The Facilities Business surfs disaster recovery websites
Every organisation should have a disaster recovery plan, but many do not, largely due to complacency and a lack of understanding. There is, however, a lot of useful information available on the Web and although much is US-based, it is often relevant to UK firms.

Survive
www.survive.com
Survive is a worldwide membership group for professionals in business continuity management. The website contains a huge directory of disaster recovery specialists and suppliers as well as comprehensive details of events, products and services.

* Registration is required for part of the site
* Large amount of up-to-date information
* Design is logical, although a little dated

Disaster Resource
www.disaster-resource.com
This US-based website serves the contingency planning and crisis management community.

It contains many articles related to disaster recovery, including topics on planning and risk assessment. You can also search for suppliers and specialists, although this is largely US-based.

* No registration needed
* Useful articles, but mainly aimed at US
* Some poor use of colours can make it difficult to read text/links at times

Contingency Planning & Management
www.contingencyplanning.com
Contingency Planning & Management is a US-based magazine, so many of its articles are available on the site. You can also search for products, services and vendors – again, largely US-focused – and there's an online forum, surveys, web links and Frequently Asked Questions.

* Registration required (free)
* Large amount of useful information
* Good design and a logical structure

Other useful sites
Association of Contingency Planners International: www.acp-international.com
Business Continuity Institute: www.thebci.org
Disaster Recovery Institute: www.dr.org