Continuity of Operations & Your Agility Membership

Continuity of Operations & Your Agility Membership

Who is Agility?

Agility Recovery Process

Agility bridges the gap between disaster and survival.

Agility Membership

Membership Features

• Immediate protection

• myAgility Planning Portal

• Alert Notification

• 24-hour access

• Ongoing education programs

• Testing

Membership LifecycleAgility provides robust, easy-to-implement recovery solutions for an affordable monthly membership fee.

Implementation and Online Tools

Free, password protected, online planning tool. myAgility allows you to store, view and update pertinent recovery planning information.

Features:

• Alert Notification System – free email and text communication

• Store plans, contracts, critical documents, spreadsheets, pictures, records.

• Create user profile for each employee• Vendor management tool• Inventory management tool• Planning checklists, templates, forms

myAgility Family

Most organizations agree that employees are their most valuable asset. Steps taken to protect your employees and help them prepare personally for disaster are often the most important.

myAgility Family is a powerful web-based tool for Agility member employees and their families which includes:

• Personal Preparedness Plan Templates

• Weather Forecast Alert System

• Automated Reminder Service

• Contact Alert Notification System

• Virtual Safe Deposit Box for Critical Documents

myAgility Family is provided free to all employees of every Agility Member organization

Prepare to Survive.

Agenda:

• What is Continuity of Operations all About?

• Reality of Risk

• Planning Broken Down into 7 Questions

Prepare to Survive.

What is Disaster Recovery?

Disaster Recovery is the coordinated process of restoring systems, data and infrastructure to support key ongoing

business operations.

This is Information Technology (IT)

Disaster Recovery – What Is It?

An Answer to These Questions

1. Where to go to recover the technology and data?

2. How to recover the infrastructure need to run critical systems and applications?

3. How to confirm successful restore of systems and information?

4. Will it work for the business users?5. How do we return to normal operations

in an orderly fashion?

Prepare to Survive.

What is Continuity of Operations?

Continuity of Operations Planning is the process of systematically identifying mission-critical “processes” (not

necessarily application systems), procedures and functions to run the organization.

This is the organization and the people

COOP Planning – What Is It?

3 Requirements for Recovery

Cannot Recovery Successfully Without Each of These

Components

Technology

DataPeople

Adaptable = Resilient

The Goal of Preparedness

The Basics:1. Preparation prior to emergencies2. Grounded in self-awareness3. Accurate perception of reality4. Realistic optimism for the future

The ability to mitigate, withstand and respond effectively to disruptive

events.

The Keys To Resiliency

Prepare to Survive.

Reality of Risk

Some Disasters Happen with little to NO warning

Flooding Calgary, Alberta

Who We Are

Aerial view of the damageAgility recovering City Hall, 3 banks, and city’s pump station

West Liberty Story

http://youtu.be/5p5YZeT4aVM

Who We Are

“This is the most devastating recovery I have ever experienced. They had a 15 minute warning and it only took 15 seconds to devastate an entire city.”

- Mike Sidoti, Agility Mobile Recovery Manager

West Liberty Story

Who We Are

March 1 is official start of the tornado season Tornado outbreak in Tennessee Valley, Ohio Valley, and parts of the South 45 twisters total hit: Alabama (7), Georgia (5), Indiana (3), Kentucky (9),

Mississippi (1), Ohio (6), North Carolina (2), South Carolina (1), Tennessee (9), Virginia (1), West Virginia (2)

Most tornadoes were of EF3 strength One of the worst, if not the worst, March tornado events in history Tornadoes caused:

Devastating loss of 39 human lives Destroyed buildings Widespread power outages

March 2, 2012 Statistics

Who We Are

Employee training Crisis Communications Know how to accept help

and coordinate with State Police, National Guard, etc.

How do you avoid the “shock factor?”

Disasters can happen anywhere, anytime, to anyone.

