Posts Tagged ‘Disaster Recovery’
Protecting IT from Disasters
“Only the flexible survive.” It’s a phrase we’ve heard– and possibly said– many times. Life is unpredictable, and challenges do come our way, so how should uncertainty affect the way we approach information technology (IT) in our churches and ministries? We are dependent on our computers today in ways we might never have imagined. We rely on them to store contact information, process financial transactions, communicate– many of the nuts and bolts that enable and hold ministry together. Therefore we should do all that is reasonable and cost-effective to protect our organizations from being shut down by a disastrous event. Planning now gives the flexibility needed for ministry survival. And in the ever-changing legal and financial regulatory landscapes, IT disaster recovery plans are even more necessary.
Read MoreReasonable Network Security
Church and ministry networks have unique security needs. Many mistakenly approach network security in our niche like they would a club or hobby, and thus don’t go far enough to protect our data and our team. Others mistakenly go so far they impede the team and increase their support call volume unnecessarily. We have worked or consulted on hundreds of networks in churches and ministries, and we have developed an approach that protects and empowers while minimizing support needs. I’ll share it with you so you can enjoy the same results.
Read MoreProtecting Data– Is It Really Worth the Hassle?
Some church assets are difficult to assess. Personnel, congregational goodwill, and data are just a few examples of assets whose value is usually understood only once it’s gone. None of us would say our data has no value to the organization, but trying to figure out what it’s worth so we can adequately protect it is challenging. Data is one of the most valuable assets a church has. Protecting it isn’t difficult, but must be approached as deliberately as the fire and security protection we apply to our church buildings.
Read MoreLayers of Protection
We are all masters of risk management! You may not have thought of yourself that way, but it’s true! You began learning how to manage risk when your parents taught you that you shouldn’t touch something hot because it would burn you. In elementary school you learned to avoid the school bully because any encounter with him or her could hurt. So all through our lives we’ve learned how to manage risk. And, as risk managers, we need various layers of protection from those things that could hurt our ministry’s computer systems.
Read MoreWhat’s Different about Business Continuity?
Many of us in IT focus on the quality of our system backup– or, at least we intend to. System backups are essential, but are they enough? What if the process of recovering from a disaster will be lengthy? Like with Katrina? Or 9/11? That’s when we’ll need more than a disaster recovery strategy. We’ll need a business continuity strategy.
Read MoreOff-Site Database Backup
One of the lessons we learned from recent disasters is how important it is to have a copy of your church database and accounting system backed up to an off-site location.
Read MoreComputer First Aid Kit?
Most organizations have an undocumented disaster recovery plan that has never been tested. As many ministries learned in last year’s hurricane season, waiting until the disaster hits is the worst time to test your system.
Read MoreAverting An IT Disaster
In light of recent events many stories and articles are circulating about the need for disaster preparedness. Many of us are in areas prone to at least one form of natural disaster. What are the facts? How do we prepare? Possibly the hardest question to answer– what will it cost?
Read MoreHandling IT Emergencies
Some networks live in a constant state of panic. They go from one emergency to another, sometimes with little time to catch one’s breath. Other networks seem to run without error, needing only to be restarted because of scheduled maintenance. Regardless of where you are in the network stability continuum, emergencies can hit and you need to have a plan… just in case.
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