Business continuity planning prepares
a company and ensures that it continues operating and servicing its customers shortly after interruptions of any
kind occur, including power failures, IT
system crashes, natural disasters and supply chain problems.
“Most important, it ensures that a company protects people — employees and
customers — and assets,” says Larry
Kallembach, executive vice president and
chief information officer for MB Financial
Bank in Chicago. Kallembach heads the
bank’s Risk Management Team.
Smart Business spoke with Kallembach
on what business continuity planning
encompasses and why it should be a top
priority for companies, no matter their size
or industry.
What is business continuity planning?
Basically, it’s how an organization recovers its ability to conduct business after an
unforeseen event disrupts business.
Continuity planning has always been
important, but as companies have grown
more reliant on computers and just-in-time
inventory, problems arise faster and have
more immediate effects. What happened
with Y2K and technology and the events
surrounding Sept. 11 heightened the
awareness of these risks and brought the
need for planning to the forefront.
Who can benefit from continuity planning?
All businesses can benefit from continuity planning, but the type of business dictates how simple or complex the plan
needs to be. How long can you afford to be
without power or computers or inventory?
Hurricane Katrina devastated people’s personal lives so much that they weren’t necessarily thinking about their businesses as
much as how their families would survive.
Companies need to consider not just the
workplace but also how employees are
personally affected.
Another potential emergency that’s now
garnering some attention is a pandemic;
for example the spread of the Asian flu. If
this occurred, 40 percent of the work force
might be disabled. History tells us that to control a pandemic, you have to control
people’s movements. People can telecom-mute today, but would the telecommunication infrastructure hold up if everyone had
to work from home?
What is the first step in the business continuity planning process?
The first step is conducting a business
impact analysis, which identifies an organization’s processes or functions and associates them with how critical they are to
business operations. If you’re a trucking
firm, losing a computer system may not be
as disruptive as a major snowstorm. On the
other hand, if you’re a financial firm, a
snowstorm might not be a big deal but a
computer system going down would be
devastating.
What are some of the different plans within a
business continuity plan?
A business resumption plan determines how a business can quickly get back
up and running after a disaster and continue servicing customers and, ultimately, turning a profit.
A disaster recovery plan works in tandem with a business resumption plan and
focuses on restoring systems and infrastructure in order for normal business to
resume. How do you start recovering your
business and in what priority order? Who is
going to do the recovery and where do you
get the resources to initiate it?
A crisis management plan defines how
a business communicates next steps
among staff. Who will communicate the
message, and will it be sent internally or
externally or both? Where do people go for
more information?
An emergency response plan identifies
key employees to assess the situation, outlines the steps to stabilize the situation, and
focuses on protecting your people and
your assets.
What should a business look for in a business continuity planning provider?
It should look for a company that focuses
on its marketplace or can identify what it
needs. Does it need a company that runs an
off-site location to house computer systems and data? Does it require a company
that can provide power and a portable generator? Would it benefit by working with
someone to help do an assessment and put
together a communication plan?
Can a company customize a plan?
Once you’ve conducted a business
impact analysis, then you can figure out
how to mitigate the various threats to your
business. Certain things may not be as
important, so a company should pick the
pieces that actually make the most sense
for its own situation. One key for a successful plan is to educate employees about
it and set up and test some sort of communication channel. Then, if something does
occur, people will know whom to call or
who will call them, where to go and what
action steps to take.
LARRY KALLEMBACH is executive vice president and chief information officer for MB Financial Bank in Chicago. Reach him at (847)
653-2232 or [email protected].
