By Paul Kirvan, FBCI, CBCP, CISSP
Editor, CPM Global Assurance

“The more things stay the same, the more they need to change.”

When I first discussed editing CPM magazine with the staff a year ago, I wanted to know if they really understood what was going on in the industry and the profession. As they were not business continuity professionals, they were obviously not as actively immersed in the business as me. I've been in the business for over 15 years, and have done my share of plans, BIAs, assessments, and exercises. I've also been a BC speaker, author, consultant and software developer. I told them we have a great opportunity to help the profession gain the recognition that has long evaded it by developing a vision embracing collaboration and synergies among BC, security, emergency management, risk management, compliance, audit, and other relevant areas. We introduced that vision in the July/August issue of CPM, where we launched the concept of operations assurance. When implemented cross-enterprise, we call it global assurance. While the terms we picked are not fixed in stone, we felt there was a need to identify the "next generation" of business continuity. A new term seemed to make sense.

We also looked at the competition and ourselves. In my humble opinion, having been a subscriber to every BC publication from day one, I’ve observed that the available publications (including CPM) were not advancing the profession to a new and more significant level in business and government. The basics were well addressed, but there was very little being done to evolve the profession into a truly strategic discipline. Further, there have traditionally been few upward growth opportunities for BC professionals. Despite the fact that at any given time there are several dozen positions available in the field around the world, you’ll rarely see a true “C” level position in business continuity. There is also insufficient academic education in BC, certainly compared to other professions. Finally, there is really nothing in place to identify and encourage the next generation of BC professionals after all of us retire or leave the business. CPM felt there were significant gaps in published material regarding the future of the profession, and its role in corporate governance. We feel strongly that BC, security and emergency management are cornerstones of good corporate governance in the 21st century. We took the challenge to develop a product that would advance the profession to a new level.

To better serve the BC profession, we have decided a monthly publication with well-thought-out analyses would fill a void and make a significant contribution. It will include commentary on the issues, strategic thinking about corporate governance and the role BC/security/EM plays, as well as other value-added content (e.g., standards and regulations, best practices, human factors analysis, international developments, public-private sector strategies, legal issues). We will also have product test drives and the usual assortment of event calendars, people changing jobs, and other items that provide a well-rounded publication. A newsletter format with a paid subscription - meaning that we are accountable to our readers, not advertisers - made the most sense.

More importantly, we want CPM Global Assurance to be something you'll want to show to your C-level management. We want it to help you demonstrate the strategic value of business continuity (and the related disciplines) to management.

With over 15 years in the business, I'm confident this perspective, and the content we provide, will serve BC professionals well. Charging for a publication when there are free publications available is risky, but I believe readers will understand the value and support our efforts to raise the bar on business continuity, moving our profession into the future.

For more information contact Paul Kirvan at pkirvan@WitterPublishing.com