Using The OptiPress BCP-DR Scenario, Identify And Assess Ris

Using the OptiPress BCP-DR scenario, identify and assess risks

Using the OptiPress BCP-DR scenario, identify and assess risks for business areas and four critical processes per area. For each process list man-made or natural disaster risks (focus on the Host Point fire and potential fires or outages at OptiPress), give probability of occurrence (Very Likely 91-100%, Likely 61-90%, May occur 41-60%, Unlikely 11-40%, Very unlikely 0-10%) and justification, impact intensity (High, Medium, Low) and justification, existing measures, chosen mitigation strategy (Avoidance, Transference, Limitation, Acceptance) and justification, additional measures, and contingency plan. Define business areas (e.g., Marketing, Human Resources, Payroll), identify at least four critical processes per area, and map risks and mitigations to the OptiPress scenario (centralized web servers in Philadelphia, multiple hubs and data centers, recent Host Point fire). You may include multiple risks per process.

Paper For Above Instructions

Executive summary

This risk assessment applies the OptiPress BCP-DR scenario to three core business areas (IT/Web Operations, Marketing & Sales, and Accounting & Payroll). For each area I identify four critical processes, describe man-made or natural disaster risks (with emphasis on the Host Point fire analogue), assign probability and impact, note existing measures, select and justify a mitigation strategy (Avoidance, Transference, Limitation, Acceptance), and propose additional measures and contingency plans. The approach follows established risk assessment guidance (NIST SP 800-30; ISO 22301) and focuses on continuity implications of data center fires, power outages, and related outages that mirror the Host Point event (NIST, 2012; ISO 22301, 2019).

Methodology

The assessment uses a process-level matrix: for each process list risk description, probability band with justification, impact intensity with justification, existing controls, mitigation strategy and rationale, additional measures, and contingency plan. Probability and impact categories follow the assignment definitions. Recommendations align with business continuity best practices (FEMA, 2018; Wallace & Webber, 2017).

Business area 1: IT / Web Operations

Critical processes

  • Web hosting and public-facing web services
  • Online ticket-sales and e-commerce systems
  • Centralized application and authentication services
  • Data replication and backups across hubs

Process assessments (selected highlights)

Web hosting and public-facing web services

Risk: Data-center fire or major outage (Host Point analogue) causing server loss and prolonged downtime. Probability: Likely (61–90%) given aging facilities and centralized Philadelphia web servers; Host Point precedent increases perceived risk (justification: historical event increases awareness and the centralization of web servers elevates single-point failures). Impact: High — revenue loss (ticket sales), client SLA breaches, reputational damage (Wallace & Webber, 2017). Existing measures: Standardized infrastructure, some backups, geographically dispersed data centers but web services centralized in Philly. Mitigation strategy: Limitation and Transference — implement active-active replication to another hub (limitation) and purchase hosting failover contracts or cloud-based CDN and managed DR services (transference) to shift responsibility for rapid failover (Gartner, 2020). Additional measures: Harden Philly datacenter with fire suppression upgrades, regular DR drills, and real-time monitoring. Contingency plan: Automated DNS failover to secondary data center/cloud; pre-tested incident playbooks for restoring ticketing via a temporary hosted instance (NIST, 2012).

Data replication and backups

Risk: Corrupted backups or inability to access offsite backups due to disaster. Probability: May occur (41–60%) because backups exist but replication windows and human error risk remain. Impact: High — loss of operational data across hubs. Existing measures: Scheduled backups, hub-level retention policies. Mitigation strategy: Limitation — strengthen RPO/RTO with continuous replication, immutable backup storage, and geographically separated vaults (FEMA, 2018). Additional measures: Automated validation of backups, runbook for recovering data. Contingency plan: Restore from immutable cold backups or use cloud snapshots to rebuild services within defined RTOs (SANS, 2019).

Business area 2: Marketing & Sales

Critical processes

  • Campaign management and creative asset delivery
  • Customer web storefronts and ticket sales portals
  • CRM and client reporting
  • Promotional fulfillment (mailing/distribution coordination)

Process assessments (selected highlights)

Customer web storefronts and ticket sales portals

Risk: Outage due to hosting failure or network interruption impacting revenue-generating transactions. Probability: Likely (61–90%) because sales are concentrated on web portals and the Host Point event has shown this vulnerability. Impact: High — immediate revenue loss and contractual penalties. Existing measures: Centralized web operations, some CDN usage. Mitigation strategy: Transference via third-party cloud-based e-commerce providers and CDNs to distribute load and eliminate single-host dependencies (Gartner, 2020). Additional measures: Multi-region deployment and scheduled failover tests. Contingency plan: Switch sales to an alternate portal (pre-deployed "warm" environment) or manual phone sales process supported by staff and transaction logging (Wallace & Webber, 2017).

