1. University of South Carolina Confidential Page 1 Disaster Recovery Business Continuity Tool Selection February 27, 2007 Betty Hawkins Senior State Certified Project Manager Certified Business Continuity Professional

2. University of South Carolina Confidential Page 2 Getting Started Before you start looking at tools Good news is lots of on-line help out there: – ready.gov, dri.org, bcmanagment.com Understand your current state Have clear goals and objectives –short term & long term Prioritize BC requirements –Most of the time DR is at the top of the list

3. University of South Carolina Confidential Page 3 Tool Selection Doesn’t have to be the first BC/DR activity Keep track of activities prior to purchase Schedule your vendors only after you are clear about what you want and need in a tool Consider listing requirements by must have, like to have, and wish list – keep long term in mind Make sure the following are included: –Training, Updates, Flexibility, Scalability and Security

4. University of South Carolina Confidential Page 4 Lessons Learned Do a Proof of Concept, all demos work - doesn’t mean it will work in your environment Look for tool flexibility and flexible pricing structures Plan on an FTE: –When the plan is complete, it just became a full-time job

5. University of South Carolina Confidential Page 5 Tool Plays a Key Role in BC/DR Communicate anywhere and everywhere you can –Awareness is the key –Plan has little value if people don’t know what to do Consider a tool that will do what you want it to do vs. what it can do –Develop your key assumptions first Building is inaccessible Key personnel unavailable Know the University plan Plan for the worst, hope for the best