Essay On Disaster Recovery

 

The recent outbreak of Covid 19 pandemic is one of the greatest risks, that Tesco, US has encountered. Other risks are that of climactic change and sustainability. These risks have adversely affected the brand's reputation, degrading trust among the customers. Risks have also been detected in data, packaging, artificial intelligence, and animal welfare, among others. Liquidity risks affect the finance of the organization. The executive committee, board panel, and senior management meet frequently for discussing the risks, managing and controlling them. The risk Control and Assurance framework is used for establishing appropriate controls in the business (Tescoplc.com, 2020). Reviews are conducted, which enhance awareness of the areas which need to be improved. Statistics are used for gaining insights into the intensity of the risks. These insights help in understanding how to plan for managing these risks. Efforts are put into striving to refine the risk appetite, so that principal risks could be identified and mitigated.  Compromise is not there in the dictionary of Tesco operations. The approach is to identify the high-intensity risks on a priority basis. A risk assessment matrix is considered for scoring the risks, which helps in preparing the recovery plans. One of the strategic approaches in risk management is that involving subject matters, that contribute to refining risk appetite. The agreement is done with the experts on methodology for the risk assessment, management, and control, which is ethical. Jon and Purcell, (2018) state that key controls and mitigating factors are identified in each of the risks, which helps in assessing the extent to which is it addressing the requirements. 

The above image is that of the call tree, which Tesco could use for planning disaster recovery. The call tree could act as a hierarchical communication model, fostering effective communication among the staffs for planning the recovery, and mitigation strategies. The model would support functional organizational structure. Use of software would be effective, for adding automation into the process of planning the ways to recover from the crisis of disaster. Efficient teams could be created who would gather essential data on the disaster, for planning the ways of recovery (Freeman et al. 2019). For this, the staffs from human resource management could be involved. With this collaboration, the processes need to be in sequence as in getting the list of contacts ready along with the sequence of notification to be approved from the emergency management team. Presence in several locations needs to be considered, so that the disaster recovery management is efficient and addresses the needs of the sufferers.

 

 

Coordination needs to be maintained by the staffs of Tesco, ensuring that the emergency management team has completed the assessment of the disaster properly. After this assessment, the call tree is launched. Alternative call trees should be there, to avert exigencies where the original one turns out to be dysfunctional. Email communication could be adopted for maintaining effective two-way communication in Tesco. After the completion of call tree, confirmation is must, which could be done with the provision of receipt, which could be documented for proper record keeping (Andrade & Nogueira, 2020).

Recovery facilities could become functional for Tesco, UK when the usual primary data centre is unavailable for collecting data on the disaster and crisis. There are sites, which Tesco could access for recovering the facilities, which has been lost due to disaster. These sites are cold sites, warm sites, and hot sites. Cold site could not be effective, as there is no pre-installed equipment, which could take lot of time for collecting data on disaster. Hot site could be beneficial, as it would provide the disaster management team with the mirrored or xerox copy of the primary data. However, the maintenance cost of this site is very expensive, which could be problem, if there is no financial flexibility (Iloglu & Albert, 2020). Warm site could be effective for the disaster management team, as there is back up facility, network connectivity, and hardware equipment installed. This enhances the ease of the team members in getting the required data. However, the results would not be the same as that of production centre. Therefore, evaluation is to be conducted by Tesco disaster management team members in terms of the sources from where original data on disaster could be collected.

Companies like Tesco needs to maintain effective communication during disasters. This is to assure the stakeholders, and shareholders about their care, which matters to the organizational success. However, communication during disaster is disrupted, depriving the customers from the services, which they need. In order to control this disruption, Tesco can make use of technologies like social media, which could be beneficial in maintaining the communication during crisis period, that is, disasters. Mention could be made of social networking channels like Facebook, Instagram, where the news of disaster could be posted. The followers would read the news and make contributions in recovery measures (Kapur, Bezek & Dyal, 2016). Disasters could interrupt the internet connections, which affirms the disruptions in communication. In this situation, emergency agencies could be contacted as they possess adequate infrastructures supporting post disaster communications. Tesco, in order to maintain effective communication during disaster, could connect the first responders, for getting the relief measures. The sequential step could to approach the support systems to assist in delivering the message to the communities, and other stakeholders not to panic, and stay alert. The tone of communication needs to be assuring, which will make the people rely on the support systems working towards their care in the adverse situation of disaster (Lovari & Bowen, 2020).

