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Standards Why? The 13th annual edition of the Disaster Resource GUIDE, recently mailed to subscribers, features a number of stories about these issues. Large international organizations and associations, academia and government agencies worldwide are working hard on the development of standards for business continuity, disaster preparedness and continuity of operations. Why is this important for our readers? Standards and certifications have been routine for many business processes. On a global level, manufacturers know the importance of the quality standard, ISO 9001. Meeting this standard is not just a competitive advantage for a company; often it is required by customers. Similarly, at a local level, no one questions the value of building codes and fire safety regulations. Business continuity, as it has evolved from its beginnings as disaster recovery in IT departments, is increasingly considered an essential part of a company’s strategic plan. Many corporate executives know continuity planning is not just “a compliance checkbox”, according to Jeff Dato, Vice President of Pinnacle Airlines. “It is the right thing to do.” Therefore, whether business continuity is a part-time role you are fulfilling in a company, or your organization has a staff of BC professionals, there will be real value to have your BC efforts moving towards certification by one or more of these emerging standards. Standard & Poor’s is now including enterprise risk management in its credit evaluation process, and will be using various standards as benchmarks. Customers, especially those with “just-in-time” manufacturing environments, need to know that a comprehensive BCP has been developed and is regularly tested by critical vendors. It is very difficult, if not impossible, to meaningfully assess a business continuity program apart from standards, and with them, certifications. In the post-9/11 and post-Katrina world, it is important to know your business continuity program is thorough and complete. Your customers and stakeholders will want to know your BCP is thorough and complete. Telling management you are doing a good job just won’t be enough. So we hope you enjoy the new edition of the GUIDE. It’s our 13th edition, with many excellent contributions by our authors. And we appreciate the sponsorship of our loyal advertisers, without whom this publication would not be possible. Tell our advertisers you found them in the GUIDE! Tommy and Kathy Rainey
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