Running head: LOOP INC. DISASTER RECOVERY PLAN 1

LOOP INC. DISASTER RECOVERY PLAN 10

Loop Inc. Disaster Recovery Plan

Manogna Telikapalli

BA63570 G2 Disaster Recovery

Professor Gulsebnem (Sheb) Bishop

Loop Inc. Disaster Recovery Plan

Executive Summary

Loop Inc. as an e-commerce company that offers different forms of online services, the company needs to have a strong disaster recovery plan. The company has specialized in selling software, applications, and other electronic software products via its e-commerce platform. This business and others such as offering cloud storage services raise to allow the company to transact a lot of data. This paper will highlight on the company’s Disaster Recovery Plan and ways the company can recover its Information Technology function after a disaster. Disasters are both unpredictable and inevitable which raises the need for a disaster recovery plan in place. The guidelines in this plan can be applied to Loop Inc. entirely or on the company’s subsystem within the enterprise.

Loop Inc.’s disaster recovery plan involves or focuses on the amount of downtime which will be measured in days. The recovery plan highlights the different possible causes of disasters by assessing human, natural, or mechanical as the key sources of disasters. The recovery plan also focuses on the effects of disasters and developing guidelines on how to recover from them. The disaster recovery plan identifies and classifies key risks or threats that may lead to disasters for the company. The recovery plan also defines the processes and resources that facilitate or support business continuity during a disaster. The plan also defines the reconstitution mechanism of getting the business back to normal operations and ways of getting through the after-effects of the disaster.

Table of Contents Loop Inc. Disaster Recovery Plan 2 Executive Summary 2 Identification of Disaster Risks 4 Risk Classification 4 Risk Assessment 6 Effects of Disasters 7 Disaster Recovery Mechanisms 9 Disaster Recovery Phases 11 Recommendations 14 References 15

Identification of Disaster Risks

Loop Inc., just like most other online companies faces both direct and indirect risks to its business. The identification of disaster risks is guided by the essential function of the business. These functions set ground for assessing and mitigating the risks. Essential functions to the company are those whose interruption would greatly interpose the flow of business and may result in financial losses (Reason, 2016). Online presence and functionality is the key function of the business. The company relies on its online presence to offer services to its clients. There are other risks but online presence should be given more priority. Risk evaluation was based on a number of attributes as shown below.

Figure 1 Risk Attributes

Online functionality faces numerous risks such as network failure, power outages, and physical or electronic damage to supporting equipment and facilities. The magnitude of risks in the company is dependent on the affected component and effect to the company’s core functions. The effects of disasters that affect the entire business, for example, server failure are different from those disasters that affect specific sections of the business.

Risk Classification

The evaluation process allowed for the categorization of risks into different classes to help the company accurately prioritize them. Loop Inc.’s risks can be classified as data systems risks, external risks, facility risks, departmental risks, and desk-level risks.

i. Data systems risks

Data systems risks are associated with shared infrastructure usage, for example, software applications, file servers, and networks. The failure of this shared infrastructure can impact different departments of the business. The analysis of these risks has helped in the identification of all specific points of failure within Loop Inc.’s data system’s architecture (Sadgrove, 2016). Inappropriate operation processes can also result in data systems risks

The company may face a lengthy and expensive recovery process from such kind of failures because there may need to update or replace software, equipment, or personnel.

Loop Inc.’s data system risks will be evaluated under the following subcategories:

· Telecommunication systems and network

· Data communication network

· Shared servers

· Data storage or backup systems

· Software applications and bugs

· Viruses

ii. External risks

External risks are those associated with failure outside the enterprise. These risks are noteworthy because they are not under the company’s control. External risks for the company can be natural, human-caused, civil, or supplier related. Natural disasters are key to this disaster recovery plan and on top of the list because they damage a large geographic area. Earthquakes have been noted to be a major risk to Loop Inc. because most of the company facilities are located in earthquake-prone areas (Lan & Mojtahedi, 2017). The chances of mitigating these risks are considerable because meteorological threats can be forecasted and the company can set-up disaster recovery facilities. Human-caused risks can include sabotage, acts of terrorism, crimes, and operations mistakes among others. Civil risks include labor disputes, local political stability, and software legal claims among others. Civil risks can either be internal or external of the company.

iii. Facility risks

Loop Inc. is highly dependent on the wellbeing of its local facilities. Facility risks analysis allows for the consideration of power sources, communication facilities, availability of water, climate control, and ability to avoid or control fire, structural risks, and physical security among others (Lan & Mojtahedi, 2017). The security of the company’s facilities is a mandatory measure to protect assets from both employees and outsiders.

iv. Departmental risks

Failures within specific departments can be a risk to the company. Such risks can include the failure to load given scripts on the company’s system and missing communication links within a department among others. Unavailability of skilled employees can be a risk to the company’s output or performance.

v. Desk-level risks

Successful operations of Loop Inc. are dependent on most of the day-to-day personal work of employees. Desk-level risks have necessitated the analysis and accounting of all processes and tools that facilitate an employee’s job.

Risk Assessment

The risk assessment is based on the completed risk classification. The risks will all be scored and sorted into different categories based on the impact and likelihood. Risk assessment form will form the basis of the score sheet which will be used in the scoring process. The score sheet includes a main risk category and its subcategories in form of groups. Risks are the specific risks in each subcategory or group that can affect the business. Likelihood, impact, and restoration time are estimated in a scale from 1 to 10 but the likelihood is considered as long plan period such as 5 years while the impact is highly sensitive to time.

Below is an example of the company’s risk assessment form with all the keys of a score sheet. Projected rough risk analysis score is arrived at after multiplying the likelihood time, impact time, and restoration time (Webber & Wallace, 2017). There is a total risk score of zero when there is a zero value within one of the two columns. The biggest risk and those that require more attention are put to the top when the score sheet table is sorted in a descending order.

Table 1 Risk Assessment Form

Risk Assessment Form
External risks
Date:		Likelihood	Impact	Restoration Time	Score
Grouping	Risk	0 – 10	0 – 10	0 – 10
Natural disasters
	Tornado	0	9	10	0
	Severe thunderstorm	1	4	2	8
	Earthquake	5	9	10	450
	Hail	7	2	6	84
	Snow or ice	8	5	7	280
Human-caused risks
	Poor skills	1	6	10	60
	Human error	2	5	7	70
	Sabotage	1	8	2	16
	Power supply cut	9	9	2	162

 

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