Event in Review: Disaster Recovery with Angela Pak from KPMG

Posted by WITWA on 7 April 2011 | 1 Comments

Tags: disaster recovery, events

When Angela Pak from KPMG spoke at our last event about disaster recovery - Preparing for an IT Disaster: It's not just about the technology - she did it from the voice of experience. Winning the crowd over with a detailed analysis of the Queensland floods, the insight provided left the room with plenty of food for thought.

Expert advice over breakfast

While everyone was mesmerised hearing lessons learned from an event most of us only saw on TV, what really made an impression was information and advice Angela shared about disaster readiness. As Senior Manager within the KPMG IT Advisory team and leading the Perth Business Resilience practice, she brought credibility to a topic easy to brush under the rug. In particular:

Technology is only part of the job

It’s easy for IT people to focus on the technology but you can’t safely stop there. It’s equally important for considerations to be made about your staff, the premises of your building, and whether or not your partners and suppliers will be ready.

You're probably NOT ready for a disaster

According to the Symantec 2011 SMB Disaster Preparedness Survey

• Only 50% of participants had a documented IT DRP
• Only 28% have actually tested

Testing requires a lot of planning

Disaster Recovery Testing Considerations

• Test frequently
• Make sure your testing includes infrastructure, not just software
• Involve business users
• Use realistic scenarios that link back to your risk assessment

While it was hard to imagine a disaster situation from the comfortable setting at KPMG, Angela’s professional expertise garnered a lot of discussion and a renewed commitment to investigate disaster recovery more fully in each of our organisations.

Do you have a comprehensive disaster recovery plan in your organisation?