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 | Plan Do Check Act (PDCA) – How it Applies To Business Continuity
June 30, 2010 by Jacque Rupert | The business continuity industry has heard a lot about Plan, Do, Check Act (PDCA) recently. Nearly every emerging standard is following this approach, from BS 25999 and NFPA 1600 (2010 edition) to the new American business continuity standard being created by ASIS. However, there seems to be a lot of confusion about what PDCA is – and what it means for business continuity. This article breaks down the components of a PDCA approach to business continuity, with a focus on which activities will provide your organization’s program the most value. |
 | Data Breaches: A Sidewalk Sale of Consumer and Personal Information
December 08, 2009 by Christopher Burton |
Data breach is a growing risk for organizations of all sizes and from all industries. The number of reported data breaches in recent years has skyrocketed, and their cost can be devastating to an organization’s reputation and finances. In addition, effectively responding to a data breach is far more complicated than simply sending a mass mailing to affected customers notifying them of the occurrence. Given the potential impact of a data breach on an organization, cross-functional awareness and preparedness are a necessary addition to an organization’s business continuity program. Continue reading to learn what a data breach is and why your organization needs to be prepared for one. |
 | What Is A Management System?
January 28, 2009 by Brian Zawada |
Over the past eighteen months, many business continuity professionals learned of a new term – management system. First introduced to many of us in British Standard (BS) 25999 as a Business Continuity Management System (BCMS), the concept continues to gain traction in our profession through a number of draft organizational resilience-related standards authored by the International Standards Organization (ISO), as well as a new American standard whose development is currently being facilitated by ASIS International. |
 | Can The Right Software Get Me BS 25999 Certified?
January 19, 2009 by Susan Giffin |
With the growing popularity of BS 25999, many business continuity professionals are wondering how their planning software will support a certification effort. This is a reasonable question, because many organizations have developed their programs using the default processes built within their software. Thus, those default processes, if built correctly by the vender, should lead to easy certification. However, due to the nature of the standard, no software can deliver full, out of the box compliance in a way that ensures the business continuity program can be certified; no matter what the software vendor may advertise. |
 | Who Should Be On My Business Continuity Steering Committee?
August 05, 2008 by Susan Giffin | When designing or transforming business continuity programs, our consultants are often asked, “Who should participate on our organization’s business continuity steering committee?” While the answer may seem simple and straightforward for some, too often steering committees contain the wrong combination of participants, the wrong “level” of individuals and/or a focus on the wrong objectives. |
 | FFIEC Updates the Business Continuity Standard for Banks
April 07, 2008 by The Avalution Team |
The newly-released 2008 FFIEC Business Continuity Planning booklet continues to incorporate new business continuity themes and trends. While the tables at the end of this perspective provide detailed comparisons between the 2003 and 2008 requirements, there are five broad areas of improvements the FFIEC focused on... |
 | FFIEC Expands Pandemic Planning Guidance for Financial Institutions
January 23, 2008 by Stacy Gardner |
For financial institutions waiting for more formal guidance from the Federal Financial Institution Examination Council (FFIEC) before planning for a pandemic, the time is here. The FFIEC, an interagency council that prescribes uniform standards for the United States financial industry, recently followed up the industry’s “Interagency Advisory on Influenza Pandemic Preparedness” and NCUA’s “Letter to Credit Union 06-CU-06 - Influenza Pandemic Preparedness” with new guidance. |
 | Pandemic Webinar Q&A
October 30, 2007 by The Avalution Team |
Avalution Consulting co-owners Brian Zawada and Robert Giffin recently presented a webinar, sponsored by Continuity Insights, titled "Practical Pandemic Planning For Businesses".
Many questions were submitted by the 200 participants, but due to time restraints, there was not enough time to answer them all, so the questions and our answers are listed below. |
 | Introducing BS25999
September 07, 2007 by Lucine Ghazarian | British Standard 25999 is a business continuity standard that was developed by a committee of practitioners chosen by the British Standard Institute (BSI). The standard provides basic guidance and recommendations for a wide range of organizations in need of a business continuity management system (BCMS). Although 25999 is not yet certifiable, it is becoming more and more widespread, competing as a leader amongst business continuity standards due to its easy to follow framework and actionable recommendations. |
 | Business Continuity Standards Influencing International Financial Services Organizations
March 19, 2007 by Stacy Gardner |
As globalization blurs the lines between countries and expands business hours from 9 to 5 to 24/7, companies can no longer approach business continuity and risk management as a regional, or even national, endeavor. Instead, business continuity programs must enable organizations to communicate in multiple languages and deal with meeting the requirements of various regulatory agencies around the globe. |
 | Take Your Continuity Program to the Next Level
February 13, 2007 by Robert Giffin |
Financial institutions, more than any other industry group, spend considerable resources on business continuity planning – and for good reason. Banks are a critical element of our economy’s infrastructure, and as a result, an ever growing body of regulations impose significant penalties for those who don’t comply. For many organizations, compliance, and its associated “satisfactory rating”, continues to be an elusive goal. Based on our work with a diverse group of financial institutions, we have developed a common list of problems faced by many financial services organizations. |
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