Tesco, for exerting effective disaster recovery management, could follow some steps for activating the disaster recovery plan. For activation, there are some guidelines, which are to be followed. This is based on triggering events and conditions, which could help in determining whether the plan could be activated according to the requirements. The first step of activation process is identifying activation criteria, according to the type, severity, impact and duration of the disaster. The next step for activation is evaluation of the potential disaster events for determining whether the activation criterions have been met. The next step is that of approval for mechanisms including plan activation, IT management personnel selected, business management personnel identified, and company executives hired (Sawalha, 2021). The next step is concerned with logistics, where the staffs selected could ensure availability of facilities and systems, which could support the disaster recovery plan. Here, special emphasis is to be placed on Command Centre location, from where control is to be exerted. Last but not the least is communication, which is to be maintained by informing the personnel and related parties about the activation plans, activities, and decisions to implement, and the expected outcomes. Xiao et al., (2022) states that maintaining sequence in these steps would be effective for achieving positive outcomes for disaster recovery.

IT team of Tesco needs to have a clear strategy to restore the IT Functionality. This is inclusive of infrastructure in the data centre. Physical availability of the labour is also considered. Colocation is one of the important aspects of the disaster recovery plan, in which the backups could be decided. Documentation of the backups are needed to ensure that the arrangements of power systems, heating, cooling, fire safety, physical security are appropriate according to the requirements. IT experts could be involved in meetings for creating IT footprints, which could enhance virtualisation of the workloads related to recovering the situation from disaster. The backup provision is essential, as it helps in restoring the electronic information related to the business (Ready.gov, 2022). In this process, the business continuity plan is to be considered, for aligning the risk management with that of the business requirements. within this, recovery time objectives are to be prepared, which would help in assessing the impact on the business. Computer Security Resource Centre could be contacted, as they could provide valuable suggestions about restoring the IT functionality, as a part of recovering from the disaster. Considerations of finding a secured computer room environment, hardware, connectivity, software applications are necessary in terms of ensuring that the recovery strategies are effective, and lead to business continuity. In this context, Sun, Bocchini, and Davison, (2020) is of the view that testing is to be done for the software applications, as some of the software cannot tolerate downtime. For these software, dual data centres are needed which are capable of handling all of the data processing, especially security, privacy, and confidentiality. Many businesses have access to more than one IT facility. Hardware is to be made proper by Tesco, which could be helpful in configuring properly. This is because the hardware and software would function simultaneously for the restoration of the IT functionality.  Coordinated functions in terms of restoring the functions would be effective for restoring the lost glory in the business, especially in improvements on transforming the business situation from disasters (Liu et al., 2021).

 

Tesco, in order to be successful in disaster recovery, needs to follow certain steps. The first step is to be ready and prepared for a change. This is both mentally and physically. Examples could be expanding the infrastructure by adding some new resource for which financial flexibility is needed. Practically implementing the change is needed for ensuring that it fits within the business model. Tests are needed to be conducted for checking the quality and controlling it. If it is seen that the change does not fit in the business, then alternatives are to be planned. In this context, backups come handy. If there are no backups, then the cases of emergencies could arise, which could aggravate the risks, and delay recovery from the disasters (Erbeyoğlu & Bilge, 2020). Training of the staffs on disaster recovery is an effective action for disaster recovery. Within the training, the employees need to be briefed about the business continuity plan, and the disaster recovery plan. The employees could be asked to provide suggestions on progressing with the plans, which needs to be valued for making them feel included. This inclusion would act as a motivation for them to expose better performance.

 

 

After the performance, audit, reviews, and inspections need to be conducted by the Tesco managers. This would enhance awareness on the areas, which need further improvements. Here, a lifecycle projection could be conducted, which would provide insights on the future implications of the disaster recovery plans, and strategies identified. This is because estimations would be made on the future impact of the plans on the business. Mere estimations are not enough. Plans on maintaining the strategies and plans are needed so as to ensure future security of the business. This maintenance would evoke sustainability, helping in reducing the chances of further occurrence of the risks in future (Michaud et al., 2019). Evaluation through continuous improvement strategies would be beneficial in terms of upgrading the performance standards on disaster recovery approach.

