BUSINESS CONTINUITY/DISASTER RECOVERY
NOTE: FOR ALL DOCUMENTS IN ANALYSIS AND RECOMMENDATIONS, YOU SHOULD PRINT THEM OUT OR VIEW THEM IN PRINT PREVIEW MODE. THE REASON IS THAT THERE ARE FOOTNOTES IN THE DOCUMENTS THAT YOU CANNOT VIEW UNLESS YOU DO THIS. THUS, YOU WILL MISS CRUCIAL INFORMATION YOU NEED TO COMPLETE YOUR STRATEGIES.
ANSWER TWO (2)QUESTIONS THAT ARE DOCUMENTED ON THE FOLLOWING PAGES. AS WITH PREVIOUS ASSIGNMENTS, ENSURE THAT YOU JUSTIFY YOUR ANSWERS FOR EACH OF THE QUESTIONS. YOU HAVE ALL OF THE APPENDICES THAT YOU NEED TO PROVIDE YOUR JUSTIFICATION(S) FOR YOUR ANSWERS!!!
EXPECTATIONS FOR ANALYSIS AND RECOMMENDATIONS:
Since the ANALYSIS is structured the same as Homework 3 and 4, ALL CONTENT OF YOUR ANALYSIS MUST BE ORIGINAL TEXT with one exception. The one exception is as follows:
1. You can only copy your DEFINITIONS FOR YOUR ALTERNATIVE STRATEGIES that you documented in Homework 3 and 4. IN FACT, YOU MUST COPY YOUR DEFINITIONS FROM HOMEWORK 3 AND 4 INTO YOUR ANALYSIS since it will save you time working on your analysis AND RECOMMENDATIONSand will also save the Instructor time spent reviewing each ENTRY.
2. If you had errors in your DEFINITIONS, YOU MUST MAKE THE APPROPRIATE CORRECTIONS WHEN WORKING ON YOUR ANALYSIS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ! If you do NOT make the corrections indicated on your Homework 3 and 4, additional points will be deducted on your grade.
NO OTHER TEXT CAN BE COPIED FROM YOUR HOMEWORK 3 or 4 SUBMISSIONS AND USED IN YOUR ANALYSIS AND RECOMMENDATIONS.
IF YOU COPY TEXT NOT NOTED ABOVE, YOU WILL EARN 0 POINTS ON YOUR ANALYSIS AND RECOMMENDATIONS SINCE THIS IS PLAGIARISM.
YOUR ABILITY TO JUSTIFY/SUPPORT YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS REVEALS IF YOU UNDERSTAND THE MATERIAL. THEREFORE, YOUR THOROUGHNESS IS ONE CRITERION ON WHICH YOUR GRADE WILL BE DETERMINED!!!!
The following guidelines apply to writing your ANALYSIS AND RECOMMENDATIONS:
1. Use Word for your document.
a. Any size typeface is acceptable.
2. Write in a businesslike manner:
a. Be thorough and use complete sentences.
b. Use bullet points.
c. DO not USE contractions since this would not be used in any type of a FORMAL REPORT. This especially applies to consulting reports that would be provided at the end of a project.
d. Run Spell and Grammar Check feature in Word to lessen chance of having such errors.
3. If I pointed out any issue(s) in your Homework 3 or 4 submissions, be sure to correct these in this Anaysis.
a. I will deduct points for any issue not corrected on your Analysis and Recommendations that appeared in your Homework 3 or 4 submissions.
4. DONOTUSE THE SAME JUSTIFICATION/REASONS WHY STRATEGIES ARE NOT RECOMMENDED as you did in your homework assignments!!!! This is because the environment is totally different in this ANALYSIS Assignment case study as well as the fact that this is considered plagiarism.
The above issues are crucial to earning a passing grade, since your ANALYSIS Assignmentsubmission should be a compilation of what you learned during the quarter.
Again, remember to write this in a professional/businesslike manner. I do not grade on volume of information; rather, I grade on the level of accuracy and thoroughness. Also, it is possible to be thorough and brief at the same time!!!
HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act)
Since ABC is a health insurance company, the privacy rules that are legislated under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), are a concern. There is a potential that ABC might incur fines because of HIPAA!
