Reliable phone service during a crisis is a basic need, and agencies are learning the real meaning of redundancy
Reliable phone service during a crisis is a basic need, and with phones
especially, agencies are learning the "real" meaning of redundancy, said
Brian Burns, deputy chief information officer at the Department of Health
and Human Services.
In the past, redundancy usually meant running a second line, owned by
another service provider, into the same building, he said. But when the
building is taken down, or is inaccessible, it doesn't matter how many lines
there are.
Now, redundancy will usually involve a wireless option, such as Research
In Motion Ltd.'s BlackBerry handheld devices and other point-to-point solutions,
Burns said.
Redundancy also means shopping around for additional resources for data
network backup and recovery, said Mayi Canales, deputy CIO at the Treasury
Department.
Most agencies have learned to keep an off-site backup for their data
networks, she said. However, that will help when only one organization is
affected. If multiple organizations come to the backup provider all at once,
no one will be able to get up and running any time soon, she said.
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