If you listed every single risk that could throw your organization into disaster recovery mode, you would be burning the midnight oil for a week. Mind you, you probably wouldn’t be able to sleep anyway from the worry of trying to figure out how on earth to deal with such risks. A better approach is to eliminate some of the worry. Read more
There could be a self-contradiction in the term “business continuity”. We hear so much about the increasing pace of change in technology, organizations, and business in general. So does that mean business continuity is incompatible with the need to continually adapt to new markets and environments? Thankfully, there’s a loophole – after all, we also hear frequently that the only constant is change. Business continuity that continually aligns the business to meet varying conditions then unifies “continuity” and “change”. So far so good, but in that case business continuity managers will also need to understand change and how to handle it. Read more
The bigger your company gets, the bigger (in dollar amounts) the risks you must deal with. Business continuity relies on the analysis of risks and their impacts. Disaster recovery lends itself to similar investigation to see if your storage area network or your servers have the higher chance of going south (so to speak). Some organisations use risk management software to track everything and manage business risk project by project, as well as at an enterprise project portfolio level. The problem is that commercial software for risk management can be expensive. Does open source software offer an alternative? Read more
Not long ago we managed to stabilise our businesses with automated systems to manage our daily transactions and business processes but now these systems have taken a whole new realm. Systems are integrated with other systems and reliant on each other to function, almost without any human interaction needed, these systems run and run because they’re programmed to run until its end of life. As to whether we make all processes automated or whether we control the systems at the backend remains indefinitely at the control of the human element. Read more
Good training and experience in business continuity can convert data, information and theory into something more valuable for an organisation – business continuity knowledge. The difference is that knowledge is practical, applicable and relevant to the organisation that has it. People who know what to do to keep a business ticking don’t have to scurry off to dig into textbooks. They know what to do because they have already built a model in their minds of how their organisation works and how to leverage business continuity resources appropriately. That’s a big advantage, but how permanent is it? Read more
Few and far between are the organisations that are a complete supply chain in themselves. They are much more likely to be part of an overall supply chain with upstream components, downstream components or both. Whether you make cars, computers or breakfast cereals, the same logic applies. You have suppliers upstream from which you acquire raw materials. You have distributors and retailers downstream upon whom you depend for the sale and consumption of your products. That means extra, less controllable (for you) links in the chain that could break and bring your business to a standstill, even though your own organisation is working perfectly. Read more
What’s in a name? Depending on the person offering the definitions, business continuity and risk management are sometimes considered as different functions, or subsets of each other, or simply the same. For example, the prevention, preparedness, response and recovery approach to risk management or PPRR is presented as risk management. However, when all the steps are accomplished and the results put together, you end up with a business continuity plan. Indeed, risk identification and business impact analysis are two classic steps in preparing overall business continuity. But what then of the opposite idea that business continuity is a subset of risk management? Read more
Supply chain optimisation is the reason why companies like Walmart dominate their sectors. Supply chain continuity is essentially business continuity in this case. That should mean risk assessment and mitigation to make sure everything keeps working. However, supply chain risk seems to be a slippery item that is difficult to pin down. Businesses often state their concern about the chances of interruption to their supply chain, yet have no clear solution for measuring or managing that risk. Could your insurer help out? Read more
While individual DRI courses may focus on specific areas of business continuity, certain topics come up time and time again. It’s because they are fundamental to any effective BC process; risk management is one such topic. Understanding the possibilities of failure, losses or damage is crucial for putting together a business continuity plan that gives an organisation adequate protection at a reasonable cost. However, risk management has also evolved significantly over the recent past. BC managers must now also integrate the notion of positive risk into their daily activities – that is, risk that represents opportunities, not just threats. Read more
To get up to speed rapidly and effectively in business continuity and disaster recovery, training course given by experienced professional instructors from DRI International are an excellent solution. A flexible, modular approach gives both beginning and experienced BC practitioners the possibility to select training classes to suit individual requirements. BCOE 200 - Introduction to the Principles of Risk Management Business continuity management uses key methodologies and models to understand and apply risk management in particular. This course brings you the knowledge and practical application, so that you can understand what risk assessment accomplishes, why it is important in business continuity planning, how to do it and how to integrate risk assessment and its results in a business continuity program. The course data-gathering activities can also be used as part of BCOE 400 for developing business continuity strategies. BCOE 300 - Introduction to Business Impact Analysis The Business Impact Analysis is Read more