The Texas A&M University IT Disaster Recovery Program supports the Texas A&M University Emergency Operation Plan, and seeks to improve the university's ability to recover during an emergency by enabling coordination and prioritization of IT recovery efforts.

The IT Disaster Recovery program uses a structured approach:

  • Essential IT services that support essential functions as defined by Annex J (Institutional Continuity Plan) are managed in the Technology Services DR Plan (TAMU IT DRP).
  • IT services critical to individual department/units are managed in unit-level IT DR plans.
  • Non-critical IT services are listed in department/unit-level plans, and have minimal requirements for backup validation testing (see CP-4 Contingency Plan Testing and CP-6 Alternate Storage Site for requirements).

Cone with a foundation of IT Services that fall under the Data Back-up Program, a middle section of Mission Critical services that use the Unit level IT DR Plans, and topped by the Essential IT Services that fall under the Division of IT DR Plan.

Unit Level DR Planning

The complexity of an IT Disaster Recovery Plan (IT DRP) is dependent on whether the department/unit manages mission-critical information resources. The Information Resource Owner is responsible for determining if an information resource is mission critical.

A mission-critical information resource is defined as an information resource crucial to the continued performance of the department/unit’s mission.

Mission Critical Information Resource Guidance

An information resource is considered mission critical if some of the following consequences will result if the resource was unavailable:

  • significant financial loss
  • institutional embarrassment
  • failure to comply with regulations or legal obligations
  • closure of the department/unit

All mission-critical resources require a unit level IT DRP.

Texas A&M IT Disaster Recovery Plan (DRP)

The Technology Services DRP is limited to Essential IT Services that support essential functions as defined by Institutional Continuity Plan (Annex J) of the Texas A&M University Emergency Operation Plan. Organizations that support essential IT services will maintain their own procedures and actively participate in the training, exercise, and maintenance needed to support the Technology Services DRP.