Steve R. Bulmer asked:




One of the first lessons successful charities learn is a non-profit business is still a business and must be operated in a professional manner. This applies to all aspects of the organization including accounting, human resources and IT. Unfortunately many non-profit organizations take a minimalist approach to IT services. This undermines their ability to provide help to those in need. IT assessments allow charities to determine what kinds of resources fit within their needs and their budget so they can provide the best care possible to their target population.

Disaster Recovery

One of the most basic business functions is to have an IT plan for disaster recovery. Information such as financial data or client records is critical to any organization’s function and if that information is lost, operations can come to a halt. The charity could collapse and even find itself in trouble with granting agencies for not providing promised services.

IT assessments allow non-profit organizations to find disaster recovery solutions appropriate to the organization. For small charities, this might be as simple as a schedule of nightly server backups onto tape or remote servers. Larger facilities might need more advanced disaster recovery solutions such as redundant servers and network connections that allow the charity to operate in the event of a natural disaster. Many non-profit services are in most need during crises which can also threaten the charity’s ability to function. Thus, disaster recovery is even more critical for these entities than for private corporations.

Protecting Confidential Information

Although disaster recovery is vital, information also needs to be protected from unauthorized intrusion. Non-profit organizations often have access to confidential information and they must make every effort to ensure this data does not fall into the wrong hands. Something as seemingly harmless as a list of client names could alert unscrupulous individuals to people in need or people who might be desperate enough to fall for scams such as identity theft.

Charities that deal with patient medical or financial information can face serious penalties if that information is not adequately protected. Organizations such as hospitals, bankruptcy advisors or legal aid societies are privy to information that must be protected at all costs. IT assessments can determine how vulnerable the current infrastructure is to unauthorized intrusion ranging from hacking the network to simply walking in an unlocked door and sitting down at a computer. They can also institute systems to protect computers from viruses, spyware and other malicious software.

Big Needs, Small Budgets

Non-profit organizations have IT needs as great or greater than private organizations, but don’t have the deep pockets that corporations have. They often can’t use off-the-shelf solutions designed to meet the needs of a wide range of customers since they contain a range of features many buyers don’t use. Non-profits need customized tools that cater to their needs and fit within tight budgetary requirements.

Grantors don’t give money to organizations only because those organizations provide assistance to the community. Grantors also need to know their money will be used wisely. Charities that don’t show fiscal responsibility find their sources of funding dry up. When charities ask for grant assistance, they must justify every penny spent and demonstrate every solution is the most cost effective choice. IT assessments need to find options that meet the needs of the organization in terms of security and data recovery, but also in terms of their limited financial resources.

Creating A Plan That Helps Everyone

Many departments will be impacted by the changes recommended by the IT assessment, and this is why everyone should be included in the planning phase. Obviously IT staff should be included, but so should directors of each department. Large charities should have representatives from each chapter involved in the planning.

Since the organization already is using a number of software and hardware solutions, the company’s vendors should also be included in the planning to ensure they can offer the capabilities needed to support the final solution created. Any partner charities should be included as well. The IT assessment can’t help unless the people involved have all the information needed to come up with a comprehensive plan to meet the organization’s IT needs.

Professional management ensures a non-profit organization is able to meet its mission to communities in need, and live up to its responsibilities to donors and grantors. IT assessments ensure the organization has data protection and disaster recovery tools in place to meet those obligations.

Jide Oniwinde asked:




Disaster Recovery /Business Continuity Test Evidence Report

 Assess the following five scenarios:

 IT and Data communication loss – Scenario One  

This is a situation where you loose all IT and Data Communications, IT Infrastructure, E-Mail Service, access to information stored electronically, IT support service, inter organisation building communications, other external communications, voice communications, fixed line (Internal (Private) and PSTN (Public)) Telephone Services, mobile telephone services.

Building loss – Scenario Two

This is a situation of unavailability/loss of part or one or more buildings which can occur through environmental incidents such as fire, water damage, explosion etc.

