In Service Continuity Management we introduced the idea of being prepared to
recover ICT services in the event of a disaster and also of being proactive in
minimising the likelihood of a disaster affecting ICT services. We gave you an
overview of the whole Service Continuity Management process and an
implementation guide giving step-by-step instructions to help you implement a
service continuity management process and contingency plan that we believe is
appropriate for the needs of schools. An operations guide gave you a list of
ongoing activities required by the process in order for you to keep it going and reap
the benefits. We described roles and responsibilities and offered guidance on how
to assign roles. We removed anything non-essential to give you a lean process
requiring the minimum of effort and resource.
Check your understanding of the process by following:
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Step
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Tasks
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Identify the ICT services in
use so that you understand
what would need to be
restored and in what order.
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Identify and document services. This task is part of Service
Level Management.
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Identify the components that
enable those services so that
you understand what
equipment would be needed
to restore services.
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Identify and document equipment. This task is part of
Configuration Management.
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Identify the risks and threats
that may result in a disastrous
situation.
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Consider all the things that might happen, such as:
- fire
- flood
- accidental damage.
Take into account how likely to happen these are. For
example:
- a flood is more likely if the school is next to a river that
is prone to bursting its banks
- accidental damage to a file server may be more likely if
it is in a classroom rather than in a secure room of its
own.
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Implement countermeasures
to reduce the risks and
threats.
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Taking steps to reduce the risks and threats is the
proactive part of Service Continuity Management. Taking
some of the examples above, your countermeasures might
include:
- housing as much computer infrastructure equipment as
possible on a high floor in the building, to minimise the
risk of water damage in the event of a flood
- placing the file server out of general reach on a
purpose-built rack, to protect it from the comings and
goings of the classroom.
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Make contingency plans to be
invoked in the event of a
disaster affecting ICT
services.
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Draw up a plan to help you restore ICT services. This may include
operating a temporary service in alternative accommodation or it may
focus entirely on the restoration of the original service in situ. The
latter is likely to take longer, depending on the extent of the disaster
and factors such as access to the premises and obtaining
replacement equipment. The former may be desirable if a speedy
restoration is the priority, but you will need additional resources such
as access to alternative accommodation and equipment, that you do
not need for the recovery of the original service.
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What you should expect now that you have implemented Service
Continuity Management
- There is an increased awareness of the possibility of the unforeseen occurring.
- There is an increased awareness of the importance and priority of ICT services.
- ICT staff, end-users and suppliers involved in a contingency plan know what is
required of them.
- You have given more thought to resilience and the possible risks affecting the
availability of ICT services, and you leave less to chance.
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What you should have achieved through Service Continuity Management
- You have created a service catalogue documenting all ICT services in use.
- You have a configuration-management database that holds details of all ICT
equipment.
- You have prepared a contingency plan that can be invoked in the event of a
disaster or accident.
- You have rehearsed the contingency plan with all participants.
- You keep a copy of your contingency plan securely off site as well as one on site.
- You keep the contingency plan up to date with changes to ICT services and user
requirements.
- As far as possible, you have neutralised all risks and threats to ICT services.
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Benefits of having implemented Service Continuity Management
- In the event of an accident or disaster, you could restore ICT services in the
correct order of importance.
- The readiness of a contingency plan means that you would lose little time in
reacting to and recovering from an accident or disaster.
- Projecting a disaster scenario helps people to prepare mentally for such an
event.
- An accident or disaster is less likely to happen because you have
acknowledged and minimised risks and threats.
- Service continuity and disaster recovery is aligned with the overall needs of the
school and ICT strategy, not just the technical support strategy.
- There is a clearer understanding of the importance and rank of ICT services
and so better focus of resources day to day, not just in the event of a disaster.
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