Observations and Key Takeaways

Some Are Regional Events, Some Isolated Events

Case Study: City of Poquoson

Case Study: City of Poquoson

Some Impact Much More Than Your Office Space

New York City following Hurricane Sandy landfall on Oct 29, 2012

• Worst ice storm in state’s history

• 100% of Kentucky & Southern Missouri customers without electricity

• Obtained a generator as part of their disaster recovery plan

• Opened their offices to the local community as a warming shelter

Case Study: Paducah KY

Many Are Unexpected

Early Snow Storm South Dakota Oct 2013

• Arson shuts down community water system affecting water quality for 30,000

• Fire investigation delayed normal recovery

• Recovery Plan = multiple strategies to resume critical operation

Headline:

“Fire at Norwich Pump Station Disables Water System”

Case Study: Norwich Water

1. Power Loss2. Loss of Sales & Customers3. Length of Recovery4. Uninsured Loss

(for continuing operations)5. Uninsured Loss

(for destruction of physical property)

NFIB Research Foundation Report

Top Threats to Organizations

Risk Tolerance is unique to each business and should be developedand evaluated annually. Most companies underestimate the risk profile of their business and therefore understate or simply misunderstand their risk

tolerance until it is too late.

Recovery Events Seen By Agility

Disaster RecoveriesCategorized by Type (Nearly 300 Individual Events Logged)

Additional Equipment Need

16%

Building Fire5%

Construction/Renovations

3%

Phone Outage 9%Power Outage

40%

Water Damage/Man

made3%

Water Damage/Weather

3%

Server Failure4%

Internet Outage 9%

Computer Failure4%

Roof Damage4%

I. 15-40% – The number of businesses that fail following a natural or manmade disaster.*

II. 35% – The number of small to medium-sized businesses that have a comprehensive disaster recovery plan.**

III. 94% – Number of small business owners who believe a disaster could seriously disrupt their business within the next two years.***

IV. 51% – Number of Americans who have experienced at least one emergency situation involving lost utilities for at least 3 days, evacuation from their home or office, loss of communications with family members or had to provide first aid to others.****

*Insurance Information Institute, **Gartner, ***American Red Cross and FedEx Small Business Survey, 2007, ****American Red Cross/Harris Poll Survey, 2009.

The Reality of Disasters

Prepare to Survive.

To Answer in Your Plan

7 Questions…

Prepare to Survive.

1. Who is your team?

2. What is your risk?

3. What is critical?

4. Who do you rely on?

5. How do you communicate?

6. Is your staff prepared?

7. Have you tested it?


Recovery Planning is Best Accomplished as a Team

Benefits 1. Multiple perspectives2. Accountability in numbers3. Greatest likelihood of success

Requirements 1. A chairperson2. Representation from key departments3. Endorsement from Executive Management


Gaining Leadership Support

1. Focus on FundamentalsStart Simple, keep costs down, stress the need for a physical recovery location

2. Demonstrate the Need3. Establish the Risks & Rewards

Roughly estimate cost of downtime, potential loss of revenue & customers

4. Establish Required Resources

2. What is your risk?

Ask yourself:

• What types of emergencies have occurred in the past?

• What could happen as a result of your facility’s location(s)?

Then consider:

• Your top 3 risks/threats

• How would you recover from each of those top risks?

3. Can you recover the essentials?

• Know what functions are critical to your day-to-day operations

• What employees are needed to recover these critical functions?

• What additional resources are needed for successful recovery?

• Develop a proven recovery strategy for each critical function


Understand the risk outside of your organization

Talk to your key vendors and suppliers about their recovery plans

Develop relationships with alternate vendors

Insure what can’t be protected

Beware of potential gaps in your supply chain

1. 3rd Party IT- What is their service level commitment to your firm?- Can they respond to you in a regional event?

2. Payroll Companies- Do you know their Recovery Plan?- What is the process for an interruption during Pay Cycle?- Are they integrated into your Exercise?

3. Delivery/Shipping Partners- What is the protocol for an interruption?- How will any delay from these partners affect your business?


4. Who could you rely on?

Explore disaster recovery vendors/partners

• Consider the assets and services you need following a disaster, such as phone and internet communications, office operations, power, etc.

