Introduction

Traditionally, resumption planning focused on the recovery of computer systems. But experience has shown that the ability to recover computer systems does not necessarily guarantee the survival of an organization following a disaster. Quick recovery of operations is useful only if the business units themselves are able to function — to communicate with customers and vendors, to receive and enter orders, to produce goods and services, and to collect revenue. The only way to ensure this is to plan for the resumption of all of the critical components of the business enterprise — its business operations, including personal computers and networks, the data center, and voice and data communications services.