Citrix Online White Paper Sample

Maybe you’re the business that hasn’t updated its BIA in five years or still doesn’t have documented BCPs, but most businesses have taken at least the basic steps to devise, implement, and document good BC strategies. Most businesses don’t have big gaping holes in their strategies. Instead, where they struggle is in keeping plans up-to-date with business changes and risks, testing plans thoroughly, and including business and partners in the complete BCM life cycle. In the tough economic climate of 2009, CISOs and BC directors should focus on a few incremental improvements that will increase confidence in the ability to successfully invoke plans and highlight areas for improvement:

• Consider a lower cost commercial software application or service for BCP management. There are offerings in the marketplace that won’t break the bank, especially if you’re only interested in the core planning module. If you still manage hundreds of BCPs in Word documents and Excel spreadsheets, it’s time to upgrade. Standardizing BCP elements and storing them in a central repository will help you keep them up-to-date, increase collaboration, and improve reporting.
• Add more plan walk-throughs and tabletop exercises to your test strategy. One way to identify deficiencies in plans is to identify plans that are out-of-date and increase training and awareness by conducting more walk-throughs and tabletop exercises. Several Forrester clients conduct these exercises on a quarterly basis. Walk-throughs and tabletop exercises won’t replace running a plan simulation or a full simulation annually, but because they’re less complex, you can schedule them more frequently.