Improve business efficiency, eliminate day-to-day mishaps, and prepare for the worst-with effective disaster contingency planning Working in lower Manhattan on September 11th, 2001, Donna Childs became keenly aware of the need for small businesses to develop disaster contingency plans and grateful that her own business had implemented such plans and would remain financially sound. Now, with the assistance of IT consultant Stefan Dietrich, she draws upon her unique experience to present proven guidelines for small and midsize businesses to effectively prepare for catastrophes in Contingency Planning and Disaster Recovery: A Small Business Guide. Childs and Dietrich take small business owners through every stage of disaster planning, from preparation to response to recovery. Specific issues addressed include: * What to do if the main office location is not accessible * Getting the business up and running again * Contacting third parties * Handling insurance claims * Adequate insurance for property, business interruption losses, and workers' compensation * Rebuilding an IT infrastructure Successful planning not only can limit the damage of an unforeseen disaster but also can minimize daily mishaps-such as the mistaken deletion of files-and increase a business's overall efficiency. Contingency Planning and Disaster Recovery is the only contingency guide that small business owners need to ensure their company's continued success.

It takes careful planning to ensure that a disaster of any typewhether the result of fire, an electrical outage, a major computer virus, or even terrorismdoes not result in a prolonged service interruption that could affect your business for years to come. By creating a proactive disaster recovery program, you can keep your people, inventory, and resources safe and secure. The Disaster Recovery Handbook is a comprehensive reference to help your business survive any kind of major disruption, giving you the tools you need to protect your organization in the event of extraordinary circumstances. Filled with practical solutions and ready-to-use tools, the book provides detailed instructions for: * Assessing risk * Assembling a disaster recovery team * Building an interim plan for immediate protection * Setting up an emergency operations center * Clearly documenting recovery procedures * Testing and debugging the plan to make sure it works * Ensuring the health and physical safety of your people * Recovering vital records * Protecting your material resources

Powerful Earthquake Triggers Tsunami in Pacific. Hurricane Katrina Makes Landfall in the Gulf Coast. Avalanche Buries Highway in Denver. Tornado Touches Down in Georgia. These headlines not only have caught the attention of people around the world, they have had a significant effect on IT professionals as well. As technology continues to become more integral to corporate operations at every level of the organization, the job of IT has expanded to become almost all-encompassing. These days, it's difficult to find corners of a company that technology does not touch. As a result, the need to plan for potential disruptions to technology services has increased exponentially. That is what Business Continuity Planning (BCP) is: a methodology used to create a plan for how an organization will recover after a disaster of various types. It takes into account both security and corporate risk management tatics.There is a lot of movement around this initiative in the industry: the British Standards Institute is releasing a new standard for BCP this year. Trade shows are popping up covering the topic.* Complete coverage of the 3 categories of disaster: natural hazards, human-caused hazards, and accidental and technical hazards.* Only published source of information on the new BCI standards and government requirements.* Up dated information on recovery from cyber attacks, rioting, protests, product tampering, bombs, explosions, and terrorism.

Presents methods to identify vulnerabilities and take appropriate countermeasures to prevent and mitigate failure risks for an organization.

CIOs, MIS, and DP managers, facilities managers, and all others concerned with Disaster Planning for computer and communications facilities will find this the most comprehensive and usable handbook ever done. Includes hundreds of forms, checklists, procedural guides for avoiding disaster, and, when unavoidable, recovering with the least difficulty.

On July 28, 1997, the Morgan Library at the Colorado State University experienced a flash flood that broke a wall in the library basement; the flood's sheer force twisted bookshelves and tossed books into the water. As a result, ten percent of the collection was totally destroyed, with the most serious damage to the serials collection. In all, 425,000 titles had to be reprocessed, most computers were ruined, work areas were gone, and the library couldn't open due to water, mold, and other health hazards a disaster of the largest magnitude. Edited by university library dean Alire, who oversaw the library's recovery, this handbook gives a detailed account of the disaster, as well as advice and recommendations to other libraries for coping with an emergency and its aftermath. Even though Morgan Library had a disaster plan in effect, employees discovered how many things weren't covered. They also learned how little there was in published library literature on replacing collections, accepting gifts in huge quantities, dealing with insurance companies, keeping the building secure, the difficulties (in their state) of hiring temporary help, and working with contractors. Each chapter is written by a different staff member (or pairs) and discusses the impact the disaster had on their department. How do you keep staff morale intact and how do you communicate when there are no telephones, electricity, or heating/cooling in the building? Health concerns for the safety of employees from mold are also discussed. This lengthy volume is important as it documents the severity of the disaster but also reads as a cathartic dissertation that will help the staff in the healing process as they regain control of their library. Useful lessons can be learned by large academic and public libraries thinking through their own disaster plans.