Building Access Restrictions – Scenario Three

Normal access to buildings may be denied or restricted through a range of factors including the utility failure scenario, civil unrest in the area, police cordons from terrorist incidents, building occupation, etc.  Access to the organisation’s building(s) may be: temporarily accessible but not usable, not accessible at all.

Utility Failure – Scenario Four

As the organisation is dependent on water, electricity, and gas utilities.  If any of these fail because of problems, then the affected building(s) could have to close (e.g. if there was no water a building may have to close on health grounds).  In this circumstance, it is likely (although not guaranteed) that temporary access would be possible to retrieve equipment and documentation. Related to this utility failure scenario, the consequent effects could be lack of lighting, heating, and a usable physical access security system, thus rendering the building(s) unusable (although probably accessible temporarily).

Staff Unavailability – Scenario Five

Staff (including contract support, such as the supplier of support service/helpdesk IT support staff) may be unavailable for a number of reasons, including: significant loss of life (e.g. through fire, explosion), widespread failure of public transport through a major incident or industrial action, adverse weather conditions, widespread illness (e.g. an influenza epidemic), mass resignation or other form of industrial action.

 

Obtain answered to the following questions:

 

If the office is inaccessible, how far is the recovery site in kilometres?

Is the recovery site fully equipped with stationery, telephones, printers, PCs, TVs, desks?

Would it take less than one hour to retrieve off-site copies of critical recovery data?

Has all staff personal telephone numbers been updated for call cascade?

Can the recovery site give an assurance that separacy /diversity services are in place in the wide area network?

What is the organisation’s emergency telephone number for staff to call?

How effective is the call redirection?

Can the organisation confirm, where mirror systems are used, that backup devices and software are in place to manage backups from a single replicated system when the primary has failed?

How long will it take to have recovery of all aspects of critical IT systems and restoration of connectivity to critical networks including tests of critical computer systems and associated hardware in event of a disaster?

Does the recovery site have a Disaster recovery plan?

Confirm if the organization’s IT security elements include the following elements: Firewalls, encryption, Anti-virus products

Confirm if IT environment humidity, ventilation and air-conditioning are controlled.

Confirm if IT environment is protected by fire detection and suppression.

Confirm if Power can be provided by generator(s) for at least three days using on-site stored fuel.

Confirm if physical access to critical areas and floors is restricted by guards’ presence. 

The test result should be recorded to show  whether everything worked as expected, and if it did not, what happened and why, and what deficiencies were noted in the plan and its action task lists, supporting facilities, locations, etc. Record details of any revisions required to the plan and/or supporting facilities, locations, etc. 

Kurt Duncan asked:




For companies that work with computers, no matter the degree, it is imperative that disaster recovery solutions be analyzed and implemented.  Without a service such as this, if an IT system were to lose data, regardless of the reason, there would be no system in place for full recovery.  This means if a computer system were to crash, be damaged by fire, water, or something else and all the company information on that computer lost, without using disaster recovery, the company could easily fail.

After all, business computers contain all types of information.  In addition to operating systems and software used for running the business, the computer would also contain irreplaceable business and customer information.  For instance, company financials, sales records, taxes, and employee records would be gone along with customer information, vendor numbers, invoices, contracts, and much more.

Today more than any other time in history, disaster recovery solutions should be a mandate for a company to succeed. While the concept is not that old, the number of business owners now using some type of outsourcing or in-house disaster recovery is substantial.  Business owners need to take extra precautionary measures to protect the two greatest investments they have – the business and the customers.

The average amount of money a company loses every hour that a computer system is down is a whopping $78,000.  With such a huge impact on the bottom line, it is easy to see how quickly a business, especially a smaller company would go under.  In addition to problems caused by natural disasters or accidents, there is also the risk of sabotage.  Because this is so serious, experts estimate that 50% of all businesses now have disaster recovery solutions in place.

