The organization suffered significant damage to its local file and application servers due to a hurricane but managed to recover all backed-up information through its overseas third-party contractor. This scenario highlights the management of data storage, backup, and recovery processes, which are critical components of data center management.
Definition of Data Center Management:
Data center management refers to the administration and control of data storage, backup, recovery, and overall infrastructure to ensure business continuity and disaster recovery (BC/DR).
As per the IIA’s Global Technology Audit Guide (GTAG) on Business Continuity Management (BCM), organizations must have robust backup strategies to mitigate risks from natural disasters.
Third-Party Backup and Recovery:
The fact that the organization recovered data from an overseas third-party contractor aligns with offsite data backup and disaster recovery planning, which falls under data center management.
According to IIA Practice Guide: Auditing Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery, organizations should store critical data at geographically dispersed locations to mitigate disaster risks.
Why Not Other Options?
A. Application Management – This pertains to managing software applications throughout their lifecycle but does not focus on disaster recovery.
C. Managed Security Services – While third-party security services protect against cyber threats, they do not specifically cover data backup and recovery.
D. Systems Integration – This deals with connecting different IT systems, not managing backup and recovery.
IIA GTAG (Global Technology Audit Guide) – Business Continuity Management
IIA Practice Guide: Auditing Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery
IIA Standard 2110 – Governance: Ensuring IT Governance Supports Business Continuity
Step-by-Step Justification:IIA References:Thus, the correct and verified answer is B. Data center management.