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Feature

1. Tu= ne=20 in to RFID

2.=20 Biometrics:=20 Your ID Future

3.=20 XB= RL:=20 Financials on the Fly

4.=20 SP= AM=20 Defense

5.=20 W= ired=20 to 3G Wireless

6.=20 Th= e=20 SOAP Revolution

7.=20 Hello=20 HAL: Autonomic Computers

8.=20 Watch=20 for Application Monitoring

9.=20 ID=20 Theft Risk Aversion

10. The Disaster = Recovery=20 Solution

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The Disaster = Recovery=20 Solution

=93Managers = sometimes ask,=20 =91If my office burns down, how are my employees = going to=20 work if they don=92t have desks? Or =91How are = we going to=20 answer calls if we don=92t have a phone = system?=92=94 comments=20 Chris James, CTO of Georgia-based Xcentric, a=20 CPA-specific technology firm that has helped = numerous=20 companies get up and running after an unexpected = crisis.

Such hypothetical = questions=20 are part of the development, monitoring and = updating of=20 a disaster recovery plan=97where organizations = prepare for=20 continuity in the event of a natural or manmade=20 disaster, such as a virus infestation, weather = damage, a=20 network outage, or database corruption.

=93When we go to = identify=20 what technological=97as well as=20 non-technological=97solutions to use for = accounting firms,=20 cost, amount of downtime and reliability are big = factors,=94 says James. =93People have to decide = what=92s=20 important and how involved they want to = be.=94

In terms of = getting your=20 disaster recovery plan=97and the technology to = support=20 it=97up and running, =9390 percent of the time, = step one is=20 missed,=94 says James. By that, he means, the = human=20 factor. You first have to look at what you can = do=20 internally to account for data that may be lost = in=20 disasters such as fire, power outages, floods or = other=20 crises. =93Evaluate things like redundant = switches and=20 Internet connections, and ask yourself, =91Are = you doing=20 everything you can within your four walls to = make sure=20 you=92re going to be ok?=92 That=92s assuming = the building is=20 still standing. Tell your employees how to store = data.=20 Decide on an internal process for auditors that = must=20 return data back to a central location after = visiting a=20 client,=94 James suggests. =93It=92s useless to = have a=20 disaster recovery solution if people gloss over = these=20 basic things.=94

When developing a = disaster=20 recovery strategy, companies can choose to = =93internalize=94=20 the process rather than using an outside = provider. For=20 example, many corporations looking to improve = the=20 overall performance and efficiency of their = disaster=20 recovery programs install hardware and software = to serve=20 as back up, should their servers fail.

However, other = companies=20 see danger in consolidating too many business = processes=20 and technology components in a single location, = and=20 instead turn to external solutions: either = backing up=20 data at a remote site, or recreating the actual=20 environment at a second location. Offsite hosted = facilities are the most common solution. These = sites are=20 protected by security guards, and often have = fire=20 protection systems 20 thousand times more = efficient than=20 a standard building. =93Users can replicate the = technology=20 located in their offices to the hosting = facility,=94=20 explains James.

The increased = availability=20 of high-speed Internet connections has been = integral to=20 the development of disaster recovery = technologies over=20 the past 10 years. =93Firms with high-speed = Internet=20 connections have options,=94 says James. =93The = great thing=20 about this technology is the potential to = replicate data=20 across Internet connections. You can create a = complete=20 copy of the data in a secondary location. And as = you=20 work, it continually replicates at a = byte-by-byte level,=20 so you can guarantee that the data in the = secondary=20 location is up-to-date.=94

Yet, as James = explains,=20 unfortunately few companies are really using the = technology right now, largely because few = actually=20 acknowledge the importance of disaster recovery=20 planning. =93You have to recognize the potential = dangers=20 and live by your solution for a disaster = recovery plan=20 to work.=94 He says that for many companies, = disaster=20 recovery means backing up data once a week and = storing=20 the tape in a bank vault, or having an executive = bring=20 it home. But the complexity and interdependent = nature of=20 applications in companies today makes = traditional=20 recovery with tape technology complex and time=20 consuming.

James relates the = story of=20 a North Carolina firm that called Xcentric due = to heavy=20 rains from Hurricane Ivan flooding its server = room.=20 =93They basically called up and said, =91We = can=92t boot up.=20 We can=92t log in. What do we do?=92=94 Xcentric = told them=20 they had two options: order new servers and wait = the two=20 weeks to get them up and running or overnight = Xcentric a=20 back-up tape. =93We used their back-up tape to = restore the=20 data via Xcentric=92s hosting facility, Gray = Matter. We=20 re-installed applications, recreated users and = allowed=20 them to login via a webpage to run all of their=20 applications and access their data,=94 he says. = =93Two days=20 later they were working on tax returns again.=94 =

Talk the Talk: = Disaster=20 recovery is the process whereby an = enterprise=20 can restore any loss of data in the event = of fire,=20 vandalism, natural disaster or system = failure.=20 Disaster recovery technology is automating = the=20 multiple, manual-intensive tasks required = to=20 restore a failed system. Hosting = facilities, for=20 example, use high-bandwidth Internet = connections=20 to replicate and store back-up data.

Vendors: = VERITAS=20 Software (http://www.veritas.com/);=20 IBM (http://www.ibm.com/);=20 Strohl Systems (http://www.strohlsystems.com/)= ;=20 Xcentric (http://www.xcentricgroup.com/)= .=20

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