IT managers today must be ready for the unexpected, especially in consideration of new industry and government rules concerning data protection and disaster recovery. Disaster recovery initiatives, of course, have been around for some time; however, it is only recently that several new technologies have emerged that are changing the way we think about disaster recovery and business continuity planning.

These technologies focus on WAN optimization, traffic redirection, data replication, and secure remote access. Together, they represent a new methodology for organizations seeking to consolidate cost and equipment, reduce management time, and ensure applications are always available when disaster strikes.

Applications represent the life blood of any business. This paper describes several steps you can take to ensure a successful recovery of your business critical applications.