Business Continuity Planning

Globalization, climate change, and other developments have complicated the business continuity planning process. It's no longer enough to plan for what can happen to your organization directly; you have to take into account how major disasters anywhere can impact you. In addition, you need to know what to do post-disaster so you can keep operating. This week's articles shed light on some of those concerns.

Currently there's no science that can predict when or where the next disaster will strike or, more importantly, whether it will impact your company's operations; fortunately, you can prepare. (Item #1)   The post-crisis recovery phase is one of the least addressed in planning, training and simulations. (Item #2)   This article explores different types of plans and examines their purpose within a wider business continuity strategy. (Item #3)  

This article explains why coordinating of BC management with governance, risk & compliance is important, and provides some real examples, practical tips and advice on how to integrate them. (Item #4)   A business impact analysis helps organizations recognize and prioritize which information, hardware and personnel assets are crucial to the business so that proper planning for contingency situations can be undertaken. (Item #5)   Climate change causes some to ponder data center relocation and other, less drastic hardening measures. (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. What's Your Backup Plan?

In today's global economy, organizations no longer need to be physically located in the same area, or even region of the world, in order for their operations to be adversely affected by natural disasters or any type of catastrophic situation (i.e. Security Breach). Incidents like the recent Target data breach affected people all over the country and demonstrate that protecting business from pending disaster is a necessary, ongoing requirement that necessitates a strategic approach to business crisis management, business recovery planning and information technology (IT) so that assets and resources can be completely protected and secured.
http://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20140414210558-655694-what-s-your-backup-plan-business-continuity

2. Post-crisis recovery: the least understood element of the business continuity lifecycle

The post-crisis recovery phase, if not properly managed, can cost financially, reputationally and operationally. Guidelines for post-crisis recovery are lacking; and many entities lose focus when it comes to discussing post-crisis recovery operations. It may be that post-crisis recovery is one of the most complicated of the Business Continuity Lifecycle elements and that no two recoveries are going to follow the same pattern.
http://www.continuitycentral.com/feature1168.html

3. Plans within business continuity

Even though plans represent just one component of a larger business continuity management system, they are what guide the organization through all phases of response and recovery following the onset of a disruptive incident - from the initial response and assessment to the eventual return to normal operations. Effective planning is meant to ensure that response and recovery efforts align to the expectations of all interested parties and provide a repeatable approach to minimize downtime.
http://www.continuitycentral.com/feature1165.html

4. What Do Governance, Risk & Compliance Have To Do With Business Continuity Planning Anyway?

The title may sound like the old Tina Turner song, but today we're talking about integrating your Business Continuity Management (BCM) and Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC) processes. As an organization often implements GRC and BCM separately, there are intersections that, if considered and coordinated, could bring greater program success through increased operational efficiencies, cost savings through leveraged technology investments, and ultimately higher adoption. This article is to explain why the coordination of BCM and GRC is important, and to provide you with some real examples and practical tips and advice on how to integrate them.
http://www.continuityinsights.com/articles/2013/06/what-does-governance-risk-compliance-have-do-business-continuity-planning-anyway

5. Business Impact Analysis: A Good Way to Jumpstart an Information Security Program

Is your organization's information security program stuck in the era of perimeter firewalls and anti-virus software? Are you a Chief Information Security Officer or IT Manager stuck with the unenviable task of bringing your information security program into the 21st century? Why not start the ball rolling with a business impact analysis (BIA)? It will provide you with a wealth of useful information, and it takes some of the weight from your shoulders by involving every business department in the organization.
http://infosecisland.com/blogview/23584-Business-Impact-Analysis-A-Good-Way-to-Jumpstart-an-Information-Security-Program.html

6. Data centers under water: What, me worry?

Given the dire warnings about climate change, some business and IT people are pondering this question: How should data center managers handle the crop of 100- and even 500-year storms, coastal flooding and other ecological disasters that climatologists predict are heading our way? Some experts suggest that managers of mission-critical IT centers simply need to harden existing facilities, other observers say they need to move the centers to higher ground and a third group says both strategies are needed.
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9238763/Data_centers_under_water_What_me_worry_?taxonomyId=83