To determine the exact disaster recovery solutions needed, a business owner should meet with a disaster recovery specialist who would look at the computer system, the type of data, and potential risks.  From there, the appropriate type of system would be recommended.  The goal would be to have a system implemented that would allow the business to run seamlessly and ensure continuity while going through the restoration process.

The following are the most common situations in which data is lost, emphasizing the value and critical natural of disaster recovery solutions.

* Tapes that have been tampered with

* Accidental dropping of a storage device

* Incorrect hard disk drive formatting

* Firmware deformity

* Logical failure

* Disturbance of the semiconductor

Bob Kruse asked:




With the increase in the number of patients approaching healthcare facilities in the US for various treatments, these firms are having a tough time in efficient manipulation and recording of patient treatment details. Effective patient treatments and timely processing of insurance claims all depend on how effectively and quickly, patient medical records are being processed by healthcare firms. To cater to such needs of healthcare firms including hospitals, clinics, acute care centers, and long term care facilities in Austin, Texas, medical transcription facilities in the state are now offering cost-effective and reliable services for their clients.

Apart from hospitals, individual practitioners and doctors also benefit from these services. With medical transcription services being outsourced, doctors and physicians can concentrate more on their patients and worry less about maintaining and keeping patient records. Since high expenses are involved in hiring transcriptionists and buying dictation equipments, having these jobs outsourced to state-of-the-art transcription facilities in Austin, Texas helps medical care facilities to save time and money. A number of medical transcription service providers are now operating in Texas and their services are available in all major cities in Texas including Austin, Houston, Dallas, San Antonio and Fort Worth.

Most of these medical transcription providers offer their services in a highly competitive and dedicated manner, with services delivered on the basis of individual client requirements. The availability of skilled and experienced transcriptionists working in these firms is a factor that helps clients to have their daily patient information management jobs done faster and in a thoroughly efficient manner. With HIPAA compliant operations provided at medical transcription facilities in Texas, all transactions involving patient medical records are safe and secure. These Texas based firms are also offering excellent backup and disaster recovery services for their client healthcare centers.

To have better accuracy maintained in processed patient records, most Texas based medical transcription firms are utilizing the services of experienced proofreaders, language experts and editors. They can double check and correct files for errors and thus most processed records coming from these transcription facilities maintain a high accuracy level of up to 99 % which is required by healthcare clients.

With medical transcription services being provided 24×7 by these Austin and Texas based firms, all client jobs are done in a time-bound manner and thereby healthcare providers can strictly avoid possible backlog situations. Quality and competitive pricing are also positive factors which enable healthcare clients to have their transcription jobs outsourced to these firms. Most medical transcription facilities are also providing related services such as medical billing and medical coding to help healthcare clients further in their daily patient information management operations.

Stephen J. Richards asked:




Whether a company relies heavily on database activity for critical everyday business operations or only for select requirements, the loss of data due to technological failure can have far reaching negative implications. The loss of valuable information and records can cause productivity setbacks, lost profits, lost customers and headaches for everyone involved. Aside from the obvious business challenges associated with the loss of data, legislation such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) places requirements on the retention and on request production of certain types of financial data. Companies assume the risk of non-compliance if they are unable to produce information within the specified time constraint required by Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) or other information focused legislation. Database and mainframe disaster recovery is more important in today’s technology dependent business world than ever before.

In the past, many businesses utilized offsite data tape storage as a crucial facet of their disaster recovery plans. Such offsite tape storage entails serious security risks by today’s standards, such as the possibility of loss, theft or damage to the tapes while stored at the offsite location or in transit. In the event of a disaster, the retrieval of information from such sources can waste valuable time, require intensive reorganization by IT professionals and result in financial losses due to database unavailability and customer disappointment. Additionally, scheduled nightly backups often result in periods of several hours during which applications are unavailable to employees or customers.

