Business Continuity/Disaster Recovery Challenges in a Hurricane Zone
By Joan Goodchild, Senior Editor, December 01, 2008 — CSO Security and Risk Online
Some business continuity demands are universal, but others vary depending on where you are. In the first part in an ongoing series, this article takes a look at what’s at stake and what’s in place for two companies faced with the worsening threats posed by hurricane zones.
The corporate headquarters building for OSI Restaurant Partners is a mere 800 feet from the end of runway at Tampa International Airport. But according to OSI Chief Information Officer Dusty Williams, that’s the least of their concerns.
OSI, the company that owns popular restaurant-chain brands such as Outback Steakhouse, Roy’s and Carraba’s Italian Grill, is smack dab in the eye of the storm zone, in hurricane country. Their 750-person operation in Tampa includes all back office functions, including the financial, legal and real estate divisions. If a hurricane strikes and the building is impacted, the amount of sensitive data that is at stake is immeasurable.
“We’re in an A zone as far as flooding is concerned. You don’t really want your data center here.”
The 2008 Atlantic hurricane season produced a record number of consecutive storms, according to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The season saw a total of 16 named storms. With water temperatures rising due to climate change, many meteorological experts predict even tougher seasons to come. For companies in a hurricane zone, business continuity and disaster recovery preps need to be in place now, and not when the storm clouds begin churning.
It is that kind of thinking that inspired Williams to find a new home for the data center. In 2003, the main data center in headquarters had no back up power and a business continuity/disaster recovery plan was a vague notion. Williams got initial approval to move OSI’s data center to an off-site facility hosted by backup and storage service provider Qwest.
Read the rest of this article, BC/DR Challenges in a Hurricane Zone
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When a Hurricane or Flood Threatens:
- How do we maintain mission-critical operations?
- How do we protect and recover our workforce?
- How do we protect business assets?
- How do we recover from a catastrophic event?
The COMPLETE HURRICANE & FLOOD PLAN FOR BUSINESS provides a step-by-step planning template.
