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Protecting
Your Midsize Business Resources
By James A. Browning
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Establishing
a full-fledged business continuity plan must go beyond
a focus on headquarters, IT hardware and applications,
and specific segments of the business. Policies and
procedures to safeguard people, preserve intellectual
capital, and redefine workspaces must also be built
into the context of an enterprise-wide strategy.
How
does your midsize enterprise fare in these areas?
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We've
identified critical knowledge, expertise and roles
for our employees. We know who knows what, where
our employees are and the risks if we lose them. |
• |
We know where our employees work, with whom and
on what, and how to reach them. |
• |
We're confident in the integrity of our customer
and trading partner records. We regularly update
and confirm data (contact names, positions, addresses,
internal account representative, revenue level,
products and services used, etc.). |
• |
We keep projects' progress and key components
in a common location so that if a loss occurs,
other employees can complete the project. |
• |
We maintain records of leases, equipment and site
details of our offices, satellite locations, teleworkers
and at-home sites. |
• |
We track the domestic and international itineraries
of traveling employees. We can reach them quickly
during a critical event or disaster. |
• |
We have a multichannel communication program -
Intranet, pagers, telephone, call-in sites and
"phone trees" - to share critical information.
Our employees know how to use such media during
crises. |
• |
We've redesigned our workplace portfolio to increase
workspace options, virtual conferencing, scheduling
flexibility and teleworking. |
• |
We know the contractors, outsourcing agents and
consultants who work for us. We know where they
work, and if they have access to proprietary knowledge
and applications. |
• |
We've developed a succession plan that identifies
potential leaders, and the business, behavioral
and technical competencies we'll need continually. |
• |
We've invested in a strong virtual workplace infrastructure
— Web and videoconferencing, collaboration
applications, e-learning, and online communities
— to speed business recovery and offer travel
options. |
Clearly,
not all midsize enterprises face the same risks, nor
perceive the same level of urgency for mitigating
those risks. However, answers to these statements
will not only reveal the weaknesses in how your enterprise
approaches people-related business recovery forces,
but also point to the primary tools for mitigating
your risk.
Questions?
E-mail me now at midmarket@gartner.com.
James
A. Browning is Vice President and Research Director
in Gartner Research, where he is part of the Small
and Midsize Business Research organization at Gartner,
Inc.
Reference
Research
Note
Protecting People, Knowledge, Work: Are You Prepared?
Published: August 24, 2002
Author: D. Morello, Gartner, Inc.
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