• Find one or more recovery vendors who can provide those assets or services

• Consider partnering regionally to achieve economies of scale

Internal Communications Strategies

Phone ListsComplete, Updated, Comprehensive

Backup Email/PhoneEmergency contact phone/email

Text MessagingDevelop Policy & Practice

Alert Notification SystemFree Weather Alerts, Company-wide

Call-in Recording System

Social Network platform


Contact your provider to learn about phone redirection capabilities and implementation process.

Develop a tactical response plan in the event of a phone outage. Will you:

Redirect lines to Voicemail?Redirect lines to Cell Phone?Redirect lines to second office or

partner?

Phone Redirection


Online Presence – Website Access

• First Point of Public Access

• Remote access to your Web Site?

• Ability to immediately post critical information to your site?

• Ensure your site can handle any potential spikes in traffic during emergency events

• Ensure your site is hosted remotely with redundant servers


Steps for Proper Media Communications

• Establish a Crisis Communications Team

• Identify Spokesperson(s) & prioritization

• Train your Spokesperson(s)

• Establish a policy for employeeinteraction with Media, on andoff-site

• Ensure all Employees know whothe Spokesperson is and how to reachthem

5. How do you Communicate?

Ensure Employees Know the Plan1. Do they Know the plan exists?2. Do they know where to find the plan?3. Do they know their primary role?4. Have you shared the plan with new hires?

6. Is Your Staff Prepared?

1. Critical Functions must continue2. Certain areas/departments may experience

greater demand3. Longer/Odd Hours may

require additional staffing4. Employee Absenteeism will

spike

For this checklist and others,please visit:

http://www.PrepareMyBusiness.org


1. Do they have a plan?a) Evacuation/Shelter planb) Critical Document Storagec) Emergency Alert Systemd) Emergency/Go Kit

2. How can your organization help?a) Workshopsb) Checklistsc) Emergency Kitsd) Flu Shot Clinicse) Family Involvement

Days


• HR policies (sick leave, travel, flex time)

• Comfort and location of recovery site

• Transportation to recovery site

• Childcare facilities at/or near recovery site

• Counselling and support

• Emergency housing for displaced employees


• Assure payroll continuity

• Consider direct deposit of paychecks

• Create a policy on overtime pay during an event

• Cash is king – have plenty on hand

• Plan for continuing pay during downtime

• Increases employee loyalty

• Encourages employee return following an event


• First Aid Kits

Install, Update, Resupply

• CPR Training

Hands Only CPR

• Fire Safety

Hazard Awareness, Fire Extinguishers

• Evacuation Planning

Building Evac, Area Evac, etc.

• Shelter in Place Training

Earthquake, Tornado, Active Shooter


• Important Records

• Insurance Policies, Fixed Asset Inventory, Contracts

• Operating System Install Disks

• Licensing Keys/Passwords

• Letterhead

• Office Supplies

• Cash

• Mobile PhoneChargers/Extra Batteries


Assemble Emergency Supplies

7. Have you tested your plan?

• Do an annual exercise and update the plan as necessary

• There is no pass or fail

• Make sure to re-educate employees when any changes to the plan are made

• Testing is a process not just a project


Test to Failure

Identify Break Points

Revise and

Correct

Train Staff


• Involve all departments• Develop a scenario with unexpected, creative

“twists”• Don’t be afraid of “pass/fail”, the point is to test

the limits and improve the plan• Involve outside suppliers, vendors and partners• Keep a running log of all activities

and questions/concerns• Conduct a “post exercise review”• Build on what you learned

to improve your plan

Case Study: Testing

Play

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BignPBV32Sk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BignPBV32Sk

Case Study: Testing

Keys to Success

• Be flexible

• Use your plan as a “guideline”

• Enhance Managements’ decision making ability

• Listen to trusted sources

• Challenge your vendors

• Look after your staff & their families

• You alone cannot do it yourself

Taking Your Plan to the Next Level

• Review Insurance Coverage

• Prepare Your Supply Chain

• Institute a Physical Asset Management Program

• Establish a plan for physical relocation to a alternate recovery site

• Diversify your vendor/supplier network

• Participate in regional exercises

Questions?