CRM and client reporting

Risk: Loss of access to CRM datasets from hub outage. Probability: Unlikely to May occur (11–60%) depending on replication architecture; justification: CRM is centralized in Philadelphia but some feeds replicate. Impact: Medium — client communications delayed, but operations can be manual short-term. Existing measures: Periodic export jobs, role-based access controls. Mitigation strategy: Limitation — implement real-time replication and cached client snapshots for offline use; acceptance for low-priority reports. Additional measures: Slack/offline reporting procedures for key clients. Contingency plan: Use cached CSV exports and deploy temporary CRM instances in alternate hubs or cloud (NIST, 2012).

Business area 3: Accounting & Payroll

Critical processes

  • Payroll processing and disbursement
  • Invoicing and accounts receivable
  • Financial reporting and regulatory compliance
  • Vendor payments and procurement systems

Process assessments (selected highlights)

Payroll processing and disbursement

Risk: System unavailability or data loss preventing payroll runs after a disaster. Probability: Unlikely (11–40%) since payroll is centralized but often has vendor backups; justification: third-party payment rails provide some resilience. Impact: High — employee livelihood impacts and regulatory penalties. Existing measures: Centralized payroll system with documented procedures. Mitigation strategy: Transference — outsource payroll failover to a third-party payroll processor with guaranteed SLAs during disasters; also Limitation via periodic encrypted local copies (FEMA, 2018). Additional measures: Manual payroll checklist and approved emergency signature authorities. Contingency plan: Emergency manual payroll disbursement or ACH via alternate provider and communication plan to employees (Wallace & Webber, 2017).

Invoicing and accounts receivable

Risk: Interruption of billing systems affecting cash flow. Probability: May occur (41–60%) given dependence on web services for invoice distribution. Impact: Medium — delays lower cash flow but short-term manageable. Existing measures: Batch invoice exports and some email distribution. Mitigation strategy: Limitation — implement dual-path invoice distribution (email + portal + postal fallback) and periodic offline export storage. Additional measures: Prioritize critical clients for manual outreach. Contingency plan: Issue invoices via alternate hub services and notify clients through account managers (Rouse, 2016).

Cross-cutting existing measures and recommendations

Across all areas, existing measures (standardization of infrastructure, multiple data centers, centralized operations) provide a foundation but leave critical single points (Philadelphia web servers, centralized payroll). Recommended prioritized actions: (1) Establish active-active or warm-standby replication for web and ticketing systems with automated failover; (2) Contract cloud-based DR and managed hosting for rapid transference of hosting risk; (3) Harden data center fire suppression and physical security; (4) Conduct regular tabletop and full-scale DR exercises; (5) Maintain documented manual workarounds for critical processes (payroll, ticketing) (NIST, 2012; FEMA, 2018; ISO 22301, 2019).

Contingency and governance

Contingency planning must be tied to clear RTO/RPO objectives and be budgeted for implementation. Governance requires departmental DR representatives empowered to make decisions and execute failover playbooks. Regular audits and DR tests validate assumptions and backup integrity (SANS, 2019).

Conclusion

Focusing on the Host Point fire as the trigger event, OptiPress must reduce single-point dependencies in Philadelphia and prioritize mitigation for web hosting/ticket sales and payroll. The recommended blend of risk limitation (replication and backups) and transference (cloud/CDN and managed DR contracts) balances cost and resilience while contingency planning ensures business continuity during severe incidents (Wallace & Webber, 2017; Gartner, 2020).

References

  • NIST. (2012). Risk Management Guide for Information Technology Systems (NIST SP 800-30 Rev. 1). National Institute of Standards and Technology. (NIST, 2012).
  • ISO. (2019). ISO 22301:2019 — Security and resilience — Business continuity management systems. International Organization for Standardization. (ISO 22301, 2019).
  • FEMA. (2018). Business Continuity Planning Suite. Federal Emergency Management Agency. (FEMA, 2018).
  • Wallace, M., & Webber, L. (2017). The Disaster Recovery Handbook: A Step-by-Step Plan to Ensure Business Continuity. 3rd ed. (Wallace & Webber, 2017).
  • Gartner. (2020). Market Guide for Business Continuity Management Platforms. (Gartner, 2020).
  • SANS Institute. (2019). Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Planning Resources. (SANS, 2019).
  • Snedaker, S. (2013). Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Planning for IT Professionals. Syngress. (Snedaker, 2013).
  • Rouse, M. (2016). Disaster recovery plan definition and best practices. TechTarget. (Rouse, 2016).
  • Kritzinger, E., & von Solms, R. (2010). Information security governance: The need for a holistic framework. Computers & Security. (Kritzinger & von Solms, 2010).
  • Zawodniak, K. (2015). Risk Assessment Techniques for Business Continuity. Journal of Business Continuity & Emergency Planning. (Zawodniak, 2015).

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