A3: Tales from the Real World
Mark Carroll, Income Research + Management
In this session approximately 10 individuals, collectively with more than 200 years of BCDR experience, will be assembled to present their unique challenge or mini-case that they have experienced that is outside of the business continuity norm; something that you can’t address from a textbook of best practices. A cadre of experts will each relay an example of a method, practice, use-case, etc. that they have used or plan to use that is outside of the BC/DR norm.
C8: Lessons Learned from the 2019 Hurricane Season
Beverly Schulz, Raymond James Financial and Michelle Lowther, Continuity Housing
A Category 4 storm is headed straight for your town. What do you do when a critical recovery team member refuses to evacuate without their pet pot-bellied pig and no hotel will allow it? Well, you rent them a furnished apartment; that’s what you do. Or do you? The 2019 Hurricane Season was memorable, setting numerous records and leaving devastation behind for many parts of our country. The presenters will share lessons learned from the response to these storms and numerous other crises. Tips for improving your Crisis Management and Incident Response Programs will also be shared, and you’ll leave with ideas you can implement immediately.
C9: Effective Resiliency Programs Demand Accurate and Available Data
Kirk Nalley, ServiceNow and Denny Hodge, Aegon/TransAmerica
This session will explore and establish that data is the key ingredient to establishing an effective resiliency program. Trusted data and accessible trusted data should be one in the same and is the cornerstone to conducting meaningful assessments, e.g. BIA, RA, AIA, or Site Threat and creating or updating effective/actionable plans, e.g. incident, crisis, Cyber Response, BC or DR. The program only matures when plans move from theoretical documents to exercised and tested plans. Program credibility is achieved when data is transformed into decision-making information. Leveraging an ITSM platform allows BC/DR programs to elevate beyond their traditional organizational chart designation and assume the same level of importance that other enterprise solutions command. Imagine if the world of BC/DR management was elevated to leveraging a single system of action that unified and harmonized functional business processes and the technical applications that power them.
C10: Lost Pillar – Loss of People Contingency Planning
Edwin Brown and John Garrett, Trustmark Insurance
In this session attendees will learn about three control methods completed during the BIA, which support Loss of People contingency planning. These control methods are: 1) Completing and understanding the loss of people impact over time and developing plan activation triggers; 2) Completing a business process task break down of what is a critical activity, a postponed activity, and a best effort activity; 3) Explaining how to use this BIA data in loss of people contingency planning. Many BC Planners are good with a loss of location and loss of technology planning; however, they struggle with developing sound pandemic planning beyond reporting what the World Health Organization alerts mean. In this presentation, we will walk you through what to collect in a BIA and how to turn that information into effective contingency plans with staff shortages.
D5: What Are the Factors Behind Successful Business Continuity Programs?
Mike Jennings, Assurance Software, Inc.
In collaboration with BCI, DRII, and the ACP, this presentation is the result of a global study that examines keys to success in business continuity. Altogether, more than 1,100 BC professionals around the world participated in the study. Participants provided insights into their priorities, objectives, and challenges, in addition to program maturity, sources of confidence, ROI measures, and technologies used. This session will explore key findings of the study including:
- What are best-in class attributes that are most highly correlated with BC program success?
- What the greatest BC challenges are and which are most widely addressed?
- What are the greatest sources of confidence in BC program effectiveness?
- What are the most widely used measures for BC program return on investment (ROI)?
- What are the most highly valued features in BC software platforms?
E3: Preparing Your Organization for a Hurricane
Peter Steinfeld, AlertMedia and Paul Yura, National Weather Service
Hear from the Warning Coordination Meteorologist with the National Weather Service and an emergency communication veteran as they share expert forecasting and preparation tips for the 2020 hurricane season: – What businesses can do to prepare for and react to hurricanes; – What your employees expect to hear from you during all phases of a hurricane; – How to minimize impacts and keep your people safe and informed no matter what hurricane season has in store. Hurricanes are disruptive to businesses both on the coast and further inland due to wind damage and flooding. Getting caught without a plan in place can worsen the impact. Proactively communicating information helps keep your people safe and your organization up and running.