White Papers

Business Impact Analysis: A New Perspective

Most modern business continuity (BC) practitioners have come to understand that effective mitigation, response, recovery and resumption cannot happen without benefit of a thorough business impact analysis (BIA). There are, however, a number of perspectives on what constitutes a useful BIA and how to conduct it.
Read White Paper

Developing Business Continuity Program Simulations: Table-top Exercises

Table-top simulations are scripted events that focus on communications and decision making rather than physical response. The development of effective table-top disaster simulations requires an artistic skill that combines realism with a logical flow of events. Likewise, conducting a simulation requires careful attention to control the flow and pace of events to meet the objectives of the exercise without unduly overloading the participants or (worse) boring them with unrealistic scenarios or lack of sufficient problems. The table-top simulation process involves four separate stages. These stages are:

• Preparation, Scenario Development, and Script Writing
• Simulation Logistics and Training
• Conducting the Exercise
• Post-Simulation Reviews and Reporting

An effective simulation leads to greater interest and involvements by the participants and creates opportunities for program improvement.
Read White Paper

Global Blueprints for Change

This Blueprint presents fundamental information about the evolving and rapidly increasing interest in global perspective of government and the business sector in sustainable business enterprise and urban development. It focuses on innovative ways for nations, communities, businesses, insurers, and individual citizens to work together on many different coordinated fronts, using existing knowledge and fiscal and human resources to anticipate and cope with the ominous trend of rapidly increasing economic losses, societal impacts, adverse environmental impacts, mortality, and morbidity taking place in every country from natural hazards (e.g., floods, severe storms, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, landslides, wildfires, tsunamis, and droughts).
Read White Paper

Positive Influence: Earning Support for BC Program Development

Most BC practitioners will find themselves at some time in their careers wishing that they had better management support for their work. They know how important it is and can't understand what makes it so hard for others to see the value in protecting the business. Because this is such a common experience, it might be that it is inevitable, but that is doubtful. It may seem inevitable because it is not an experience unique to BC Program Developers. Most people who have served in a staff position in an organization have had a like experience at some time. The point is that the best practitioners recognize this reality, deal with it and get the job done anyway.

There are several organizational issues that help to create the difficulty that staff people experience. Among these is the distribution and use of power. We will then review a model that should provide a foundation for building influence with others. Last we will consider some specific strategies for building allies and winning support for program development.
Read White Paper

Practical Business Continuity and Disaster Planning

In many cases, Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Plans and Programs have been developed using a rigid structure that often fails to meet the challenge of actual events. While pre-planning (including the development of plans) is essential for audit, training, and other purposes; more often than not it is the planning process that provides the most benefit. It is this combination of shared ideas, “What if” planning, infrastructure development, and mitigation techniques that makes the difference between a “plan” that sits on the shelf versus a “program” that actually works or even prevents a disaster from occurring at all. Therefore, a new and pragmatic approach is needed.
Read White Paper

The Critical Role of Private/Public Alliances to Ensure Community Disaster Preparedness

If businesses do not survive a disaster, people are out of work, a community’s revenue stream is severely disrupted, and the impact prolongs the recovery process. Business is the lifeblood of the community. When businesses fail, a community loses its people and the tax base that a community needs to provide lifeline services. Communities must therefore bring together the leadership and expertise of businesses, emergency preparedness organizations, the engineering and scientific community, and others to develop a public/private partnership approach to reducing the vulnerability of businesses and communities to flooding, tornadoes, severe weather, earthquakes and other hazards.
Read White Paper

What is a Business Continuity Program Developer

In the future, the increasing pressures created by a 24/7 workforce and 24/7 consumers will continue to drive the requirements for Business Continuity Programs. The Business Continuity Program Developer’s role will be to: anticipate the organizations needs, meet management’s expectations, form interorganizational partnerships, develop intra-organizational cooperation, and obtain financing to meet or exceed the organization’s requirements for continuity of essential business operations. In what is now a foreseeable future, business continuity will be a required element of the design of organizations from the outset. Those that fail to build resilience into the basic design of an organization will fail to survive in an unforgiving marketplace.
Read White Paper