Analyst firm IDC has says business continuity will be one of the
top 10 IT trends in 2002. Ian Bowdidge and Zoe Frost of
Hewlett-Packard offer the following eight-step overview of business
continuity management.
The A team: The first step is to create a business
continuity management team, which should include representatives
from across your business, such as HR, marketing, IT, logistics and
finance.
You need to assemble knowledgeable division leaders who can be
trusted to make sound decisions in the event of a disaster. Contact
details should be circulated so that everyone can communicate
rapidly in an emergency. Some larger firms choose to appoint a
business continuity manager.
Back to basics: Conduct a thorough business impact analysis.
You need to determine what assets, processes or services are most
important to your company. What is critical and non-critical?
Once you have identified the fundamental elements of your business
you should try to assess them in financial terms. You need to make
sure that your business continuity priorities match your business
priorities - both should be agreed by the board.
What lurks around the corner? The next step is to undertake a risk
analysis focused on the fundamental elements of the business that
you have identified.
You should evaluate the preventive measures that could help to
avoid a disaster. Consider the operational risks your company takes
every day.
To expose the risks, look at the inputs and outputs of the
fundamental elements of your business.
For example, what facilities and administrators are needed to run a
particular system? What systems feed it and what other systems does
it feed?
The big picture: Now create your overall business continuity
strategy. Each strategy should be tailored to fit the individual
needs of a company. There is no such thing as a "one size fits all"
solution.
It is important to realise that any business continuity strategy
should be flexible and adaptable because the environment within
which your company operates is continually evolving.
The nuts and bolts: The next stage is the creation of a business
continuity plan.
At its best, it should simply be a guide or an aide memoir, rather
than a recipe book to be followed to the letter.
Practice makes perfect: Once your strategy and plan are in
place it is time to rehearse, rehearse, rehearse.
Before you begin a rehearsal make sure you set clear objectives for
the desired outcome and what would be perceived to be a success.
Rehearsals should not be seen as tests. You cannot pass or fail.
The aim is to learn something new.
The more you practice the more confident people will become and the
better they will perform in a real disaster.
The proof is in the pudding: Make sure you have a
post-rehearsal evaluation to see whether the objectives were met
and to make informed decisions. Ask everyone what could have been
improved. Brainstorm about the outcomes and consider what you would
like to be the focus of the next rehearsal.
The never-ending story: Finally - there is no end to the
contingency planning. Your business continuity strategy and plan
need to be continually managed and maintained. Your plans should be
living documents that are regularly evaluated, rehearsed and
updated.
Further details can be found at
www.hp.com/Pocket guide
Hewlett-Packard's eight-step guide to
successful business continuity strategy
- Establish a business continuity management team
- Undertake a business impact analysis and financial
analysis
- Undertake a risk analysis
- Develop a business continuity strategy
- Develop a business continuity plan
- Set objectives and rehearse, rehearse, rehearse
- Evaluate and improve your business continuity strategy and
plan
- Maintain your business continuity strategy and plan. Rehearse
regularly and evaluate continually.