knowing where you stand in your county’s it priorities
TRANSCRIPT
IT Considerations inContinuity Of Operations
Planning (COOP)Knowing where you stand in your County’s IT Priorities
Introduction What is a COOP? Department Priorities vs. County IT Priorities Planning to Continue Operations in the
Short Term Q&A
Agenda
Sonja Rowland, PMP King County Elections IT Project Manager 17 years of IT Project Management
Experience Spent 9 Years with King County IT Dept. as
an IT Project Manager Managed tail end of Business Continuity
Program for KCIT I view things from an IT Perspective
Introduction
A Continuity of Operation Plan (COOP) should be written to ensure that agencies are able to continue operation of their essential functions under a broad range of circumstances including all-hazard emergencies.
What is a COOP?
Our priorities:◦ With integrity and a commitment to innovation,
we provide all citizens the opportunity to participate in and protect the democratic process.
Our county’s priorities:◦ Life (Health Care; Emergency Management)◦ Safety (Sheriff, Jails, Courts)
Whose priorities do you think come first when IT develops their COOP/Business Continuity Plan?◦ County’s priorities – Life and Safety
Department Priorities vs. County IT Priorities
Find out where we overlap…what is our common denominator?◦ Communication
How will our county communicate?◦ Media ◦ Phones (VoIP)◦ Email (Active Directory; Outlook Services)◦ Web (Network Connectivity; Web Servers)
What is your county’s plan for bringing up these services?
Priority Conflict – What now?
Ensure your plan timelines map to the county IT timelines when it comes to service uptimes
Work with vendors on alternate solutions ◦ Can they host your services?◦ Can they keep a back up of your files?
Work with the OSOS and other Counties on alternate solutions◦ Alternate data center locations◦ Like systems◦ Back up solutions◦ Remote work locations
What can we do in the meantime?
Checklists◦ Used more than the written plan
Make them useful Post them Share them Make them readily available and accessible to key
staff
Planning, continued
Alternate Power ◦ Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) provides only
a short period of power◦ Generator
Building Portable
◦ Power bricks
Planning, continued
Alternate connectivity options◦ Is your location served by two, separate internet
connections? If so, this may serve you well in the event of a
disaster.◦ Other options for internet connectivity include:
Using your cell phone as a hot spot (this would need to be part of your service and assumes your cell phone will have service)
MiFi service (this is a wireless service that typically connects 5 devices)
Planning, continued
Laptops and tablets◦ IT Departments will likely not have extra for you.◦ Ensure you do the following:
Keep them charged Keep them up to date (regular updates to them as
part of your IT support plan) Turn them on and test them regularly
Planning, continued
Telecommunications Priority Register for Government Emergency
Telecommunications Service (GETS) – for public telephone (http://www.dhs.gov/government-emergency-telecommunications-service-gets)
Register for Wireless Priority service (WPS) – for cellular (including MiFi) priority service (https://www.dhs.gov/wireless-priority-service-wps)
Planning, continued
Checklists, checklists, checklists Complete, share and post
Assign owners for regular reviews and updates
Reach out to your IT department as well as our counterparts in other counties
Register for GETS and WPS Do what you can financially to prepare
◦ UPS, generators, co-location, laptops, tablets, MiFi, power bricks, etc.
Wrap Up
