If moving with the times is good, then staying ahead for them is even better. DRI International or DRII for short has grown to become one of the largest business continuity organisations in the world. At the same time as also having one of the broadest bases, the non-profit organisation also helps current and would-be BC practitioners in specific domains such as healthcare and the government agencies. So how has DRII, whose original name was the Disaster Recovery Institute, stayed ahead to go beyond its DR beginnings and become a worldwide leader in the wider field of business continuity management?
Part of the answer is listening to the needs and the wishes of the BC community, which is a key part of the activity of DRII – before even defining and delivering its international training and certification programs. DRII recognises that business continuity is a discipline that benefits from sharing knowledge and experience. It combines market input and its own expert resources to optimise its services for maximum advantage to users. As the IT-centric contingency planning and DR from the 1980s and 1990s evolved to a business/community led approach, DRII remained at the forefront as a benchmark of professionalism and competence.
Yet DRII goes further than this as well. It is certified by ANSI (American National Standards Institute) as a standards development organisation (SDO). Its participation in the creation or revision of standards is systematic; in fact, working on any international business continuity standard without involving DRII would be practically unthinkable. This means that in the best sense possible DRII also helps to define the future for its members. And defining one’s own future is the surest way of being able to get ahead and stay ahead in business continuity.