Karen Conneely

Real Asset Management, Kent

Group Commercial Manager

Dear Editor,
Growing risk awareness and an increasingly unpredictably climate may have prompted more companies to invest in disaster recovery (DR) as part of the business continuity programme - but how safe is that investment? And, as addressed by the article, what is the practical experience behind the plans?

Just what, indeed, is being recovered? Due to lack of co-ordination between the data stored on the asset register and IT department maintenance and support inventories, few organisations have any real insight into the true extent of their IT assets. Not only does this challenge the validity of the DR solution but it also raises huge questions in the event of an insurance claim.

Any inconsistency between the asset register and other departmental lists will raise significant doubt for insurance companies, delaying payment at best. At worst an organisation could lose any chance of an insurance pay-out, even face charges of claiming for non existent items.

The article suggests that “mapping the organisation’s IT real estate is a complex and confusing exercise”. However, there are simple processes that can be followed to ensure greater information consistency. A central repository that records the serial number and asset location, as well as the value of each item, will meet the needs of all departments from finance to IT.

Critically, this ensures that reliable, accurate information is available for both insurance and DR planning, reducing business risk whilst also giving companies more confidence in their business continuity investments.
Yours sincerely

Karen Conneely
Group Commercial Manager
Real Asset Management