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Information Technology

Since we understand every unit/department relies on IT to some extent, there is an entire section of the Mission Continuity Plan dedicated to IT. This section walks you through the critical function of IT for your department.

IMPORTANT: The Information Technology Section should be completed by someone familiar with the IT applications and equipment used in your department.

Central Applications

List the applications owned by the central IT department. For each, please indicate how critical the availability of that application would be for your department while you are recovering from an adverse event. The levels of criticality are similar to the levels that you used to classify your critical functions. If you use a central application which is not listed in the drop-down box provided, you can always key in a custom application.

Definitions

Functional Owner
the unit that authorizes any modifications
Technical Owner
the unit that has system administrator or programming access and implements any modifications
Levels of Criticality of IT systems
  • Critical 1 – Cannot pause. Necessary to life, health, security. (Possible example: police dispatch system).
  • Critical 2 – Failure will lead to imminent & very serious consequences. (Possible examples: data networks, email system, patient scheduling system, medical records system)
  • Critical 3 – Can endure a pause, but ONLY for a short time. Must be recovered by some time sooner than 30 days. (Possible examples: financial system, payroll system, HR system, research administration systems, student systems, library systems, courseware).
  • Deferrable – Important, but we can function without this system for more than 30 days. (Possible examples: calendaring application, document imaging system, budget preparation software.)

Department Applications

DO NOT include applications whose technical owner is the central IT department. These are listed on the previous screen (Centrally-Owned Applications), are under central stewardship, and are not your concern. Also, do not list servers – they will be treated later. Please enter here the IT applications or systems which support the critical functions you listed in the “Critical Functions” section. You, as an IT person, may want to consult with the functional managers to identify these applications. The applications to list here are those whose technical owner is your department or another department (but not central IT).

Servers

If your unit/department owns any servers, please list them here in detail. Again, please ask your department’s IT manager or other technical support person to fill out this page.

Work Stations

Please describe the current workstation backup procedures for this department. Estimates are fine. The intent here is to get your opinion on the adequacy of backup at the workstation level. There is no need to agonize over the percentages; take your best guess. Your entries may total greater than 100%, if some users employ more than one method of backup.

On this screen, you will also list IT technicians employed by your department, other departments, and external vendors.

How to Restart

What will you need to restart your IT? This section is similar to the “How to Cope” section of the Critical Functions. If your workplace is destroyed or inaccessible, and you must relocate to a new space, new internet, etc. how would you respond from an IT standpoint? Accept this challenge: we will continue (or rapidly restart) our teaching, research, patient care, and necessary support functions, no matter what the conditions.

Be brief.

If your suggestions require pre-disaster preparations, that’s fine. Later you will be asked to identify such “Action Items.”

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