Attainium Blog on Bsiness Continuity 

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September is National Preparedness Month

September, which is unbelievably just around the corner, is National Preparedness Month, which encourages Americans to take steps to prepare for emergencies in their homes, businesses, schools, and communities. This year's theme is "Disasters don't plan ahead. You can." In addition to making sure that your business continuity plan is up-to-date, you can and should encourage your family, friends, and employees to educate themselves about preparedness. Some of this issue's articles can help. 

Managing Your Online Reputation

Per this issue's quote, while most people will look you up online, they won't go farther than page one of the results. So if you have negative results on page one, you probably need to do something about them because all that other positive stuff on pages two and following won't matter. You might be able to do some reputation repair yourself or you might need the services of a specialist. But make no mistake about it -- something has to be done. In this issue, we offer articles that talk about how to DIY as well as what online reputation services can do for you.  

Business Continuity Plan Management

The state of business continuity is continually evolving, but is your business's plan also evolving? Have you updated it to consider things like ransomware attacks? Have you included sufficient detail on contingency planning? And what plans have you made about service providers? Are you even focusing on the right things in your planning? Perhaps it's time to take a new look at your plan and consider some of the new dangers we face in the digital era as well as some new approaches to planning.  

Cyber Issues

As the quote in this issue indicates, cybersecurity is no longer just the purview of the IT department. Everyone in the organization -- from the C-suite down -- is responsible for some aspect of this problem. This issue looks at cybersecurity from various viewpoints and even provides information on adding cyber scenarios to your business continuity exercises. Try it! 

Cloud Computing - Friend or Foe?

In a matter of years, cloud computing has become an option for many companies and for many reasons. Yet there is still only a fairly small percentage of folks who have parked their data in the cloud. Is it right for your company? This week we look at a number of issues that might affect your decision, from strategies to data risks to what to do if your provider goes bust to how to select that provider in the first place. 

Workplace Violence - Causes & Mitigation

If you follow the news, it's clear that violence in the workplace is becoming all too frequent. It arises from many causes and threatens employers and employees alike. This issue provides helpful information on workplace violence, its causes, and ways to mitigate it. Read on and think about how you can decrease the likelihood in your workplace. 

Testing & Exercising Your Business Continuity Plan

We think everyone is aware by now that a written plan is nothing more than that... words on paper. Until you test/exercise it, it will be nothing more. Maybe some of your assumptions are wrong or maybe employees don't really understand what they need to do. Key people could be out of town when you need them; who picks up the slack? Only exercising the plan will show you what works and what doesn't so you can do something to improve it. This issue could help. 

Risk Assessment and Planning

How do you handle risk in your organization? Do you do an assessment before you write or review your plan? After your plan? Are you a risk avoider? Take a look at this issue for some info about risk and how to handle it.