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In This Issue
Lessons in Disaster
10/20/2005
From Importance, to Plan
Following 9/11, the Campus Computing Project’s (www.campuscomputing.net) annual survey of higher education institutions folded three key questions on disaster recovery planning (DRP) into its laundry list of concerns for IT. The first was, “D'es your institution have a strategic plan for IT disaster recovery?” Little more than half (55.5%) of all institutions responding could answer “yes” in the 2004 survey, up only 2.5 points from the 2002 data. But roughly another third (32.3%) claimed to have plans in the works, leaving only 12.2% admitting to no planning at all.
A second DRP-relevant question was included in a rating of several elements of IT infrastructure. On a poor-to-excellent scale of 1 to 7, disaster recovery planning earned a respectable medium score of 4.4, but it still didn’t do as well as most other items. In the listing of 13 items rated, only eCommerce and the campus portal scored lower.
A look at the third query about disaster recovery may shed the most light on where we are relative to where we should be. In a section on “Web and Networking Issues,” a question probed how important disaster recovery is in discussions about and planning for networking on the institution’s campus. From “not important” to “very important,” (1 to 7) disaster recovery scored a 5.8—pretty high on the scale, considering that almost half the institutions responding to the survey didn’t have strategic DRP in place for IT. Will this sense of importance actually spawn strategic plans? We’re waiting for the Campus Computing 2005 data to be released, which might show more activity in disaster recovery planning for IT as an institutional priority. But with the punch packed by Katrina, the real change may be reflected in the 2006 survey.
A Case for Communications
There are few times when communications are more critical than in a disaster scenario. Calling hurricane Katrina a “study in online crisis management,” Ballardvale Research (www.ballardvale.com) wanted to find out how US colleges and universities communicated with their constituencies regarding the disaster. One week after Katrina hit, the Massachusetts-based IT analyst firm reviewed the Web sites of the top 15 national universities plus the top 15 liberal arts colleges as identified by U.S. News & World Report. They found a range of approaches, which their analysts have categorized as standard, best, and worst practices.
While Ballardvale’s study reveals several different approaches taken by higher education institutions, one of the most striking differences is between those Web sites that simply “broadcast” information about Katrina and those also offering interactive elements like blogs and message boards—a big factor in setting the best practices apart from the standard. Ballardvale concluded that institutions should consider “breaking the normal Web site mold” in a time of crisis or disaster, and be ready to set up mini-sites and special blogs or other interactive forums. Another strong recommendation is to avoid the worst practice of ignoring or seeming mostly oblivious to disasters—whether they strike your institution directly or not. (To read the full report, go to www.ballardvale.com/research.htm.)
Recommended Reading
- Sun, Stanford Working To Archive History
In May in San Francisco, experts from leading universities, libraries, and research institutions around the world met as part of an ongoing effort to address a pressing issue: archiving the world's history, right up to today.
- The Quilt Coalition Rolls Out XO Communications for High-Capacity Network Services
The Quilt, a coalition of 28 regional network organizations, has added XO Communications Services to its authorized vendor list. The Quilt represents 200 universities and thousands of other educational institutions across the United States. With this new relationship, Quilt members can purchase XO's high-speed IP transit and network transport services at competitive rates.
- Wimba Classroom 5.2 Expands Classroom Capture Support, Adds MP3 Downloads
At the NECC 2008 conference in Texas this week, Wimba launched a new version of Wimba Classroom, the virtual classroom component of the company's Collaboration Suite. The new 5.2 release expands options for classroom capture and adds a variety of other functional and ease of use features.
- Automation Chimera: Education Is Not Management
The lure of automating workflow online so human intervention is minimized is continually reinforced in the minds of higher education administrators by examples of automated campus systems such as financials, student information systems, and other enterprise systems. But what's good for management is not always good for learning.
- Cognos Releases BI Software for Linux-based IBM System z Mainframe
Cognos, which IBM acquired in January, has released an update to its business intelligence software that will run on the Linux operating system on IBM System z mainframes. IBM Cognos 8 BI was being developed by the two companies prior to the acquisition, but assimilation of Cognos into IBM accelerated development.
- Facebook and Collegiality: A Serendipitous Social Niche
Facebook is a way to greet a colleague as if she or he is on your own campus: a wave at a distance, a hello at the corner burrito place, a honk as you both leave the campus parking lot. Informal collegiality has been extended over the miles.
