IT disaster recovery firm Jermyn Consulting and
certification group Moody International have partnered to develop a
service to help organisations get certification on the first
British standard forbusiness continuity.
Jermyn will assess readiness for the risk-based
BS 25999 standard and draw up a gap analysis and certification
plan. Moody will initiate the certification process.
"The service will guide organisations through the implementation
process, while building business continuity capability and
resilience," said Gary Donlon, director of Jermyn Consulting.
The standard specification to be published by the British
Standards Institute (BSI) this month, will set out the requirements
for setting up a system to manage business continuity.
The first part of the standard setting out the code of practice
was published a year ago and followed an earlier specification
(PAS 56) published in 2003.
The BSI said certification on the standard will help
organisations improve operations management, lower insurance
premiums, increase confidence in the business, and help safeguard
the reputation of the company.
"It is already evident that many organisations understand the
importance of the standard by the fact that the code of practice is
the most downloaded for any standard the BSI has ever had," said
Ron Miller, one of co-authors of the standard.
Miller, who is also the managing consultant of professional
services within Sungard Availability Services, said there is a
clear need for the standard as the first clear benchmark in
business continuity.
"Certification on this standard will mark organisations as being
well managed and reliable, which could enable them to gain
competitive advantage," he said.