BONUS POINTS: You can earn up to a MAXIMUM of 3 additional Bonus Points if you include HIPAA in the appropriate areas of the Analysis and Recommendations. These Bonus Points will be added directly on top of your total points computed for your ANALYSIS AND RECOMMENDATIONS.
HINT: There are three areas of the ANALYSIS AND RECOMMENDATIONS where HIPAA should be included.
1. This applies to 3 of the strategies that you are NOT recommending as follows:
a. This applies to 1 strategy not recommended in Question 1 for a maximum of 1 point.
b. This applies to 2 strategies not recommended in Question 2 for a maximum of 2 points.
c. For each CORRECT MENTION of HIPAA, you will earn 1 point out of a total of 3 MAXIMUM possible points.
Also, while you should NOT provide pages of explanations regarding what HIPAA is, you do need to give an idea WHAT this Act involves!
QUESTION #1 (WORTH 50 OUT OF 100 POINTS)
QUESTION #1 IS ABOUT DISASTER RECOVERY. SEE THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS YOU NEED TO ANSWER:
DISASTER RECOVERY
Question 1:DOCUMENT YOUR RECOVERY STRATEGY FORTHE HARDWARE/SOFTWARE USED BY THE “JACKSONVILLE REGIONAL OPERATIONS” DOCUMENTED IN “APPENDIX 2—RTOs and RPOs FOR APPLICATIONS BY DEPARTMENT.” (NOTE: The Departments Included in Jacksonville Regional Operations are: a) Customer Relations; b) Claim Pmt. Activities; c) Customer Phone Contact; and d) Utilization Mgmt.).
Even though the ENTIRE DATA CENTER is SMOKE AND RUBBLE, you are to PROVIDE A DISASTER RECOVERY STRATEGY ONLY FOR THE FOLLOWING 3SOFTWARE APPLICATIONS (AND RELATED HARDWARE) THAT ARE HIGHLIGHTED IN YELLOW ON THE APPENDIX 2 SPREADSHEET:
1. CAS
2. PCS
3. WORKFLOW ROUTING
DO NOT PROVIDE A STRATEGY FOR ANY OTHER HARDWARE/SOFTWARE ITEMS IN APPENDIX 2. As with Homework 3, only recommend ONE STRATEGY for all three applications.
Even though we are concerned about Jacksonville’s operation, we also need to consider the operations in Mesa, Arizona and San Antonio, Texas (as well as other departments in other locations that may use the SAME HARDWARE/ SOFTWARE and have a LOWER RTO/RPO)when we design our Disaster Recovery Strategy. The reason is that these two offices perform the SAME EXACT FUNCTIONS as the Jacksonville Regional Operations, with employees using the same hardware and software as those in the Jacksonville Regional Operations. In fact, the 3 hardware and software items reside in the Jacksonville Technology/Image Center and are accessed by employees in these 3 locations.
Your recovery strategy should be designed for the “Worst Case Scenario,” which means a complete destruction of the Jacksonville Technology/Image Center. Justify your recommendation(s) using any information in the description of the client, appendices, etc. (HINT: the documents that will help you answer this question are listed on page 5 of this document.)
As with your homework assignment, use the following as a guideline to ensure that you cover all of the points documented below:
1. LIST HARDWARE/SOFTWARE AND RTOs AND RPOs INDICATED.(Remember to use the lowest RTO and RPO used by all other departments/offices. If any other department/office uses a lower RTO or RPO, always USE THE LOWEST RTO OR RPO..)
2. CHOOSE THE TECHNOLOGY STRATEGY(IES) AND DOCUMENT THE NAME OF THE STRATEGY. You may choose one strategy or more than one strategy, ONLY if this applies.
