Risk and Business Continuity

Risk assessment and management are critical to the creation and success of business continuity plans. Through the years, there has been a lot of discussion about which should come first, which is more critical, whether they are integrated, etc. This week's articles focus on risk and its role in the entire business continuity process.

When Risk Assessment and Business Impact Analysis are placed together, these two processes combined can easily tell how hard a potential disruption can impact a business, as well as how quickly and how damaging it can be. (Item #1) Here is an overview of four key criteria that are essential for effective risk management. (Item #2) The board should start by reviewing the process that is being used to identify risks... not just a legal/compliance risk assessment but one tied to other matters, such as business continuity planning, crisis response plans and even basic fraud. (Item #3)

Risk assessment and business impact analysis are key stages in disaster recovery planning, but where do they fit into the DR planning process? (Item #4) Being ready for risk is the key to any successful BCM plan; while many disruptions are unplanned, you can still weigh the risks and probability of events. (Item #5) Involvement in risk assessment and BCM fits very much with the strategic role of HR. (Item #6)

As always, I look forward to hearing about your concerns with regard to business continuity. If there are any topics that you'd like to see covered, email me at [email protected].

Bob Mellinger, President
Attainium Corp

1. Risk Assessment or Business Impact Analysis: What Comes First?

The Risk Assessment and Business Impact Analysis are fundamental components in ensuring the development of an effective BCM framework in an organization. However, there has been much confusion about the difference between the two phases, and that should come first have been a long debated topic. To be able to determine the exemplary process, we must first understand the objectives and expected deliverables of each phase.
http://www.gmhasia.com/category/business-impact-analysis/

2. Four key concepts for effective risk management

Lately everyone, from government agencies to regulators to corporate board members, seems to be talking about the need for better, more effective, risk management. The challenging part is that the concept of risk management effectiveness still remains vague. This article attempts to summarize the main components of effective risk management which should help risk managers to respond to the challenges set by regulators and shareholders.
http://www.continuitycentral.com/index.php/news/erm-news/1402-four-key-concepts-for-effective-risk-management

3. Compliance: accurate risk assessment and forecasting starts with asking the right questions

Effective compliance starts with the board of directors, who need to use their expertise to ask the right questions. The problem is that many board members do not know what questions to ask... In this article, Thomas Fox offers some suggested questions to kickstart the process.
http://www.continuitycentral.com/index.php/news/erm-news/1621-compliance-accurate-risk-assessment-and-forecasting-starts-with-asking-the-right-questions

4. Disaster recovery: Risk assessment and business impact analysis

Disaster recovery risk assessment and business impact analysis (BIA) are crucial steps in the development of a disaster recovery plan. But, before we look at them in detail, we need to locate disaster recovery risk assessment and business impact assessment in the overall planning process.
http://www.computerweekly.com/feature/Disaster-recovery-Risk-assessment-and-business-impact-analysis

5. Risk Assessment for Business Continuity

In creating business continuity plans, every organization completes a series of risk assessment exercises. Without this general risk assessment, it would be impossible to prioritize what BCM plans are needed. Each time a specific threat arises, business continuity teams need a risk assessment process to determine if the event merits activation of BCM teams and plans.
http://www.missionmode.com/risk-assessment-for-business-continuity/

6. Risk and business continuity management

The purpose of this guide is to explain the methodologies behind risk management and where HR should make a contribution in planning and executing the resulting plans. Business recovery cannot occur without employees and HR plays a strategic role in promoting trustful and prepared leadership throughout the organization to help reassure employees of their safety.
http://www.computerweekly.com/tip/Cloud-based-services-require-stalwart-business-continuity-plans