When Crisis Happens...Will You Be Ready?

Michael R. Wood is a Business Process Improvement & IT Strategist Independent Consultant. He is creator of the business process-improvement methodology called HELIX and founder of The Natural Intelligence Group, a strategy, process improvement and technology consulting company. He is also a CPA, has served as an Adjunct Professor in Pepperdine's Management MBA program, an Associate Professor at California Lutheran University, and on the boards of numerous professional organizations. Mr. Wood is a sought after presenter of HELIX workshops and seminars in both the U.S. and Europe.

 

Whether it’s an earthquake, tornado, flood, fire or an act of terrorism, the odds of being caught in a crisis are increasing.  The source of the crisis is not as nearly as important as its magnitude.  Losing access to mission critical systems can have server consequences to the viability of the enterprise.  Statistically speaking, it is not a question of the odds that a crisis might happen but more a question of the impact it could have.  One thing is certain: The responsibility to insure that systems are continuously available falls squarely on the shoulders of the CIO.

Some of the key questions the CIO needs to ask are this:

·        How long could the enterprise survive if its core systems were unavailable?

·        What processes and procedures are in place to insure IT service continuity?

·        What safeguards are in place to protect the infrastructure and information resources from theft and/or destruction?

Beyond these simple core questions exists a layer of issues related to:

·        contingency planning

·        continuity management

·        change management

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