Business Continuity Planning

Business continuity planning for the AS/400 System i5 platform is an ongoing process of risk assessment, analysis, and management of an existing set of protocols to address a specified risk, should one occur. There is a variety of risks that may surface to pose a threat to your organization. These risks realistically posed to your organization cover a wide array, and your job is to figure out the most damaging risks, which to cover, which cannot be covered if any, and which to leave your organization exposed to:

Weather and external damage
* Tornado
* Hurricane
* Flood
* Snowstorm
* Drought
* Earthquake
* Electrical storms
* Fire
* Subsidence and Landslides
* Freezing Conditions
* Contamination and Environmental Hazards


Intentional Threats
* Act of terrorism
* Act of Sabotage
*Act of war
*Theft
*Arson
*Labor Disputes, Union issues


Failure of Resources
* Electrical power failure
* Loss of gas supply
* Loss of water supply
* Petroleum and oil shortage
* Communications services breakdown
* Loss of drainage / waste removal

IT Hardware and data failures
*Server Hardware failure *Hardware damaged *Virus infection of hardware and data *Database hacked or accessed illegally *Data stolen *Employee damages


How Important is it to have a plan?

PriceWaterhouseCoopers research states that 90% of all companies encountering a computer "disaster" with no pre-existing survival plan go out of business within 18 months. That sobering statistic in and of itself is a motivating piece of information. It's imperative that your organization continue to deliver its business objectives if things go wrong. Every organization needs contingency plans to cope with unplanned for disasters and disruptions to protect the integrity of their enterprise.

Who all is involved in such a plan?

A member of the board, CEO, President or Executive should be given overall responsibility for the process. This "Top-Down" approach is necessary to insure full cooperation within the organization and avoids the perception of an IT director, or human resources director pursuing a self-interested motive and communicates the importance. Your AS/400 disaster recovery plan is a component of this larger continuity plan.
A plan manager or coordinator should report directly to the board or Executive member responsible for the business continuity planning. This person is ideally someone who understands the business structures and people, there may also be a need for good program management, communication and interpersonal skills and be a good team leader. The manager would need to know how to integrate a variety of key issues from technology hardware such as AS/400 knowledge, to database knowledge, to understanding complex financial risks and management risks and how to deploy personnel capital effectively.
Principles Overall business continuity planning and consulting is centered around a business continuity plan which must be endorsed by senior management and subjected to rigorous testing to meet a variety of corporate, professional, and even legislative requirements such as Sarbanes Oxley.
At the very core of business continuity planning lies the requirement of the individual to comprehend the vast varieties of risks facing the enterprise, how to assess those risks, how to craft a solution to meet those risks, then how to mobilize employees and prepare them for an actual event. This planning surpasses the AS/400 recovery from disaster, including operational recovery in full emcompassing "people recovery" amongst other issues.
You may think of the process as a building block approach:

*Understand your business or enterprise and how it operates
*Run risk analysis and gain a comprehension of scale of risk your enterprise is exposed to and the financial costs, both long term and short
*Formulate a business continuity strategy
*Assign key personnel responsible for planning process
*Develop a planning model that addresses key risk areas
*Implement or launch your plan, securing proper vendor partnerships and gaining management buy in
*Develop a culture of responsiveness and communicate importance of plan
*Test the plan annually, maintain for accuracy, audit for legislative and professional compliance


Understanding your business

A proper understanding of your business model is essential. It provides the foundation of your plan and it will rise or fall based on this comprehension. You'll need to identify mission critical processes and functions, key internal and external variables, and the most threatening risks to your enterprise. As any good detective, you need to establish the "Who, What, When, Where and How" of your plan. Generally, starting with backing up your AS/400 hardware and data is the foundation from which you build upon in our experience.




London Study Business Continuity Study By the London Chamber of Commerce (PDF format)