative that a disaster recovery play for an IT system must incorporate a number of steps which coincide with an organization’s business continuity plan (FEMA, 2013). To be specific, “Priorities and recovery time objectives for information technology should be developed during the business impact analysis. Technology recovery strategies should be developed to restore hardware, applications and data in time to meet the needs of the business recovery” (FEMA, 2013). Therefore, it is necessary to establish a contingency plan which will restore functionality without significant delay or losses and will incorporate many different devices (servers, laptops, etc.) to accommodate the recovery strategy (FEMA, 2013).

Having a contingency plan in place in the event of a major disaster requires significant strategic discussion and resources. In this context, it is imperative to determine how to relocate IT systems if the need arises and to determine the level of financial resources that are required to accommodate these systems (NASCIO, 2007). Team leaders must develop planning strategies that will provide training and guidance to employees, including their roles in disaster recovery to minimize damage (NASCIO, 2007). Disaster recovery should also take as little time as possible to restore basic functionality, with additional elements to be considered at a later date (NASCIO, 2007). The development of a successful approach to managing disaster recovery must be an ongoing effort and utilize the services of IT staff in a variety of capacities, including their knowledge and expertise in managing resources effectively (NASCIO, 2007). These elements will contribute to the restoration of the IT system, even when financial and other resources are not readily available. This is accomplished through a well-planned contingency approach that will restore operations as quickly as possible (NASCIO, 2007).

Section Two

Component reliability and dependency are critical factors in restoring operations in the aftermath of a disaster. The degree of reliability of a system is critical to its ability to stabilize and recover after a disaster; however, this is difficult to accomplish and requires an organization to evaluate its components to determine if they are reliable and/or dependent on other features or systems to thrive (Leveson et.al). Under these conditions, it is imperative to consider all possible challenges associated with component failure and whether or not this failure was caused by a different reason, such as human error (Leveson et.al). In any case, it is expected that an organization must recognize if its components could potentially fail in the future and to develop methods to recover and restore the functionality of these products accordingly (Leveson et.al). It is expected that these elements will actively contribute to the success of the recovery effort and the outcomes that will emerge (Leveson et.al). Individual system components must reflect an ability to function independently and also interconnected with other components (Leveson et.al). These efforts are important because system components are always subject to failure and must be evaluated for their level of quality and strength in the event of a disaster (Leveson et.al). It is known that “As the interactive complexity grows in the systems we build, accidents caused by dysfunctional interactions among components become more likely. Safety is a system property, not a component property, and must be controlled at the system level rather than the component level” (Leveson et.al 7). These conditions represent a challenge for many organizations if their system components are not cohesive and functional as part of a larger system (Leveson et.al). Therefore, it is important for organizations to determine if their components will stand up and remain effective if a disaster occurs. If this is not the case, then the organization might want to consider other alternatives or components to replace the dysfunctional products.

Finally, in response to disaster situations, human capital is perhaps the most critical concept to consider and utilize as quickly as possible. Organizations must determine how their human assets will be most effectively utilized to support the IT technology already in place after a disaster has taken place. There are many circumstances to consider in how to utilize resources effectively, and human capital is no exception. Those persons with knowledge of these scenarios firsthand should be involved in making any critical decisions regarding components and in restoring operations to their full extent if possible. Other team members should provide support and guidance as needed to fulfill other required roles and responsibilities. This is an important step towards a more optimal system recovery that will require less time and effort. In this context, it is necessary for all required components to operate in conjunction with each other as best as possible to meet the needs of the organization and its systems as effectively and as seamlessly as possible.

References

FEMA (2013). IT disaster recovery plan. Retrieved from http://www.ready.gov/business/implementation/IT

Johnson, R., and Merkow, M. (2001). Security Policies & Implementation Issues, 1^st Edition. Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC.

Leveson, N., Dulac, N., Marais, K., and Carroll, J. Moving beyond normal accidents and high reliability organizations: a systems approach to safety in complex systems.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, retrieved from hssoutreach.energy.gov/…/SafetyCulture_201205_Presentation3.pdf

NASCIO (2007). IT disaster recovery and business continuity tool-kit: planning for the next disaster. Retrieved from www.nascio.org/publications/documents/nascio-drtoolkit.pdf