Enhancing your organisation today while safeguarding it for tomorrow

17th November 2008 by Raz Chaudary

The current economic climate and business environment  makes business continuity a critical issue.  Ensuring the preparedness of an organisation can strengthen  its long-term viability, reputation, and financial success.

Some key facts:

• 85% of US businessses are within the private sector and include transportation, banking, and utilities.
• Businesses vulnerable to natural disasters, computer viruses/cyber attacks, terrorist attacks, and viral pandemics.

For example, if the Internet stopped, U.S. retailers could lose $450 million a day in e-commerce.1 If an influenza outbreak occurred, New York state’s losses alone are estimated to be $49 billion.

 (source: “Dealing With Disasters At Home and Far Away” by Zosia Bielski, National Post, June 21, 2008).

Certification journey - five easy steps

• Step 1:
  Certification starts with an assessment of the company’s existing crisis management, business continuity, disaster recovery, and emergency response plans.

• Step 2:
  A gap analysis is  performed against a chosen standard, and will assess  the organisional responses to overcome a range of disaster scenarios.

• Step 3:
  Identify  key actions, assign responsibilities, and establish timings  to address the identified gaps. 

• Step 4:
  The organisation is now ready  for formal certification once the process has been established.

• Step 5:
  The organisation can select the appropriate level of certification appropriate to its needs.

Three levels of certification levels

• First-party certification: an internal self assessment and self declaration of certification.

• Second-party certification:r eview by one with whom there is an arm’s length relationship, such as a customer, supplier, or parent organization.

• Third-party certification: review by an • accredited third-party certifier. This is the most independent and objective form of certification.

Benefits of certification

Potential benefits of becoming “certification ready” include:

• improve operational efficiency,
• reduce  liabilities,
• boost stakeholder confidence.

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