Businesses Take BC Planning More Seriously

Business continuity (BC) planning consists of three critical phases: business impact analysis (BIA), risk assessment (RA), and plan documentation. In our Forrester/Disaster Recovery Journal Business Continuity Preparedness Survey, Q4 2008, we found that businesses are taking the time to complete each phase and regularly update BIAs, RAs, and plans. This is due in part to the increasing priority that businesses place on BC readiness, but it's also due to the increasing scrutiny businesses are under from both internal auditors and external parties such as regulatory bodies, strategic partners, and even customers. Security and risk management professionals, particularly CISOs and BC directors and managers, must ensure that their own planning efforts are on par with those of their peers and pay close attention to the areas where businesses are struggling: testing more thoroughly and frequently, involving business owners in the process from start to finish, and ensuring the BC readiness of strategic partners.