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Business continuity

Enhancing your organisation today while safeguarding it for tomorrow

17th Nov 2008 by razchaudary

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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The Seven Steps To Successful Business Continuity Communications

15th Nov 2008 by razchaudary

To successfully communicate with relevant parties during critical events, organizations need a system that can enhance their preparedness and contribute to the overall security of human, physical, and information assets.

This special report by the Varolii Corporation provides an overview of common steps organizations are taking in order to connect, protect, and account for their people, while enabling response teams and decision makers to coordinate a successful recovery and help protect assets and infrastructure—even such things as supply chain and key customer relationships.

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What is the Business Continuity BS 25999 Standard?

1st Nov 2008 by razchaudary

I found this particular website really useful and would like to share it with you…. BS 25999

What is BS25999?

BS25999 is a standard that establishes the process, principles and terminology of business continuity management.

Business Continuity Glossary
What Is Business Continuity Management
The Business Continuity Management Policy
BCM Programme Management
BS25999 Certification

BS25999 Part 2 is a Specification, not a Code of Practice like Part 1. So what is the difference?

Establish the BCMS [PLAN]
Implement and Operate BCMS [DO]
Monitor and Review the BCMS [CHECK]
Maintain and Improve the BCMS [ACT]
If you need to know more… please click on this link BS 25999

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Australian Business Continuity Expo

1st Nov 2008 by razchaudary

Australian Business Continuity Expo

Event: 27th November 2008, St Kilda Parkview Hotel, Melbourne.

Region: Asia

Country: Australia

Continuity Forum has announced that it is launching a new event, ‘The Business Continuity Expo’. This will provide a venue for Australian business continuity companies to showcase their latest products and services.

The Business Continuity Expo is a great place to showcase your latest products and services. It is designed to provide delegates with the latest updates in the business continuity sector in our region.

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Business Continuity Expo 2009

1st Nov 2008 by razchaudary

Event: 24th -25th March 2009

Region: EMEA
Country: UK
Event website: www.http://www.businesscontinuityexpo.co.uk/

Business Continuity Expo is the only event showcasing the most diverse range of products, services and toolkits that help you manage operational risk, resilience and recovery before, during and after an incident.

Whatever your stage of BC understanding & implementation (from entry level to best practice); this vibrant mix of experts, market leading suppliers and high-level interactive education forums will stimulate new ideas, debate and enable you to explore how business continuity and risk management can help your organisation become more efficient, give you a competitive advantage and add real value.

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Business Continuity Divide and Implications for Global Business Supply Chains

1st Nov 2008 by razchaudary

Not enough qualified people to support business continuity needs of global supply chains is the message being communicated by Goh Moh Heng from the Singapore based Business Continuity Management Institute (BCMI).

“As the world globalizes, the demand for business continuity management and disaster recovery becomes a prerequisite for us in Asia,” said Goh.

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US Department of Homeland Security Selects ANAB for Preparedness Program

27th Oct 2008 by razchaudary

According to the ANSI-ASQ National Accreditation Board (ANAB), the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has named ANAB to operate a new program to accredit and certify private sector entities for emergency preparedness.

Through formal certification businesses and non-profit organisations will be able to demonstrate their compliance with voluntary preparedness and business continuity standards and requirements.

“This program recognizes the importance of up-front planning to ensure business continuity even when calamitous events occur,” said Connie Conboy- Chair of ANAB’s Board

“It will facilitate the application of national and international standards in support of U.S. private sector homeland security preparedness requirements. The awarding of the contract to ANAB is consistent with our existing operations as an accreditation body for various management systems standards.”

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Business Continuity Risks for China, India and Asia overall

27th Oct 2008 by razchaudary

According to Forbes Calamity Prevention “the business impact of planning to mitigate, respond to and recover from earthquakes will be significant all over Asia, even if no more earthquakes occur for many years.”
Recent earthquakes around the Pacific Rim in the last four months have registered 6.0 or higher on the Richter scale, the magnitude at which earthquakes are generally considered destructive.

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Business Continuity Expo 2009

Event: 24th Mar 2009 – 25th Mar 2009

Visitors to Business Continuity Expo 2009 can now enjoy the only completely free to attend business continuity event in Europe to showcase a diverse range of business continuity and risk management products, services and toolkits to help organisations manage operational risk, resilience and recovery.

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Business Continuity Experts talk about the role of BC

14th Oct 2008 by Alex Briggs

Cheryl Vallender at www.disaster-resource.com has gotten a group of the world’s leading Business Continuity experts together to answer the question:

Where does Business Continuity Planning Belong in an Organization?

Cheryl’s article takes us right back to the beginning of Business Continuity through to taking a look at the current trends in global organisations.

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Business Continuity

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