Top 3 Credit Union Disaster Recovery Goals For The New Year
2013 – Lose three pounds per week or money back
Just kidding – the relentless infomercials are making me dizzy this time of year. But one thing I do like is the Year in Review look backs. 2012’s risks – real or perceived and undermine had the potential to undermine your best planning strategies. If you didn’t so much as “Google” the Mayan calendar at least once in 2012, then this post isn’t for you. No matter how far-fetched or mundane a preparedness step appears, the “Head in Sand” approach is not an acceptable mitigation strategy. Because, we’re credit unionists too, we want to share our top lessons learned for this year. So if you’re ready to hear the 2012 top picks = read on!
Lack of documentation of all network components and third party interfaces
I’ll start with the mundane task of documentation. You cannot recover what you cannot measure/draw. Countless of hours are needlessly spent in establishing connectivity with your DR/BCP provider. You can save time and money by thoroughly documenting your network diagrams down to the interface and process levels. This can be a daunting task if you’ve never done it before but is the equivalent of having the blueprint to your headquarters should there be a fire. Several tools are available however to do a good job; work in collaboration with your DR provider to determine what components are required quickly for recovery. Ask for a redacted copy of another credit unions diagram to get your started. Or better yet, hire a consultant to work with your IT team and business units to fully document your network. Once completed, a bi-annual update keeps these diagrams up-to-date with the latest installed technologies and business solutions (vendors).
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