Implementing business continuity management – sharing good practice from an Irish context

ABSTRACT Never has the need for robust, resilient organizations been so evident as in recent times with more and more well-established, respected organizations becoming unstable or even perishing as a result of the global recession. Added to these challenging economic times we have the demands of managing increasingly complex organizations, which are often highly dependent on sophisticated Information Systems and technology. Perrow’s Normal Accident Theory (1994) points to the fact that “no matter how hard we try there will be serious accidents because of the interactive complexity”[1] of the organizations in which we work. The introduction of BS25999, the British Standard for business continuity management, draws on international good practice in this field and brings together a clear view of what should constitute effective business continuity management for organizations across all sectors. This has provided Business Continuity Managers with a benchmark against which this aspect of their organization can be measured. This paper provides an overview of the Business Continuity Management Lifecycle. It discusses the key steps which must be taken in order to establish a Business Continuity Management Programme. It then explores the various approaches and methods which may be employed to gain a greater understanding of the organization. The paper highlights how organizations need to determine the BCM strategy which should be implemented and how to plan for delivery of an effective response in the event of a disruption to normal business. This will involve giving appropriate consideration to key resources such as: People; Premises; Technology; Information; and Supplies. The paper includes a discussion on ensuring all arrangements are fit for purpose, and outlines the importance of high quality exercising and training initiatives. Finally the paper determines how Business Continuity Management can be embedded into the culture of organizations so that they continue to grow in terms of resilience and maintain key functions and outputs in times of crisis. The research for this paper involved the completion of a number of case studies which investigated how BCM is implemented in a range of organizations. As each phase of the BCM Lifecycle is discussed an example of good practice, drawn from these cases, will be outlined in order to illustrate how the various elements of the BCM lifecycle may be implemented within organizations across the public, private and voluntary sectors