Business Continuity Tools
The tragedy of 9/11, and any number of natural disasters since then, have thrown into stark relief the need of every business to have a plan in order to stay running. But even lesser issues can create problems that threaten to interrupt your business' operations. A business continuity plan is essential, even if your resources for creating one are limited. These books, CD-ROMS, and DVDs will help you.
Step One in Continuity Planning
Business Impact Analysis Template: A Tool for Business Continuity by Douglas M. Henderson $99 - Author Douglas M. Henderson was thrown into the business continuity industry through disaster. A South Florida resident, in 1992 he witnessed Hurricane Andrew destroy much of his hometown -- and then he witnessed many business struggle to keep operations going in its wake. Already a seasoned management and human resources professional, he was inspired to help business owners create their own continuity plans. Now the head of Disaster Management, Inc., Henderson has also published a number of products aimed at helping you do it yourself. This CD-ROM focuses not on the continuity plan itself, but on the step before that: drafting a business impact analysis. Collecting all the relevant information beforehand is essential in drafting a complete BCP, and here, Henderson leads you through the process with helpful templates and suggestions.
Business Continuity Templates
Business Continuity Program Self-Assessment Checklist by Edmond D. Jones $89 - Rather than try to prescribe a one-size-fits-all formula to your business, Edmond D. Jones helps you work through creating your own business continuity plan. Think you're already prepared for an emergency? Jones may have you thinking again. His book/CD-ROM bundle poses an exhaustive list of more than 375 questions about every aspect of your plan, divided into seven sections: policy, business impact assessment, recovery strategies, plan phases, outsourced functions, off-site storage, and training. Jones knows what of he speaks. He's certified as a Master Business Continuity Planner by the Disaster Recovery Institute, and boasts over 20 years' experience in an industry focused exclusively on overcoming seeming disasters -- the military. A customer review on Amazon awards it five stars, calling it "objective" and "easy to use."
Business Continuity Planning made Simple (Vol.1 & 2 Set) by Norm Harris and Tracy Lee Cowan $200 - While some larger companies have a budget and staff devoted to this task, often, creating the plan falls to someone with little experience and few resources. This is where this essential two-DVD set, created by the non-profit BCP Media, comes in. Its focus, here, is thus aimed largely at novice planners, and those who might need to train novice planners to take up the task. It's structured as an interactive class, meant to be viewed with laptop at the ready, and includes a number of useful questionnaires, as well as sample scripts to use in the case of an emergency. BCP Media is a trustworthy source. The DVD's director, and BCP head, is Richard Arnold, founder and publisher of the Disaster Recovery Journal.
Business Continuity Planning: Business Continuity Plan Template $199 - Consider this a do-it-yourself kit for creating your business continuity plan, which is equally helpful for the novice as it is for the seasoned BCP professional. As the title indicates, the product provides a CD containing a useful template for your plan, as well as a preliminary risk assessment and business impact analysis. With these two steps done, you can move on to customizing each section of the plan to your needs. Everything is covered here, from a sample letter from your CEO to a detailed emergency response plan. This includes detailed instructions for creating, from scratch, responses to events like evacuations, bomb threats, and chemical spills. Most importantly, everything in this template is customizable.
Business Continuity Planning: A Step-by-Step Guide with Planning Forms on CD-ROM, Third Edition by Kenneth L. Fulmer and Philip Jan Rothstein $99 - This book/CD-ROM combination package is endorsed by both the Disaster Recovery Institute International and the Business Continuity Institute, who each praise it for upholding both organizations' principles. This is aimed at novice business continuity professionals and non-professionals alike. As such, takes a plain, easy-to-understand tone that walks you through the process from start to finish. Importantly for smaller businesses, it's full of useful suggestions to make the process both time- and cost-efficient. Five of the six customer reviewers on Amazon awarded it at least three stars, praising the exhaustive CD-ROM's worksheets and sample documents.
Business Continuity Management Framework: The Easy-to-use, Comprehensive, Business Continuity Tool (Third Edition, 2008) (CD-ROM) $379 - This CD-ROM presents one of the most cost-effective, comprehensive training programs for professionals trying to create a business continuity plan. For starters, there's no learning curve when it comes to the software itself, as all the materials are presented in MS Word format. They're all presented in a simple format, of checklists, forms, and sample documents. Though these individual parts are simple, the product itself is super-comprehensive, with more than 300 pages of content and more than 20 additional files and templates. Most importantly, this product is designed to be international in scope. It covers all the core competencies of the Business Continuity Institute and Disaster Recovery Institute International, as well as those of the British Standards Institution.
Plans for Schools
The Comprehensive Crisis and Continuity (COOP) Template for Public & Private Schools (K-12) by Douglas M. Henderson $299 - Keeping a school running in the face of a crisis is one of the most challenging, sensitive tasks in continuity planning. While a school may not necessarily be a "business," per se, it is still essential that a plan is created to deal with students, faculty, and staff alike. This CD-ROM provides a template for creating a comprehensive plan from start to finish, with an emphasis on student, faculty, and staff safety. It covers 12 critical departments, and follows guidelines recommended by important organizations like the Disaster Recovery Institute International and the Business Continuity Institute. Both of its Amazon customer reviewers give the product five stars, noting it's just as useful for higher education institutions as it is for K-12 schools.
Tools for the Business Continuity Professional
Effective Business Continuity Management CD-ROM by Institute for Business Continuity Training $995 - For the beginning business continuity planner, it's easier to start from the beginning by taking a comprehensive course. Among the best of these are those offered by the Institute for Business Continuity Training. However, they don't come cheap. The institute's basic "Effective Business Continuity Management" course costs over $3000 to attend. Luckily, for less than a third of the cost, the institute also offers this CD-ROM, which includes all of the course materials. Yes, all of them. The package includes all of the course's PowerPoint slides, an accompanying handbook, and a number of templates for plan documents. It's the equivalent to a five-day intensive course, which can be followed at your convenience, at dramatic savings.
Business Continuity Journal $356 - This quarterly journal is the final word in the business continuity industry. With a broader focus than other publications, like Disaster Recovery Journal, this resource publishes new insight into making sure your business functions smoothly during and after any kind of major interruption. The papers here are thoroughly, academically researched and peer-reviewed, and the journal accepts no advertising, so every page here is useful.