Doomsday & Print Outs.

Deep inside a mountain on a remote island in the Svalbard archipelago, halfway between mainland Norway and the North Pole, lies the Global Seed Vault.?It is a long-term seed storage facility, built to stand the test of time — and the challenge of natural or man-made disasters. The Seed Vault represents the world’s largest collection of crop diversity.

It was the recognition of the vulnerability of the world’s gene banks that sparked the idea of establishing a global seed vault to serve as a backup storage facility. The purpose of the Vault is to store duplicates (backups) of seed samples from the world’s crop collections.

Permafrost and thick rock ensure that the seed samples will remain frozen even without power. The Vault is the ultimate insurance policy for the world’s food supply, offering options for future generations to overcome the challenges of climate change and population growth. It will secure millions of seeds representing every important crop variety available in the world today. It is the final back up.

People familiar with IT Services, IT Infrastructure and Operations are likely to be familiar with backup plan, disaster recovery plan (DRP) and business continuity plan (BCP).

A DRP is an essential part of a BCP. ?It is a formal document created by an organization that contains detailed instructions on how to respond to unplanned incidents such as natural disasters, power outages, cyber-attacks and any other disruptive events. The plan contains strategies on minimizing the effects of a disaster, so an organization will continue to operate – or at least quickly resume key operations.

Disruptions can lead to lost revenue, dent the brand image and can lead to dissatisfied customers. And, the longer the recovery time, the greater the adverse business impact. Therefore, an effective DRP should enable rapid recovery from disruptions, regardless of the source of the disruption.

So far, so good.?

Do you know where your organization’s printed version of the latest DRP and BCP is located?

If you are thinking “I knew it.?Just unable to recall now.”, you are amongst the many, globally, who fall in that category. ZDNet reported that with many of the hacks going on, even in large companies, their backup and disaster recovery plans weren’t actually printed out.

Chances are very high that in the event of a disaster, when the IT infrastructure and the related resources may have been compromised, accessing the DRP and BCP stored online is unlikely to happen.?Extreme situations when there is total lack of access to any of your organization’s “normal” online repositories until restoration can be done. Going 100% digital and paperless may not be the best thing, at all times.

It is in such occasions - when a disaster strikes - that the value of a simple approach to keeping an organization’s printed version of the latest DRP and BCP is truly felt. The more the concerned people in an organization know where the printed DRP/BCP document is located, it helps them when a situation warrants - for quick access, easy reference and right invoking the DR and BC procedures.

As one wise person has commented, “Printers are still good for something. Use them.”