Why is so "darn" hard to engage IT Organization in Business Continuity efforts??? Last Updated on June 15, 2020 by Alex Jankovic Reading Time: 5 minutes In our previous articles, we outlined the reasons why the Business Continuity Management (BCM) Program is essential to your organization. The conclusion was that to be successful and effective, Business Continuity Planning must be an organization-wide activity. It involves the collaboration of all business functions and all departments. So why is it so darn hard to engage an Information Technology (IT) organization (internal or exter ..read more

Business Continuity Planning Guide for Smaller Organizations Last Updated on June 4, 2020 by Alex Jankovic Reading Time: 26 minutes We all live in an unpredictable world. We are faced with many risks that can disrupt our livelihood and can jeopardize our existence. Regardless of their nature, weather-related events that cause havoc in our communities, pandemics that can wipe us out, or cyber-related incidents that can potentially shut-down our technology, these events require us to be more resilient. Why did we write this guide? It is our finding that many organizations, small and la ..read more

The link between Business Continuity and Organizational Culture? Last Updated on May 31, 2020 by Alex Jankovic Reading Time: 4 minutes Organizational culture is an often-overlooked factor in the long-term viability of Business Continuity Management (BCM) Programs. Many organizations understand the importance of Business Continuity Planning processes, such as Risks Assessment or a Business Impact Analysis (BIA). Still, they fail to consider how their organizational culture could potentially impact the business continuity planning efforts and overall effectiveness of the BCM Programs o ..read more

Business Continuity Planning for Small and Medium-Sized Organizations Last Updated on May 31, 2020 by Alex Jankovic Reading Time: 4 minutes Readers note: Please check our recently published high-level Business Continuity Planning guide.  In the “An Introduction to Business Continuity Planning” article, we outlined the main components of the Business Continuity Management (BCM) Program and introduced the basics of Business Continuity Planning (BCP).   We defined some key BCM Program terms and implementation phases, development approaches and program alignment requiremen ..read more

Is Business Continuity Planning Dead? Not really! Last Updated on May 31, 2020 by Alex Jankovic Reading Time: 3 minutes The death of the business continuity planning and profession has been predicted quite a few times over the last decade. Some reports have even gone as far as to declare that it is already dead. When asked about the status of their business continuity planning efforts, many organizations respond that either it provides limited value or it is cumbersome to implement and maintain. The current business landscape arguably allows for more opportunity than ever before, and ..read more

Business Continuity is NOT a Data Backup Last Updated on May 31, 2020 by Alex Jankovic Reading Time: 5 minutes There is something that bothers many Management Consultants in the Business Continuity and Information Technology field. Have you tried to search for the terms “Business Continuity” or “Business Continuity Planning” on Google or Bing search engines recently? Please do, and the results may surprise you. Once you skip over a few Google ads and relevant, but not local, articles (e.g. Wikipedia), you will find link after link to articles written by local Managed Service Provider ..read more

Not another BCM Program audit? Last Updated on May 31, 2020 by Alex Jankovic Reading Time: 4 minutes Another Business Continuity Management (BCM) Program audit. Again? Some organizations think of audits as tedious, and often unnecessary, accounting procedures, rather than as a powerful business tool that can be used to improve the organization’s capabilities. At its core, an audit is simply an assessment used to discover which areas the business will require a focus in the future. These types of assessments can be used to evaluate an entire organization (management consulting), or an ..read more

Risk Assessment – Is it worth the time and effort? Last Updated on May 31, 2020 by Alex Jankovic Reading Time: 3 minutes Should your organization execute a Risk Assessment? Is it worth the time and effort? It is often a long and complicated process, which may discourage some organizations from fully committing to it. This article will address the importance of the Risk Assessment as a general business tool, as well as in the context of Business Continuity Planning. In addition, we will address some of the most common challenges and concerns regarding the Risk Assessment process. We a ..read more

IT Disaster Recovery Planning – “No worries, we have a backup?!” Last Updated on May 31, 2020 by Alex Jankovic Reading Time: 3 minutes When asked about their organization’s IT Disaster Recovery (ITDR) plans, some will smile and say, “Yes, we have a backup and it is fully outsourced.” This type of response will set off a few red flags with the Business Continuity Planners, but many organizations do not understand why it is so problematic. This article will outline what effective ITDR planning entails, and why having a backup is only a small part of a much larger discussion. IT systems ..read more

Why the Business Impact Analysis is Challenging for an Organization with Constant Changes Last Updated on May 31, 2020 by Alex Jankovic Reading Time: 3 minutes In a Business Continuity Management (BCM) Program, there are specific professional practices that must be adhered to. The Disaster Recovery Institute (DRI) outlines the first steps as Business Continuity Management (BCM) Program Initiation and Risk Assessment, with the third being the Business Impact Analysis (BIA). This practice is outlined in the following tasks: Identify and prioritize the entity’s functions and proce ..read more