Biz Continuity Goes Back to Basics

NEW YORK -- CIOs need to get back to basics when it comes to developing effective contingency plans, according to IT managers at a business continuity and security event here today.

Alex Tabb, president of consulting firm the Tabb Group, urged IT professionals not to get too bogged down in the latest servers and storage, but focus instead on building a simple and effective plan. "One of the things that I fervently believe in is the idea of back to basics," he said, noting that this involves working out which best practices fit your business, and developing a detailed plan for what gets done (and who does it) in the first few minutes of a crisis.

This plan, warned the analyst, should be carefully documented so that key employees, such as security and building operations staff, can quickly follow it. "In crises, oftentimes it's not people making decisions that causes problems, but people being afraid to make decisions," he said.

Financial sector IT managers taking part in a panel discussion agreed that this strategy is critical for success. "A back-to-basics approach is absolutely fundamental because that is the way that you are really going to show a good return on investment in disaster after disaster," said Deutsche Bank director Michael Berkowitz, adding that his firm uses the same processes to deal with small emergencies and major crises.

The director pointed to Deutsche Bank's Avian flu planning, which involves staff working remotely. "This push to get people and processes set up so that we can work from home pays dividends in a transit strike, a snowstorm, or a possible heat wave," he said.Getting buy-in for business continuity from other parts of the business is always cited as a challenge by IT managers, although Berkowitz explained that tackling small-scale incidents can raise the profile of a firm's business continuity plan. The exec, who spent eight years at New York's Office of Emergency Management prior to joining Deutsche Bank, explained how the firm handled a recent day of mourning a Bollywood star at its Bangalore facility.

With people pouring on to the streets, Berkowitz explained that Deutsche Bank closed the shutters on its buildings, sent half its staff out to join the mourners, and used the remainder to keep operation running.

Another panelist, John DiNuzzo, vice president of enterprise business continuity at Freddie Mac, warned that good communication is a key part of a good strategy. "Give people the confidence that you know what you're doing and you're on top of the situation," he said.

The exec explained that he is looking to develop what he calls a "15/30" strategy at Freddie Mac. This involves getting a small group of key people together within 15 minutes of a crisis, and getting a message out to staff within 30 minutes, he said.

The bad news is that the financial sector is becoming more and more complex. It is increasingly likely that the London Stock Exchange, for example, will merge with another market, making the job of financial sector CIOs even more difficult. "We're seeing new ways in which trades are being executed across networks -- these are really challenges for folks that are trying to plan and manage a business continuity program," said Tabb.Increasing globalization is putting even more pressure on firms' business continuity plans. "How many of you were aware that there was an earthquake in Taiwan last year?" asked Tabb. "That earthquake had an impact, albeit short, on networks and trading systems."

One of the largest business continuity issues of the last few years is avian flu, which some experts have warned could decimate U.S. businesses. (See Will DOD Catch Flu?, Panel Ponders Preparedness, and Suppliers Prep for Pandemic.)

Tabb admitted that it's still difficult to predict the likelihood of a pandemic, although he painted a more positive picture than some other experts. (See CIOs Ponder Potential Pandemic.) "We need to be realistic," he said. "I don't know of one trading floor that is comfortable saying 'We're going to send all the traders home,' " Tabb said, adding that business will still carry on.

James Rogers, Senior Editor Byte and Switch