How2Day: Techniques & Tools for Business Continuity

A number of techniques and tools can make planning and implementing your organization's business continuity program easier. Many computer tools can walk your business continuity committee or team through the plan development process, while key tools in an business continuity implementation can let you run your business from any location via the Internet or provide a physical alternative work site.

Organizations of any size and type benefit from using professionally developed tools and templates to generate a basic business continuity plan. These tools prompt the user for appropriate responses to questions guiding the development of the business continuity plan. This can help organizations without a full-time continuity planner or the means to hire a consultant to develop an adequate plan that covers all necessary topics. Europe leads the way in development and utilization of such tools and the European Network and Information Security Agency reviewed a variety of IT tools on its website including Alive-IT, BCP4me, Impact Aware, Crisis Commander, envisionERM, LDRPS, my COOP, Paragon and Shadow-Planner.

Make an informative website with immediate, two-way communications part of your business continuity implementation. This tool enables constant contact between your customers, vendors and your organization on a daily basis and during any disruptive event. Host it off-site, preferably out of state, to maximize continuity. Always host a backup at a secondary location. By utilizing an online catalog and shopping cart, your organization can continue to receive and process orders without having to be physically present in the office.

A virtual office environment provides an affordable continuity tool every organization can implement. Free alternatives exist that are suitable for small and non-profit organizations. These online office suites include word processing, spreadsheet, presentation, graphic design and instant messaging programs in a standard package with custom web-based email and Intranets available. Projects uploaded to or created in these environments may be developed by a single person or in a group and shared with both members of organization and outside entities, if desired.

In addition to a virtual office, some businesses require a physical alternate site in which to conduct business. Your organization may need a cold, warm or hot site. With a cold site you'll need to furnish and equip it to become fully operational, while a warm site is electronically prepared and partially equipped and requires only hours to go live. A hot site provides full, immediate transitional capabilities since it is fully equipped, furnished, and electronically prepared. Hardened sites provide additional security features such as backup power supplies with IT and physical security. Cold sites cost the least to maintain, while hot site cost the most. Hardening a site adds to its cost. Base your choice on the down time you can absorb, threats and risks to the organization and acceptable costs.

Training exercises and tools help employees master the plan's strategies and actions while uncovering needed changes and holes. A combination of hard copy and online trainings with live exercises prepares employees through theory and practice, including opportunities for cross-training of response teams.

How2Day