5.2 Planning Infrastructure and Resource Needs

There is no 'magic formula' or text book template to help in the task of 'recovery infrastructure and recovery resources provision'.

The MSTA approach is to involve the most senior Business, I.T. and Facilities managers, together with their key staff, in a series of short daily meetings, over a period of one week. Further meetings of this committee are held, when necessary, and junior staff liaise to progress the work.

The initial meeting is:

a) to ensure that the most senior I.T. and Facilities managers understand the special needs of a recovery environment

and

b) to secure their personal commitment to 'making it happen'.

These initial steps are so vital that they are repeated at each daily meeting until both a) and b) are achieved.

The importance of the above can be demonstrated by describing what can happen if a) and b) are not achieved.

In one hypothetical case, the bc plan owning organisation decides to use part of their own remote office space as their recovery site. The recovery environment will require desk space - empty desks - permanently 'empty' desks, that are equipped and ready for immediate use in the event o a bc plan invocation.

Unless the senior facilities managers and even the organisation's own management fully understand what 'business continuity planning' embraces, the empty desks will be, at first, just used occasionally for visiting staff, then for research staff who promise to move out instantly at bcplan invocation.

MSTA methodology does not recommend the use of recovery desks for any purpose other than business recovery following invocation of a bc plan. (see Section 4.5.1 Reciprocation).

However, we are aware of at least one back office (bank) division which has two offices, several kilometres apart, each having in excess of one thousand staff. Each office acts as a bcp recovery site for the other. A bcp invocation at either site requires both to carry out pre-scheduled emergency procedures, whereby the 'host' site reduces its own staffing requirement to provide recovery desks for the department which invoked the bc plans. Business contingency plan implementation, in this scenario, must include pre-equipping of the recovery desks, at each host location, to provide the correct I.T., communications and operating environment for the visiting staff's business processes. MSTA methodology does not recommend this approach to bcp implementation.

The Business management must understand the consequence of choosing data mirroring instead of tape back up or choosing to provide the organisation's own dedicated recovery site instead of a shared, third party site. (See 4.1 Establishing the recovery philosophy).

The Facilities management must understand that any area under their management which has been designated as a 'disaster recovery site', with their agreement, MUST be managed as a secure and 'sterile' unit, which is NOT available for any other use. Never. (A popular attempted 'dual use' for the recovery site is its use as a temporary location for a department which is having new carpet fitted!)

The I.T. management must understand that the communications and systems provision should be adequate to meet the chosen recovery strategy, without exorbitant cost. The bc project should not be 'loaded' with costs relating to other projects which have been delayed until a suitable 'host' project comes along. Or with costs which rightly belong in the production support budget.

Having secured the understanding and commitment of the senior management in the Business, Facilities Management and I.T. areas, you are ready to begin to plan the recovery infrastructure and recovery resources requirements.

The planning will be guided by a committee of from four to ten staff, drawn from the Business, Facilities management and I.T. departments, together with the bcp project staff. This committee will be involved even if the use of a third party, shared recovery site is proposed.

<This section of the MSTA guidance notes is under revision and will be expanded later>