As such, a business continuity plan itself is simply a roadmap for how a company will be able to keep its operations on track should adverse conditions manifest. As stressed throughout this blog, in the traditional sense, a business continuity plan relates to things like how workers, data or infrastructure will be recovered should a natural or man-made disaster disrupt normal operations.

However, another thing that will certainly throw off a business' ability to deliver their core product or service is a lawsuit. When a company has to throw time, energy and resources into legal fees and court time, other aspects of the operation will undoubtedly suffer. Furthermore, having a company's name dragged through the press as a defendant in a lawsuit can certainly have an adverse effect on how that business is perceived by the public. This is especially true when the lawsuit is filed from within.

For example, Deputy James Gist of the Galveston County Sheriff's Department recently named his supervisor Pam Matranga as the defendant in a sexual harassment lawsuit. Court documents suggest that Matranga constantly engaged in inappropriate behavior including forcing Gist's head under her blouse, inappropriate gyrations and suggesting that they attend a local adult establishment together.

In order to prevent the damage this kind of negative press can have on an organization, it would be wise to partner with a certified business continuity consultant. These professionals can sit down with business leaders and explain the pitfalls of this kind of negative behavior and develop the proper protocols for addressing harassment in the workplace.

Pre Conference Course 6

Planning and Implementing and Effective BIA

Sat., Sept. 8, 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Sun., Sept. 9, 8:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m

$1295 per person

Presenters: Morris Davis, Ted Brown

The business impact analysis (BIA) is the foundation on which the business continuity program is built. It identifies, quantifies and qualifies the business impacts of loss, interruption or disruption of business activities on an organization and provides the data from which appropriate continuity strategies can be determined.

You’ll learn how to tailor a business impact analysis (BIA) to your organization, to provide management the data to support the appropriate BCP/COOP strategy and program. This dynamic class will review the “critical success factors” that lead to a quality BIA. It will also discuss the pitfalls that probably guarantee failure. Areas discussed include: What should the project plan be? How long should it take? What kind of survey should be used? How long? What should be the goals? What about interviews versus workshops? What is the Output? Sponsors: are they required? Who should it be? Who shouldn’t it be? How do you get management buy-in to conduct a BIA?

Morris Davis, MBCI, CBCP, the KETCHConsulting national practice leader will teach the BIA class and facilitate the exercises.

Ted Brown, MBCI, CBCP, CBCV, president and CEO of KETCHConsulting, is a recognized business continuity industry leader whose tireless efforts have dramatically increased visibility of BCP/COOP nationwide and globally.

To register:

For the show, pre/post classes, BCI classes, etc.
through the DRJ main online registration form:
http://www.drj.com/events/fall-world-2012/register.html

or direct link to the DRJ registration form here:
https://connect.computility.com/form/index.php?id=57b0ff6ef60d2438957aef735878196e

However, it seems that today, small businesses are seeking out cutting-edge systems with the same enthusiasm.

According to a recent IT security study in which more than 2,000 small business with between five and 250 employees were surveyed, it was found that more than one third of the polled respondents have enabled employees to conduct business via mobile phones. Furthermore, the study found that 34 percent of the respondents had developed a virtualization program in which scalable, digital versions of hardware and storage are utilized.

Even more popular was cloud computing with 40 percent of respondents mentioning the deployment of public clouds, while 43 percent are utilizing a private cloud.

But, what is the driving force behind this technological transition? According to the researchers, the answer is simple: disaster recovery.

"SMBs cannot afford lengthy downtimes, so the ability to quickly recover from a disaster is critical," said Steve Cullen, an expert in marketing and cloud strategies for small businesses. "Technologies such as virtualization, cloud computing and mobility, combined with a sound plan and comprehensive security and data protection solutions, enable SMBs to better prepare for and quickly recover from potential disasters such as floods or fires, as well as lost or stolen mobile devices and laptops."

Another reason that these technologies are so important is that they can facilitate data mirroring at facilities outside the primary workplace should a natural disaster or major technical malfunction occur. In order to obtain assistance in negotiating the best price possible on a hot site that is fully equipped with the full scope of a business' data, officials can turn to a disaster preparedness consulting firm that provides services with no charge unless fiscal savings manifest.