In today’s information technology driven market, mainframe availability and security are of utmost importance. Fortunately, the need for reliable and efficient mainframe data recovery systems has not been overlooked by innovative enterprise data availability software and service companies. Fully integrated backup and recovery utilities for IMS databases are now available to simplify, automate and expedite the process of recovery without compromising crucial database availability. Such solutions have the capability to, for example, automatically accumulate and copy records on a periodic basis for ease of future retrieval, with some utilities even providing the flexibility of reverting to certain point in time.

Many companies are already discovering the direct benefits associated with such mainframe and database recovery utilities. Eliminating the manual labor requirements and uncertainty associated with offsite tape backup, integrated backup and recovery utilities provide businesses with an easily maintained, reliable and secure means of protecting valuable business data and technology.

Phil Washington asked:




Most emergency survival kits you see in stores are designed for outdoor trips. While they would certainly do as well, they would nevertheless cost more than it should. Here are a few tips to make your own budget-friendly emergency home kit.

One Kit Per Person

To ensure that every person’s need is covered, it’s best to have one emergency kit per person.

For maximum safety and protection, consider basing your emergency home kit on a 72-hour period prior to receiving help. Lastly, every emergency home kit must be capable of meeting any type of disaster or emergency, whether it’s natural or man-made.

Food and Water

Medication can only go so far. To stay alive in any emergency, you’ll need sustenance. Include a sufficient amount of Aqua Blox water boxes – at least a gallon of water per person per day, but you may need more depending on climate conditions. Remember also that shelf life for Aqua Blox is five years. Bottled water, water purification tablets, and water storage bags should also be included.

As for food, carbohydrate-rich foods are your best bet because they’re effective in replenishing your energy. Canned goods are always useful as they require little to no preparation.

Clothing and Shelter

Instead of thermal blankets, you’ll be a lot dryer, warmer, and safer with 2 large-sized garbage bags per person. Wool blankets would be better while sleeping bags, albeit bulky, are the best. Include one set of working clothes and boots.

First Aid

Bandages of all types, adhesive tape, gauze pads, various kinds of antiseptics, analgesics, and antibiotic ointment are the basics of first aid. Be sure to take note of special medication needs of your loved ones such as diabetic medication or a spare pair of eyeglasses for those visually impaired.

Tools

Include flashlight, matches, camping stove with fuel or burner if possible. Forks, spoons, and various sizes and types of knives (not just for culinary use) would be handy. Swiss army knife sets, screwdrivers, and a hammer and pry bar would definitely be helpful.

Special Needs during Emergencies

Your emergency home kit will naturally differ in terms of content and size if you have an infant with you. Because their immune system is not as strong as those of adults, you need to be extra careful in choosing the right foods, medicine, and supplies to ensure their health and safety. Last but not the least, remember to have an emergency home kit ready for your pets, too!

Josh Stevens asked:




It’s possible you may be on your own after an emergency so it would be wise to put away some supplies such as food and water to last you at least three days. Rescue crews and workers may not be able to get out or able to reach your area for a while after an emergency so you want to be able to take care of your self in the short term. You may not have any services like electricity and you water may be contaminated so you should plan for this also.

So what do you buy for food items that you can put away? There are ready made kits available that are supposed to be for three days and some for even longer. Check them out to see if they will have what you want or need. You may find they have items that are of no interest to you but these kits are a convenient way to go. Downside is that some of these are more expensive that buying separate items from local stores so compare prices.

Buying extra foods that you know you like locally may be the best way to go. Get canned goods and dry goods that have a good shelf life that you can use up and replace to avoid going past expiration date. One of the benefits of canned goods is that you do not have to add water, which means less water consumption from your water supply. Get yourself a good container to keep you items in or put aside some shelf space for them.

Do not forget your water and some way to filter or purify it if it’s contaminated. Also have extra sources of lighting and other comfort items that you use daily. A little extra preparation early on can help you avoid some discomfort if an emergency situation does arise. You hope that you never have to deal with anything but you will know you are ready.