In an increasingly digital world, it's clear that business continuity is no longer an option. Keeping systems running 24x7 and ensuring that data reaches its intended destination — precisely when it's needed — is the heart and soul of a business.

However, it's also true that in an era of tight budgets and limited resources, organizations cannot toss unlimited money and time at a Business-Continuity (BC) initiative. "Costs are a significant issue," states Bob Laliberte, analyst for Enterprise Strategy Group, Milford, Mass. "It's important to develop a viable strategy."

These days, effective business continuity spins a tight orbit around a number of tools and technologies. These include virtualization, data replication, data de-duplication, mirroring and instant failover, along with a variety of storage systems and devices.

But successful business continuity also requires a good deal of thinking about Recovery Point Objectives (RPO), Recovery Time Objectives (RTO), data tiers, collocation facilities, network infrastructure and bandwidth, and, possibly, offsite backup. In the final analysis, superior preparation and execution allow an enterprise to leverage — and maximize — existing investments. And at the same time the firm can gain greater functionality and optimize Return On Investment (ROI).