3. DESCRIBE YOUR STRATEGY BY DOCUMENTING THE FOLLOWING:
a. How Strategy Will Work: Describe how your strategy will work in detail. (Example, if you recommend Warm Site, describe HOW it will work in the company’s environment.)NOTE THAT THIS MUST BE ORIGINAL TEXT AND CANNOT BE COPIED FROM HOMEWORK 3.
b. Vendor/Internal Strategy: Document if you will use a vendor facility (external strategy) to house your equipment or one of your internal locations (the latter is an internal strategy).
i. INTERNAL LOCATION: Remember that this Company has multiple facilities in which you may locate your hardware/software for your strategy. If you choose an INTERNAL location you must also provide the following information:
1. Select the facility that you will use and document its location.
2. You must discuss WHY you selected that specific location. For example, if you selected a facility in Pennsylvania instead of Kansas, ONE OF YOUR REASONS might be that Pennsylvania is NOT in Tornado Alley while Kansas is right in the middle of it!!! Of course, this is only one reason of which there should be SEVERAL REASONS. (This is similar to a Risk Assessment which would be completed before you select the location.)
c. Justify Vendor/Internal Strategy: Also, explain WHY you are selecting an internal or external location, which means provide detailed justification.
4. EVALUATE STRATEGIES NOT RECOMMENDED IN COMPARISON TO YOUR RECOMMENDED STRATEGY:
a. Evaluate Each Strategy NOT Recommended: Document the following for each strategy NOT recommended:
i. A THOROUGH description of the Strategy (this is the definition). REMEMBER TO COPY YOUR STRATEGY DESCRIPTION FROM YOUR HOMEWORK 3 SUBMISSION, ENSURING THAT YOU MAKE ANY CORRECTIONS THAT WERE INDICATED BY THE INSTRUCTOR.
AND
ii. REASON WHY YOU DID NOT RECOMMEND STRATEGY: As in Homework 3, this is WHY each strategy is inappropriate for THEHARDWARE/SOFTWARE USED BY THE JACKSONVILLE REGIONAL OPERATIONS. (This is NOT the disadvantages of the strategy. Rather, document WHY EACH ONE IS INAPPROPRIATE FOR THE HARDWARE/SOFTWARE USED BY THE JACKSONVILLE REGIONAL OPERATIONS.)
NOTE: YOU MUST EVALUATE EACH STRATEGY BY USING RTOs/RPOs AS YOU DID IN HOMEWORK 3.
YOU MUST NOT COPY YOUR EXACT WORDS FROM HOMEWORK 3 SINCE THIS IS SELF-PLAGIARISM; multiple points will be deducted if you do this! INSTEAD, YOU MUST USE DIFFERENT WORDS WHEN YOU EXPLAIN WHY YOU DID NOT RECOMMEND EACH STRATEGY.
Remember that HIPAA might be an appropriate reason(s).
5. WRAP-UP OF ANALYSIS
a. What advantages would there be for your recommended strategy? What are the disadvantages for this strategy???
b. Document any other reason for choosing the strategy.
REMEMBER, DO NOT INCLUDE WORK AREA RECOVERY STRATEGIES IN YOUR ANSWER TO QUESTION #1.
REFERENCE DOCUMENTS TO USE FOR THIS QUESTION:
The documents you want to refer to are in Week 3 of D2L:
1. “Develop Disaster Recovery (Technology) StrategiesV17”
2. “How to Select Technology Recovery Strategies”
QUESTION #2 (WORTH 50 OUT OF 100 POINTS)
QUESTION #2 IS ABOUT WORK AREA RECOVERY. SEE THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS YOU NEED TO ANSWER:
WORK AREA RECOVERY
Question 2:FOR EMPLOYEES IN “JACKSONVILLE REGIONAL OPERATIONS” ONLY, WHAT WORK AREA RECOVERY APPROACH DO YOU RECOMMEND FOR THE REQUIREMENTS DOCUMENTED IN THE FOLLOWING DOCUMENT “FINAL—APDX1—WORK AREA RECOVERY REQUIREMENTS.” AGAIN, JUSTIFY YOUR RECOMMENDATION(S) BASED UPON INFORMATION IN THE DESCRIPTION OF THE CLIENT, APENDICES, ETC.(NOTE: The Departments Included in Jacksonville Regional Operations are: a) Customer Relations; b) Claim Pmt. Activities; c) Customer Phone Contact; and d) Utilization Mgmt.)
THESE DEPARTMENTS ARE HIGHLIGHTED IN YELLOW IN APPENDIX 1. ONLY PROVIDE A WORK AREA RECOVERY STRATEGY FOR THESE DEPARTMENTS ONLY.
