Business Continuity Planning

In any crisis or emergency, there are a large number of business continuity requirements within the organization's business and service processes, facilities, personnel, and other areas. The state of business continuity and disaster recovery planning is dismal in most organizations and nonexistent in many. Many plans in place simply won't work... this week's articles will help you ensure your plan works or, if you don't have one, get you on the road to creating one.

Investing in a BCP is making an investment with a return nearly impossible to estimate; but the price of failure can be incalculable. (Item #1)   How long should it take to create a BCP? (Item #2)   Here you will see suggested steps and considerations, in an abbreviated way, for small companies to create a BCP that will improve their chances of continuing operations during or after significant disasters. (Item #3)  

Although we can't predict the future, we still need to mitigate risk and heed warnings carefully. (Item #4)   What are the pros and cons of one plan versus many branch plans? (Item #5)   Companies that don't take the time to prepare disaster recovery and business continuity plans (BCPs) are more likely to close in the first two years of trading. (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. Dealing with Disruption

It could be a natural disaster that closes cities for days at a time, or a power failure that knocks out corporate e-mail systems for a few hours. An endless variety of potential business disruptions confronts executives. And when crisis comes, or even if it doesn't, it's largely up to the vigilant CFO to make sure the company has a strong, workable business continuity plan.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/227180/dealing_with_disruption.html

2. Business continuity planning - how long should it take?

Working as a business continuity consultant, one of the most frequent questions I am asked by potential clients is "How long will it take to produce a business continuity plan, and what will it cost?" The cost is specific to each organization and depends on many things, but my answer to the first part of the question is "It should take about three months, and never more than six." Why do I say this, and is it realistic?
http://www.continuitycentral.com/feature0120.htm

3. How to Create a Business Continuity Plan for Small Companies

A Business Continuity Plan (BCP) is the least expensive insurance any company can have (especially for small companies, as it costs virtually nothing to produce). Unfortunately, many companies have never taken the time to develop such a plan.
http://www.wikihow.com/Create-a-Business-Continuity-Plan

4. Cyber attacks, Black Swans and business continuity management

The survey of 200 IT security executives working for utility companies finds that 40 percent believe their industry's vulnerability has increased. Around 3 out of 10 believe their company is not prepared for a cyber attack and nearly half expect a major cyber-attack within the next year.
http://www.continuitycentral.com/feature0880.html

5. How Many Business Continuity Plans Do You Need?

Many organizations consist of a central office, along with several smaller branch offices. A question that we are often asked by such an organization is this: should we have one large plan, or should we have a separate plan for each branch office? As with so many good questions, the answer depends a lot on the situation in which it is asked.
http://www.riskythinking.com/articles/article30.php

6. Business continuity plans: a position for recovery

An Aviva survey is advising SMEs to draw up business continuity plans to prepare for unseen disasters, or face an increased threat of closure. But are they worthwhile?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/blog/2011/feb/23/business-continuity-plans-smes