One of the best ways for a company to learn more about the specifics of this process is by sending business officials to attend the Disaster Recovery Institute 2012 Certified Professionals Conference and Expo. Being held from between May 20 and 23 at the Roosevelt Hotel in New Orleans, Louisiana, attendees will have the opportunity to meet with industry professionals, share best practices, and get involved in hands-on workshops with peers within an exclusive and intimate setting.

One event that conference attendees should be sure not to miss is "Sell it, Don't Tell It – Selling Continuity to Management, Executives, and Elected Officials" being presented by Ted Brown of Ketch Consulting on Sunday, May 20 from 1 p.m. until 4 p.m.

While many enterprise officials may understand the value of a well-designed business continuity plan, it is crucial to communicate those ideas effectively to senior management to bolster the support and resources necessary to undertake its provisions.

As such, "Sell it, Don't Tell It" event will provide valuable insight into how officials can handle objections (such as setting aside resources for items not of immediate relevance) through tactics such as selling continuity planning as another form of insurance.

The bottom line is that those who attend this event will leave with the knowledge necessary to put the necessary numbers together to develop a concrete ROI estimate, providing the necessary ammunition to pitch business continuity to executives with the most precision possible.
 

Nonetheless, it was recently reported in a press release that a new survey undertaken by the American Red Cross in partnership with FedEx Corporation found disaster recovery programs are largely being neglected.

For example, after surveying 200 small businesses by phone, just about half of the respondents mentioned they had not practiced their emergency drills nor allocated strategic employee protocols should a catastrophe manifest.

Furthermore, a vast majority of the respondents (77 percent) mentioned that they had not encouraged their employees to facilitate disaster preparedness plans in their homes to protect their family and property.

"Many small businesses put off disaster preparation because of concerns about lack of resources or expertise," said Rose Flenorl of FedEx Services. "But some simple, inexpensive steps can go a long way toward helping businesses be prepared if disaster strikes. The survey found that 77 percent of small businesses would be more likely to take action to prepare for disaster if they were provided with educational materials."

One excellent way for small business officials to procure the educational materials that would better prepare their organization for a disaster is by sending representatives to attend the World Conference on Disaster Management, taking place in late June 2012 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. By attending this event, representatives will enjoy detailed presentations for continuity experts to learn all about the best practices for enterprise-level disaster preparedness. 

Recognizing how important information dispersal is to diminish the likelihood that a violent incident will transpire in the workplace, officials in Shelby County, Tennessee, recently developed a free workplace violence prevention seminar with the assistance of AlliedBarton Security Services and the St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital.

According to Brent O'Bryan of AlliedBarton's Learning & Development department, nearly two million Americans' lives are impacted by a workplace violence incident, and that the awareness and education fostered through similar seminars can serve to lower that statistic.

"Workplace violence takes a terrible toll on our society in terms of economic loss and more importantly in terms of human suffering," said Chief Joseph Ruff of the Shelby County Sheriff's Department. "When we use the term violence we really mean aggression in any form. The scars from constant psychological attacks are no less real than the ones from physical attacks. We must educate our workforce at every level, from CEOs to entry level employees, on how to identify workplace violence and the impending signs and provide them with clear instructions on who to tell and how to act when they or a co-worker becomes a victim."

However, putting together an event such as this with input from so many trusted professional experts can be a daunting task for a small municipal government. In order to gain assistance with workplace violence awareness initiatives, business continuity planning consultants can be deployed to assist both governments and corporate officials design programs to enhance the community's ability to defuse violent situations before they cause any irreparable damage. 

While some healthcare organizations may have the internal resources to take all the steps to bolster ideal preparedness for an emergency situation, many smaller facilities have fewer personnel juggling more tasks. As such, planning for something not in the immediate future may be burdensome.

For organizations such as this, it would be wise to seek the assistance of a certified disaster preparedness consulting firm. These professionals can first help a healthcare practice conduct a business impact analysis in which all the organization's core processes are analyzed to understand the consequences to patient safety should they fail to run.

After undertaking this measure, preparedness consultants can then help develop solutions to the problems that were identified. For example, they can assist in negotiating the best price possible on a fully-equipped, remotely-located hot site so that should a severe weather incident, technical glitch or other catastrophe damage a primary facility, operations can immediately resume elsewhere with all the tools necessary to facilitate positive patient health outcomes.

