In this day in age with disasters like 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina, companies have to make plans by anticipating for the worst. They have to plan ahead of time and plan to recover after a disaster is over. One of the main plans is to routinely backup a businesses' software and data. They can backup data through online storage services and pay for extra hardware in a secure location. A company wants to get back online as soon as possible after a disaster so they invest in extra hardware and software sites which can be easily accessed during emergencies. Disasters can be natural, it can involve power failures, the equipment going down, software glitches and terrorist attacks can bring chaos to even the most prepared companies. Disruption in a company's technology system can cause billions of dollars.

9/11 caused $16 billion in damage to information technology and communication systems. Banking and financial industries had a lot of problems caused by 9/11 such as employee relocation and the replacement of servers and hardware. Software glitches cost billions of dollars each year as well. Since 9/11, the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) has ordered all new cell phones to be equipped with GPS tracking devices. This was once thought to be science fiction, the fact that people can be tracked from anywhere while using their cell phone. When you place a cell phone call, your phone seeks out the nearest receiving tower, the tower than reroutes the call to its destination. If you leave the cell area before you call ends, the call is sent over to the next cell tower thereby tracking your rough locations. Cities contain many cell towers which can relay your location with accuracy, but as you move out to more rural areas, there are fewer towers and cell services are sometimes spotty.

In the coming months, the tracking abilities of cell phones will grow, not just to monitor users but also in the way it can be used for commercial gain. The FCC has ordered all phones with GPS tracking systems to be able to track your exact position up to 300 feet anywhere on the planet. The agency ordered this on behalf of law enforcement agencies who can now tell where 911 calls made on cell phones originate. Cell companies haven't reacted with a lot of favor to the FCC's decision. The GPS trackers add about $20 to the cost of each phone. In case of disaster, this may help companies locate their employees easier and faster. What companies have learned since disasters like 9/11, that if you don't have some type of backup system, you might loose it all. It can be rather expensive to have a good backup system, but if disaster does strike at least you'll be somewhat back on your feet as a company. I look at it as buying an extra insurance policy just to be sure.

Disaster recovery planning is deciding how to prevent system failures and continue operations if computer systems fail. The most basic precaution is to routinely backup your software and data. Luckily most financial service firms that were directly by 9/11, were back to business within a few days because of their backup systems. Backup systems can be located out of the country or in multiple locations in the United States. Man made disasters like 9/11 are not the only problem, natural disasters like earthquakes and floods can also cause problems. The main idea is to be prepared as anything can happen at any unexpected time. Companies like Oracle or Cisco Systems can provide backup storage, security systems, and infrastructure software to keep businesses running no matter what happens.