The top manager needs to be informed at this point that all technology and information assets are in place for the crisis communications centre to operate.
15. Top manager alerted by e-mail?
The top manager is sent confirmation by e-mail that electronic crisis communications are now active. An active response should be required for acknowledgment of function.
16. Direct reports alerted by phone?
The top manager's direct reports are now phoned and informed that the crisis communications centre is now active and to expect confirmation by e-mail that they need to acknowledge on receipt. If voicemail group lists are used, they must be reviewed for completeness and recency during testing. Any failures must be logged and reported to the top manager.
17. Direct reports alerted by e-mail?
The direct reports are sent confirmation by e-mail that the electronic crisis communications are now active and that they need to acknowledge receipt. Any failures must be logged and reported to the top manager.
18. Additional equipment in place?
If additional computer hardware or other fixtures (burn bag, portable hard drive, portable CD burner) are needed for the CCC mission, their presence or arrival and installation should be noted here after communications have been sent. Any delays in testing should be noted for improvement later.
19. Additional information in place?
If additional information (electronic, paper, or other media) is required for the CCC mission, its presence or arrival should be noted here after communications have been sent. Any delays or missing information showing up in testing needs to be noted for improvement later.
20. All questions answered?
The final step of activation is to review any questions that came up in the course of activation and whether or not they have been satisfactorily answered. All questions not answered by the time Step 19 has completed need to be recorded and presented for improvement and possible modification of the disaster recovery plan. Otherwise, the crisis communications centre is now active until management declares the disaster is over.
Crisis communications centre deactivation
The final action of disaster recovery is for the crisis communications centre to announce the formal end of the effort and to declare the crisis communications centre closed. At deactivation, the crisis communications centre contact should review the activation checklist, steps 2 through 11 and 19, and make sure the equipment and access needed are still present and functional before closing the physical site. Please note that your company information security policy may require an audit of any offsite computing devices to make sure no proprietary data is left behind. Any noted defects in the machinery, the protocols, or the process should be preserved for the next disaster recovery plan review.Everything should now be ready when disaster comes again.