Additionally, especially for hospitals in which patient data is so central to providing the best care possible, these consultants can help facilitate data replication in the hot site so that physicians can avoid issues related to patient allergies, duplicate medications and other problematic diagnoses.

One excellent way to obtain the assistance necessary to complete these vital preparedness tasks is by sending facility representatives to the World Conference on Disaster Management, taking place on Wednesday, June 27, 2012 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.

For example, should a severe weather incident such as a hurricane or tornado threaten to strike, municipality officials must be ready with supplies, emergency personnel, educational resources, lodging and much more to help the community get through the incident without causing fear or panic.

But, as important as it is to plan for severe weather incidents, it is also a pressing task for municipality officials to regularly plan for more extreme emergency conditions such as a nuclear disaster.

Understanding the necessity of nuclear disaster planning, New Jersey news source the Daily Journal reports that officials in Cumberland County, New Jersey, recently engaged in an annual rehearsal exercise to better ready the community should a nuclear incident occur.

For example, officials identified that the closest possible disaster would take place at the Salem Nuclear Generating Station, and would require evacuations within a 10-mile radius in all directions of the site.

While the officials in this region have been undertaking mock test exercises to assess preparedness for a nuclear disaster for years, there are likely countless other communities that might not know how to plan for such an extreme incident.

For these municipalities, it would be wise to send officials to the World Conference on Disaster Management, taking place on Wednesday, June 27, 2012 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. When attending this event, officials will learn from experienced disaster preparedness consultants how to best ready their community for a nuclear incident by developing best practices such as superior hot site development, and equipping large community areas such as local high schools with the resources to accommodate displaced citizens for a period of time. 

However, with virtualization, this issue is not so problematic. Virtualization is the process of deploying digital versions of things like hardware, servers and storage space that formerly only existed in tangible, hard form. Consequently, by adopting virtual versions of these items, upfront costs are lower and the system can be scaled upwards or downwards at any given time to meet the precise storage needs of the company at that exact moment.

As such, it is not terribly surprising that the Disaster Recovery Index – a measure generated by surveying 6,000 IT professionals worldwide – found that virtual server adoption amongst small businesses is forecasted to grow by over 20 percent by the end of 2012.

Yet, that statistic is coupled with the fact that many small businesses do not seem to be taking the same data precautions with their virtual servers as physical ones. For example, the Index found that only 37 percent of the polled respondents backed up their virtual servers daily and that only just over 30 percent backed up virtual servers with the same frequency as physical ones.

Additionally, only just over 20 percent had an offsite data backup plan.

In order to prevent the significant consequences that manifest when a data loss occurs, it would be wise for small businesses that are utilizing virtual servers to deploy the services of a disaster preparedness consultant. Not only can these professionals help a small business facilitate superior data backup and recovery, but also negotiate the best price possible on a remotely located hot site that stores the full scope of a company's data. Taking this measure will enable a small business to get right back on track at a new location should an emergency hinder performance at a primary site. 

As such, it is especially important for officials in California to update their continuity of operations plans with even more regularity than other areas of the United States as the region is notably prone to emergency conditions that could put citizens' lives and property at great risk.

This axiom is especially critical for hospitals in the state. If California healthcare practitioners are not prepared with evacuation protocols and remotely-located hot sites that have the equipment necessary to continue patient care, the losses could be devastating.

Interestingly, engineers at the University of California San Diego (UCSD) are testing out a different technique to foster earthquake preparedness. According to technology-centric news source The Verge, engineers at UCSD have spent $5 million over three years in order to develop a model hospital that is immune to earthquake tremors.

"We have earthquakes on a regular basis," Anna Cabellero of the California State and Consumer Services Agency told the news source. "The one place you need to be in really good shape are the hospitals."

While the sophisticated architecture that has been developed to keep operations running smoothly even during the most intense emergency circumstances, many healthcare facilities likely do not have the kind of resources to support a project of this magnitude. A more cost-effective alternative to assist medical professionals cope with earthquakes is by deploying the services of a disaster preparedness consulting firm.

These consultants can not only help negotiate the best price on a hot site, but also help develop a tabletop exercise to ensure that the provisions of a business continuity plan are sound in practice as well as theory.