Government Technology
Government Technology: State & Local Government News Articles

Software: Taking the Complexity Out of Business Continuity



Print
Comment

Jun 25, 2008,

You're CIO of a modest-sized state agency with several dozen field offices. The data on your systems is sensitive and requires good processes for integrity, protection and retention. When you analyze the situation as part of your business continuity (BC) plan, you discover your field offices are using unreliable tape-backup systems with no centralized operation at headquarters to replicate the remote data. In other words, you've discovered a major gap in your recovery and continuity plans.

"Reliability was a major problem," said Eddie Chavez, CIO of the New Mexico Administrative Office of the District Attorney (AODA), whose agency mirrors the one described above. "We had no way to ensure backups were getting done, and with what regularity -- on a daily or weekly basis."

As part of its BC planning, the AODA turned to software to back up its Microsoft Exchange and SQL data located at the agency's field offices. The product, InMage Systems' DR-Scout, automated the existing data-retention process, allowing replication to take place -- in minutes rather than days -- at two regional locations.

The AODA's needs -- and solution -- are typical of what's occurring throughout the public sector as more agencies and IT departments confront the harsh realities of putting a BC plan into place with limited resources.

John Ferraro, InMage president and CEO, said many government agencies are pressuring IT departments and CIOs to deliver faster recovery times with better services. "[Service-level agreements] have tightened considerably since 9/11," he said.

At the same time, technology costs for storage disks have dropped, while recovery times happen much faster. The result is better solutions at lower cost points, according to Ferraro. "These trends have allowed us to focus on delivering solutions, rather than products to the public sector," said Ferraro.

That's a benefit because government no longer has the people and resources to craft elaborate, internal BC solutions, often reliant on manual processes. "Software now does automatically what was a manual process just a few years ago," he said.

 


If You Liked This Article, You May Also Like...

Related Products and Services


Latest Government Technology News


Industry Solutions for Government

Read real world deployments of technology in government from our sponsors.

View All Industry Solutions

Marketplace



This section
brought to you by:


Communications and Interoperable Technology Survey

Emergency Management magazine invites you to participate in our Communications and Interoperable Technology Survey. Our 11 questions are very brief and should only take 5 minutes of your time.

Complete our survey now, and enter to win a $25 Amazon Gift Card!

Dispatch Operations and Interoperability

Webinar: A New Era in Public Safety Wednesday, December 10, 2008 from 11:00 am - 12:00 pm PST/2:00 pm - 3:00 pm EST


A New Era in Public Safety BlackBerry® smartphones running on Sprint networks deliver a wide range of applications that are transforming public safety operations.


Hurricane Preparedness Tips When a hurricane hits, are you prepared to keep in touch?


Case Study - Morris County, New Jersey The Morris County Communications Center upgraded to a new trunked radio system with the benefits of a cellular network, extending coverage beyond county lines


Case Study - Iredell County, North Carolina Spanning over 570 sq miles, it became imperative that the Iredell County Emergency Communications, Operations and Management extend it's communications systems to enhance reliability, security, and coverage.


Case Study - City of Anaheim, California The City of Anaheim saw an opportunity to leverage existing GST and partner with nearby cities to enhance safety operations through data interoperability.


Case Study - Charlottesville, Virginia Fire Department Taking advantage of a range of interoperability solution, the Charlottesville Fire Department has achieved a network that can serve as backup to their existing public safety network.


Sprint ERT Go-Kit with GST Optima Rapid, interoperable communications for emergencies, drills and field exercises.


Optimal Interoperability Until recently it was not possible to cost effectively connect commercial networks to LMR systems. Improvements in communications technology have resulted in greatly enhanced operational capability and have reduced the log-term cost of communications system ownership.


Multi-agency interoperability for Public Safety Establishing cross-agency, real-time situational awareness is critical to effective incident management as well as daily resource management.


Video


DHS Grant Links

DHS Grants and Assistance Programs Link to overview of available grants administered by The Department of Homeland Security (DHS)


Fact Sheet: Fiscal Year 2008 Preparedness Grants Major changes in funding and focus for 2008 DHS grant programs


Remarks on 2008 Homeland Security Grant Guidance DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff and FEMA Administrator David Paulison


$1.8 billion in DHS Homeland Security Grant Program Awards


Funding Public Safety Communications Whether you are a law enforcement agency, looking for funding to support an interoperable communications solution or a school, seeking to improve communications between building administrators, grants may provide the funding you need to implement a robust, scalable communication system.


Yes! I would like more information about Sprint's dispatch operations and interoperability solutions.