How Strong is Your Network Recovery Plan?

Transcription

1 PLAYING IT SAFE: How Strong is Your Network s Disaster Recovery Operation? Executive Survey Summary October 2010 In Partnership with: Produced by:

2 Introduction Government Technology, working in partnership with Cox Business, recently surveyed public sector executives to understand their challenges in designing an IT environment that helps mitigate risk and improve recovery times. Clearly, as governments become increasingly dependent upon keeping applications and data flowing and equally less tolerant of failure an increased focus is being given to vulnerabilities in recovery operations. 39% of organizations experienced more than five network disruptions in the past twelve months. The most common cause was a loss of a critical infrastructure component (65%), but natural disasters(15%) and man-made events(12%) were also a factor. That adds up to a major risk area and a real opportunity for improvement. The costs and consequences of these network disruptions tell us that disaster recovery is a highstakes game. 78% said that productivity and the availability of their workforce would diminish, followed by 46% reported that public confidence in their agency would suffer. The financial costs of an outage were also high, with 30% of respondents saying that a 24-hour outage would cost their agency more than $100,000. 6% went further, saying such a disruption would cost them more than $500,000. Jurisdictions were just as clear about their recommended solution. Respondents cite redundant network carriers and ISPs as the primary requirement for meeting their recovery point objective in a disaster situation. In fact, more than 51% said that improving network redundancy is their most important area for improvement. They also told us that the most prominent gap in today s disaster recovery plans is support for teleworkers (47%) and instantaneous system switchover (47%). Disaster recovery is clearly a pressing concern to ensure every aspect of today s government is available continuously without interruption, regardless of circumstance. Respondent Overview This survey was completed by a random sampling of Government Technology s public sector subscriber base including CIOs, IT management, agency heads and operational support. Respondents were solicited via two invitations directing them to the online questionnaire. All aspects of this survey including questionnaire review, promotional outreach, response capture and report preparation have been completed by Government Technology. 2

3 Users Supported on Respondent Networks 41 % 36 % Under % 10 % 1,000 2,499 Over 2,500 Annual Disaster Recovery Budget 40 % 22 % 24 % Under $50, % $51,000 $100,000 $100,001 $250,000 $250,001 and up Note: This survey is intended to provide a general summary of Government Technology s audience responses to various questions on disaster recovery. Executives employed by Virginia, Maryland and District of Columbia government agencies participated in this survey. 3

4 Summary 1. How many unplanned network disruptions/outages have occurred in the past 12 months? 26 % 8 % 5% 61 % Under % of organizations experienced more than five network disruptions in the past twelve months. Over What is the most common cause of your network disruptions? 65 % Loss of infrastructure (power, network, facility) 65% Critical infrastructure failure is reported as the primary cause of network disruption. Natural disasters (weather-related) Man-made/human events (fire, theft, safety threats) 15 % 12 % 4% 4 % Security breaches (specifically online) 4

5 3. What business impact would be most affected if your network does not function for 24 hours? Please check all that apply. 78 % 46 % Productivity/availability of workforce Public confidence Managerial control (approval levels) Financial reporting 78% said that productivity or their workforce availability would diminish, followed by public confidence of their agency at 46%. 25 % 23 % 18 % 14 % 7 % Regulatory requirements Legal/contractual violations 4. What level of financial loss (delayed or decreased revenue collection) would your organization suffer if your network were not available for 24 hours? 30% 24 % 6 % 40 % 30 % None Under $100, ,001 $500,000 of respondents confirm more than $100,000 in financial loss should a 24-hour outage occur, 6% of those reporting more than $500,000. $500,001 and more 5

6 5. What is your recovery time objective (RTO) for mission-critical applications? 49 % 36 % Less than 4 hours 61% report a RTO of 4 hours or less to avoid unacceptable consequences for their mission-critical applications. Less than 24 hours 12 % 3 % Fault tolerant More than 24 hours 6. What network requirement will ensure your recovery point objective (RPO)? Please check all that apply. 60 % 39 % Redundant carriers & ISPs Fully redundant LAN infrastructure(ethernet) Dual fiber feeds into building 60% Redundant network carriers and ISPs lead the list as the network requirement to ensure their RPO in a disaster situation. 23 % 21 % 17 % 12 % Divergent routes via SONET rings Self-healing high speed fiber WAN 6

7 7. What issue requires network redesign/resolution in your current LAN architecture? 4 % 28 % 51 % Redundancy 17 % Public access Mobile/Teleworkers 51% report that improving network redundancy is their most important area for improvement. 8. What gaps currently exist in your disaster recovery plan? Please check all that apply. 47 % 47 % 38 % 35 % 29 % Instantaneous systems switchover Options for teleworkers Telephony and network back-up 47% Support for teleworkers and instantaneous system switchover are most frequently cited as their primary gaps in today s disaster recovery plans. continuity 9 % Data back-up and recovery 7

8 Government Technology is published by e.republic, Inc. 100 Blue Ravine Road, Folsom, CA Phone: Fax: govtech.com 8