Making a case for business continuity.

TITLE: Ready for Anything

PRODUCER: Commonwealth Films

PUBLICATION DATE: 2002

LENGTH: 20 minutes

PRICE: $695 from Commonwealth Films; $637 ARMA members buying from ARMA International

MEDIA: Available in CD-ROM, VHS, PAL, Secam

SOURCES: ARMA International (www.arma.org) and Commonwealth Films Inc. (www.commonwealthfilms.com)

Being prepared is not just the Boy Scouts' mantra. As a result of September 11, 2001, those in the United States--and the world--learned that the unpredictable and the unthinkable can happen. It is but a coincidence of timing that this new production from Commonwealth Films, "Ready for Anything," should be issued on the heels of the World Trade Center catastrophe. It is, however, an important sensitizing and training tool, and another resource to make the business case for business continuity--a case that senior managers must act upon. It is worth making clear--and the video helps reinforce this--that the chief responsibility of managers is, first and foremost, the protection of the organization's assets, including employees, records, facilities, information systems, and customer relationships. Business recovery is a significant part of that responsibility.

"Ready for Anything" is different in overall strategy from Commonwealth's earlier "Back in Business." In addition to introducing newer technologies, this new release makes use of a theme emphasizing the successes of a well-developed and tested business recovery plan. In contrast, "Back in Business" uses numerous views of devastation, water damage, ruined floppy discs, and other scenes likely to frighten viewers into creating a solution rather persuading them that a business continuity plan is an asset for the future: "We were prepared."

Several examples of an increased sophistication in Commonwealth's new approach to business continuity include

* recognizing the need for in-depth scenario development ("what would we do if ...?") that assumes the possibility of multiple problems arising (e.g., while there may be planning for a flood, one must also foresee and plan for sewer lines breaking from that flood, possibly creating an even larger problem)

* realizing that data backup will not be helpful if the software that created the data has been destroyed as well and is no longer available

* considering newer technologies for data and vital records protection; this might include use of offsite electronic vaulting services instead of the older tape-rotation approach

* recovering from a disaster may take several days or even weeks, so plans for continuous service to customers are required--if one wants to keep customers

* business continuity is everyone's business, not just that of the business recovery team

Among the topics addressed by the program are

* Preventive measures

* Maintaining security

* Evacuation preparation, drills

* Risk assessment in depth

* Formation of a business recovery team

* Employee safety and support (e.g., health, transportation, counseling)

* Vital records protection

* Offsite data storage, mirror technology

* Recovery time priorities (e.g., which department's data is accessed first)

Information and records are given an appropriate amount of attention. Making sure that records retention policies and schedules are being acted upon has a new sense of urgency when we are forced to contemplate the worst-case possibilities. Protecting and accessing vital records and recovering paper records are mentioned. Records managers might want to see more focus on records per se in the video, but business functions are so inter-related in today's corporate scene that overall participation in the business recovery team is most important. It is clear that records management would be an important member of that team. Worth noting as well is that eight records and information (RIM) practitioners--named in the trailer--served as technical advisors on this production.

No video can be expected to tell everything--that's not what the medium is about. This program is meant to hold the (notoriously) short attention of senior managers and serve as a valuable point of departure for discussing, creating, and testing the business recovery plan. The video is well designed, effectively edited, offers a good mix of topics, and, as usual with Commonwealth Films productions, the actors in this docudrama are well selected. A detailed, three-page discussion guide that assists in beginning discussions after the video has been viewed is included.

J. Michael Pemberton, Ph.D., CRM, FAI, is Executive Editor of The Information Management Journal. He may be reached at [e-mail].