 

 

Andrade, E., & Nogueira, B. (2020). Dependability evaluation of a disaster recovery solution for IoT infrastructures. The Journal of Supercomputing, 76(3), 1828-1849. [https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11227-018-2290-0]

 

Erbeyoğlu, G., & Bilge, Ü. (2020). A robust disaster preparedness model for effective and fair disaster response. European Journal of Operational Research, 280(2), 479-494. [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejor.2019.07.029]

 

Freeman, J. D., Blacker, B., Hatt, G., Tan, S., Ratcliff, J., Woolf, T. B., ... & Barnett, D. J. (2019). Use of big data and information and communications technology in disasters: an integrative review. Disaster medicine and public health preparedness, 13(2), 353-367. [https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/disaster-medicine-and-public-health-preparedness/article/abs/use-of-big-data-and-information-and-communications-technology-in-disasters-an-integrative-review/23B2807AE283BB7A7FDB4BE48DD01058]

 

 

Iloglu, S., & Albert, L. A. (2020). A maximal multiple coverage and network restoration problem for disaster recovery. Operations Research Perspectives, 7, 100132. [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.orp.2019.100132]

 

Jon, I., & Purcell, M. (2018). Radical resilience: Autonomous self-management in post-disaster recovery planning and practice. Planning Theory & Practice, 19(2), 235-251. [https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14649357.2018.1458965]

 

 

Kapur, G. B., Bezek, S., & Dyal, J. (Eds.). (2016). Effective communication during disasters: Making use of technology, media, and human resources. CRC Press. [https://books.google.co.in/books?hl=en&lr=&id=QKeuDQAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT10&dq=Effective+Communication+During+Disasters+Making+Use+of+Technology,+Media,+and+Human+Resources&ots=oquoToWrx3&sig=vy2kPOLqg989S6OWkTyYoJjBgwY#v=onepage&q=Effective%20Communication%20During%20Disasters%20Making%20Use%20of%20Technology%2C%20Media%2C%20and%20Human%20Resources&f=false]

 

 

Liu, H., Tatano, H., Pflug, G., & Hochrainer-Stigler, S. (2021). Post-disaster recovery in industrial sectors: A Markov process analysis of multiple lifeline disruptions. Reliability Engineering & System Safety, 206, 107299. [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ress.2020.107299]

 

 

Lovari, A., & Bowen, S. A. (2020). Social media in disaster communication: A case study of strategies, barriers, and ethical implications. Journal of Public Affairs, 20(1), e1967. [https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/pa.1967]

 

 

Michaud, J., Moss, K., Licina, D., Waldman, R., Kamradt-Scott, A., Bartee, M., ... & Lillywhite, L. (2019). Militaries and global health: peace, conflict, and disaster response. The Lancet, 393(10168), 276-286. []

 

 

Ready.gov (2022). IT Disaster Recovery Plan. Retrieved 11th Aug 2022 from https://www.ready.gov/it-disaster-recovery-plan

 

 

Sawalha, I. H. (2021). Views on business continuity and disaster recovery. International Journal of Emergency Services. [https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/IJES-12-2020-0074/full/html]

 

 

Sun, W., Bocchini, P., & Davison, B. D. (2020). Model for estimating the impact of interdependencies on system recovery. Journal of Infrastructure Systems, 26(3), 04020031. [http://www.cse.lehigh.edu/~brian/pubs/2020/infrastructure/estimating-impact-of-interdependencies.pdf]

 

 

Tescoplc.com (2020). Tesco Strategic reports highlights. Retrieved 11th July 2022 from https://www.tescoplc.com/media/755761/tes006_ar2020_web_updated_200505.pdf\

 

 

Whitman, M. E., & Mattord, H. J. (2021). Principles of incident response and disaster recovery. Cengage Learning. [https://books.google.co.in/books?hl=en&lr=&id=kpQMEAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=Whitman,+M.+E.,+Mattord,+H.+J.,+%26+Green,+A.+(2020).+Principles+of+Incident+Response+and+Disaster+Recovery+(3rd+Edition).+Cengage+Learning+US.&ots=l4Y5yul6IZ&sig=1lOUwigqXvClyRlnFDcQuZNRlB4#v=onepage&q&f=false]

 

 

Xiao, Y., Wu, K., Finn, D., & Chandrasekhar, D. (2022). Community businesses as social units in post-disaster recovery. Journal of Planning Education and Research, 42(1), 76-89. [https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0739456X18804328]