Getting Management Buy-In

When management hears about the resource cost (money, people, time) of a business continuity plan, many executives and senior managers can't see the value of something that might only sit on a shelf and gather dust. The key to getting their buy in is to sell them on WHY a plan is critical and what the benefits of having a plan are - even if there is no disaster on the horizon. Take some cues from this week's articles and back up your case with solid reasons before you walk in to convince the boss contingency plans can benefit the company in many ways.

How do you get management to mitigate risk in spite of the cost? (Item #1)   These five ways to build a business case for BC can set you on the right path. (Item #2)   Perhaps the cost of downtime will convince management to act on a BC plan. (Item #3)  

Management IS dedicated to the continuity of business, but maybe not to BC planning. (Item #4)   Perhaps one of these 10 reasons for BC plans could convince your CEO. (Item #5)  

Although this next item requires you to register, you may want to read about selling the boss on a BCP program. (Item #6)  

As always, we look forward to hearing your comments & insights regarding business continuity. If you have a topic you'd like us to cover, email me at [email protected].

Bob Mellinger, President
Attainium Corp

1. Disaster recovery costs can be expensive -- how do you convince management of its necessity?

Convincing management that something's needed to mitigate business risks and prevent potential disasters can be like telling our government leaders to stop spending our money -- it's next to impossible. However, even if management doesn't initially listen to you, this doesn't mean you can't make an impact.
http://searchdisasterrecovery.techtarget.com/expert/KnowledgebaseAnswer
/0,289625,sid190_gci1368641,00.html

2. Five Ways to Build a Business Case for Business Continuity

The importance of business continuity planning is a no-brainer--if you're a security leader who already thinks in terms of security and risk, that is. But convincing business executives, who typically think in dollars and cents, of such a plan's criticality may be a tougher sell. While the fundamental importance of business continuity is fairly obvious, the reason to spend lots of money on it may not be.
http://www.csoonline.com/article/221615
/5_Ways_to_Build_a_Business_Case_for_Business_Continuity

3. The business case for disaster recovery planning: Calculating the cost of downtime

Whether it's online trading, insurance-document imaging, airline reservations, financial databases, Web sites, or other computing systems, the fortunes of business are inextricably linked to the continuous availability of these services and data.
http://www.google.com/search?q=business+case+for+business
+continuity&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox&ie=UTF-8
&oe=UTF-8&sourceid=ie7&rlz=1I7GGLR

4. Business continuity: a different perspective

It is my experience that senior management of most corporations are a very pragmatic group of businessmen and women. They are interested in any opportunity that will enhance their company's performance and profitability, and they are less enthusiastic about efforts that are primarily overhead. They understand that some of this is a requirement of prudent management, but their priority is to maintain these efforts while enthusiastically pursuing growth, profit and stockholder advancement.
http://www.continuitycentral.com/feature0451.htm

5. Risk Management - 10 reasons to develop Business Continuity Plans

Even though most of us recognize the practical benefits of sensible Risk Management and preparation for disruption, are those benefits enough to justify the management time and the financial cost of implementing effective Business Continuity Plans. Not having a Business Continuity Program, or having a program comprised of poor or mediocre plan(s), will definitely put your company at risk as it relates to IT security.
http://www.valuegeneration.co.uk/Articles/pdf
/Risk%20Management%20-%20Ten%20reasons%20to%20develop
%20Business%20Continuity%20Plans.pdf

6. Selling the Boss: Convincing Senior Management of the Need for Contingency Planning

If you were working in an organization that had no contingency plans (incident response plan, disaster recovery plan, business continuity plan, crisis management plan), what argument might you as an information security professional make to higher management as to why these plans are necessary?
http://www.technologyexecutivesclub.com/PDFs/ArticlePDFS/sellingboss2.pdf