Monday, May 7, 2012

Business Planning

Discussion on Business Continuity Planning with Patrick Rivait, President, Rivait Business Solutions, Inc.

This article is the third and final of a series prepared by Patrick Rivait and presented in this forum. I appreciate Patrick's contribution as these articles have added another dimension to this blog.
Patrick specializes in Business Continuity Planning and I recommend any reader contact him directly for advice on this valuable service. Patrick can be reached at 519.984.6633





Does my organization need to buy a software solution?

As education and awareness about BCP increases, so too, does the availability of software solutions to assist in the process.  This leads to the ever important question – does my organization need to spend money on software when we already had a tough sell to convince management to undertake a BCP Program?
There are certainly advantages to considering the purchase of a software solution to assist in the BCP process within an organization.  A well-designed solution will provide a solid starting point for organizations wishing to undertake the exercise independently, guiding the team through the process and providing some valuable insights into the overall scope of things to consider.  Often the solutions provide baseline templates that provide a great “jumping-off point” for organizations to begin their BCP Program.  Many solutions support task tracking and management, as well as providing notification functions.  Some solutions are now available as a Software as a Service (SAAS) offering -- these solutions are hosted in the cloud and would be readily available in the event of a crisis occurring that impacts access to internal systems and data.
Most solutions provide security that allows an administrator to restrict access to information based on roles within the organization, and will also allow specific users the ability to only read/view the data whereas others would have the ability to create/edit information.
While there are many advantages to commercially available solutions, there are also several disadvantages to consider when considering the purchase of BCP software solutions.  If presented with “out of the box templates”, there is a risk that the templates may not meet the needs of the organization but not be customizable so the software will be perceived to be of no value, otherwise if customization is possible it may come with a lofty price-tag that ultimately add to the total application and BCP Program costs.  If there is a steep learning curve associated with the setup, use and ongoing administration of software this too may add to the perceived total cost of ownership that will incrementally impact the cost of what is already considered as “an unnecessary expense or exercise”.  Another risk of relying on software solutions is that it creates the perception that BCP is simply an exercise of ticking boxes and filling in blanks, undermining the true value of the planning and analysis process and ultimately minimizing the quality of the outputs.
While there are several pros and cons to acquiring software to support an organization’s BCP Program, the following should be considered when faced with deciding on this potential software acquisition:
1)      Does the organization already have sufficient resources to create and maintain the templates, data and plans required for the BCP Program using basic office software (i.e. Microsoft Office suite)?
2)      How much does the solution cost, and do the benefits of using a software solution outweigh the acquisition, implementation and maintenance costs?
3)      How complex is the organization? (A small and simple organization may be less likely to require a software solution than a large and complex one).
4)      Will input be required from multiple or geographically dispersed units?
5)      Will complex data collection processes, tasks and notifications be required for the program to be successful?  If so, does the organization have the current infrastructure and skills to support this?
6)      Does the organization require reporting capabilities, data security, project management and tracking, and versioning of documents?
7)      What are the auditing requirements for the BCP Program?  Will these audit requirements be more effectively supported using a commercial software solution?
8)      Would a software solution provide a reasonable ROI  by streamlining the process or reduce the costs associated of the coordination activities, design, and maintenance?
When contemplating a software purchase to support a BCP Program, the organization should invest some up-front time to consider the options.  Identify a small committee to work on testing and grading alternate solutions in terms of implementation cost/complexity, functionality, overall performance, and software support to identify which solution would be meet your needs.  Not only will this help ensure the “best fit” solution will be selected for the program, it will also ensure that there is buy-in from the user community for that solution and likely reduce the change management efforts required to launch the tool and integrate it into the program.
Unfortunately, there is no easy or best answer to the question of whether or not an organization needs a software solution to support their BCP Program.  As a BCP leader within the organization, a thorough understanding of the requirements, constraints and challenges you face, and a thorough review of the alternatives will help make an informed decision as to what will best contribute to the success of your BCP program.

 

 

 

 

 

No comments:

Post a Comment