Business Continuity Planning : Answer to cost and outsourcing risk

Business continuity planning (BCP) is the creationrequirements and readiness, regulatory reporting
and validation of a practiced logistical plan for howrequirements, work recovery measures. They
an organization will recover and restore partially orshould have all the documents for the
completely interrupted critical functions within areestablishment of physical records, a new supply
predetermined time after a disaster or extendedchain, or new production centers.
disruption. The logistical plan is called a businessThe development of a BCP manual can have five
continuity plan.main phases:
Hence, BCP is the phenomenon by which a1. Analysis: study of various impacts and threat,
company plans out, how to stay in business in theits consequences.
event of disaster. Incidents include local incidents2. Solution design: to identify the most cost
like building fires, regional incidents likeeffective disaster recovery solution
earthquakes, or national incidents like pandemic3. Implementation: execution of the design
illnesses. The company has a formal printedelements identified in the solution design phase
manual available for reference before, during, and4. Testing and organization acceptance means to
after disruptions have occurred.achieve organizational acceptance that the
In 2007, the British Standards Institution publishedbusiness continuity solution satisfies the
another standard part for BCP, BS 25999-2organization's recovery requirements
"Specification for Business Continuity5. Maintenance: divided into three activities,a)   
Management", that specifies requirements forthe confirmation of information in the manual, roll
implementing, operating and improving aout to all staff for awareness and specific training
documented Business Continuity Managementfor individuals whose roles are identified as critical
System (BCMS).in response and recovery.b)    the testing and
BCP methodology is useful for any organization ofverification of technical solutions established for
but adopted by only regulated industries. Howeverrecovery operations.c)    the testing and
every organization should have one in order toverification of documented organization recovery
ensure the organization's longevity. It is evidentprocedures.
that firms do not invest enough time andMicrosoft’s Business Continuity Solutions
resources into BCP preparations are sufferer inMicrosoft Windows Server 2008 provides the
disaster survival statistics. According to a researchmost robust business continuity platform,
study, fires permanently close 44% of thedelivering proven technologies like Network Load
business affected. In the 1993 World TradeBalancing and Clustering as part of the operating
Center bombing, 150 businesses out of 350system. It also provides support for a wide range
affected failed to survive the event. Whereas,of industry-leading, shared-storage solutions to
the firms affected by the Sept. 11 attacks withdeliver Quick and Live Migration along with partner
well-developed and tested BCP manuals werecross-site data management and data replication
back in business within days.technologies.
For a small organization, BCP manual may beIBM - COOP Systems
simply a printed manual, containing full details ofIBM Business Continuity and Resiliency Services is
crisis management staff, general staff members,working with COOP Systems headquartered in
clients, and vendors along with the location of theHerndon, VA to provide business continuity
offsite data backup storage media, copies ofmanagement software namely myCOOP. With a
insurance contracts, and other critical materialsreputation for no risk deployments, low costs, and
necessary for organizational survival.ease-of-use for all types of users, myCOOP is
For most complex organizations, a BCP manualthe next generation of business continuity
may outline a secondary work site, technicalsoftware.