ADDRESS THE FOLLOWING:
1. DOCUMENT THE RTO FOR WORK AREA RECOVERY. To gather the Work Area Recovery Requirements, refer to Appendix 1.
I. What is the RTO for Work Area?How many seats do you needat that time??
2. CHOOSE THE WORK AREA RECOVERY STRATEGY AND DOCUMENT THE NAME OF THE STRATEGY.
3. DESCRIBE YOUR STRATEGY BY DOCUMENTING THE FOLLOWING:
I. How Strategy Will Work:Describe how your strategy will work in detail. (Example, if you recommend a Vendor Strategy, describe HOW it will work in the company’s environment.) NOTE THAT THIS MUST BE ORIGINAL TEXT AND CANNOT BE COPIED FROM HOMEWORK 4.
MAKE SURE THAT YOU DISCUSS HOW THEY WILL MEET THEIR 4 HOUR RTO!!!
a. Vendor/Internal Strategy: Document if you will use a vendor facility (external strategy) for Work Area Recovery or one of your internal locations (the latter is an internal strategy).
i. INTERNAL LOCATION(S):Remember that this Company has multiple facilities that might be used for your Work Area Recovery Strategy. If you choose an INTERNAL location(s) you must also provide the following information:
1. Select the facility(ies) that you will use and document its location.
2. LOCATION SELECTION: You must discuss WHY you selected that specific location(s). For example, if you selected a facility in Pennsylvania instead of Kansas, ONE OF YOUR REASONS might be that Pennsylvania is NOT in Tornado Alley while Kansas is right in the middle of it!!! Of course, this is only one reason of which there should be SEVERAL REASONS. (This is similar to a Risk Assessment which would be completed before you select the location.)
3. HOW EMPLOYEES WILL BE ACCOMMODATED: Where will the employees work in the location(s) specified above? You must be specific and state HOW they will be accommodated.
4. WHEN PCs WILL BE ACQUIRED: Discuss if you will acquire PCs now or ATOD. If you will acquire now, will you install now or later? Discuss this in detail.
b. Justify Vendor/Internal Strategy: Also, explain WHY you are selecting an internal or external location, which means provide detailed justification.
4. EVALUATE STRATEGIES NOT RECOMMENDED IN COMPARISON TO YOUR RECOMMENDED STRATEGY:
I. Evaluate Each Strategy NOT Recommended: Document the following for each strategy NOT recommended:
ii. A THOROUGH description of the Strategy (this is the definition). REMEMBER TO COPY YOUR DESCRIPTION FROM YOUR HOMEWORK 4 SUBMISSION, ENSURING THAT YOU MAKE ANY CORRECTIONS THAT WERE INDICATED BY THE INSTRUCTOR.
AND
iii. REASON(S) WHY each strategy is inappropriate for THE JACKSONVILLE REGIONAL OPERATIONS AND THEIR REQUIREMENTS (REFER TO PAGES 18 AND 19 OF THE BIA FOR INFORMATION ON DEPARTMENTS INCLUDED IN THE JACKSONVILLE REGIONAL OPERATIONS). (This is NOT the disadvantages of the strategy. Rather, document WHY EACH STRATEGY IS INAPPROPRIATE FOR THE WORK COMPLETED BY THE JACKSONVILLE REGIONAL OPERATIONS.)
IF YOUR REASONS ARE THE SAME AS HOMEWORK 4, YOU MUST NOT COPY YOUR EXACT WORDS FROM HOMEWORK 4 SINCE THIS IS SELF-PLAGIARISM; multiple points will be deducted if you do this! INSTEAD, YOU MUST USE DIFFERENT WORDS WHEN YOU EXPLAIN WHY YOU DID NOT RECOMMEND EACH STRATEGY.
Remember that HIPAA might be an appropriate reason(s).
5) WRAP-UP OF ANALYSIS
I. What advantages would there be for your recommended strategy? What are the disadvantages for this strategy???
Remember, do NOT include the technology strategy documented in Question 1 as that is for Disaster Recovery and NOT Work Area Recovery. This question is for Work Area Recovery ONLY!!!!
REFERENCE DOCUMENTS TO USE FOR THIS QUESTION:
The documents to refer to are in Week 5 of D2L:
1. “Business Recovery (Work Area Recovery) Strategies”
2. “Work Area Recovery Strategy Decisions”