Do you have a Business Continuity Plan?

This is a question that IT Heads are often asked today. Since the 9/11 disaster corporates, vendors and solution providers are all stressing the need to have a BC plan in place.

Most companies associate Business Continuity (also termed as Disaster Recovery) with data storage. Though storage forms an important component of any BC plan, there are many other areas vital for business continuance following a disaster.

The idea behind BC is to prevent disruption of mission-critical services, and restore full functionality as smoothly as possible in the shortest possible time. The first step towards planning business continuity and contingency is to understand the potential impact of disaster, identify the underlying risk components, and allocate the budget accordingly. Without this vital knowledge it would not be feasible to develop a BC or DR plan. Once the crucial components are identified the next step is to put failover mechanisms in place. But just having failover mechanisms isn't enough. Once the plan is in place, it must be maintained and tested periodically to ensure it remains appropriate to an organizations ever-changing need.

The Indian scenario
Indian enterprises are just waking up to the need for Business Continuity Management (BCM). A recent survey on "Business Continuity Management Preparedness in Indian Industry 2002" by KPMG, among Indian organizations across industry verticals, reveals that 79 percent of the respondents did not have a documented and tested BC plan. And among those having a BC plan, 65 percent have never tested it.

In this issue, to coincide with the 2nd Anniversary of Network Magazine, we look at the state of Business Continuity in India. We talked to industry analysts, vendors, and CIOs/CTOs across various verticals to bring you an overview of BCP in India. We also looked at four companies and their BC initiatives.

Tech update
In February 2002, we gave you a lowdown on VoIP, that enables you to substantially cut communication costs by passing voice over existing data network. We tried to assess the impact of VoIP in the Indian enterprise.

This time around, in our Tech Update on VoIP we study two companies IDBI Bank and Wipro Infotech which are gaining significantly from this technology. For example, IDBI Bank saves up to Rs 5 Lakh per month in communication costs thanks to VoIP.

As Network Magazine moves into its third year, we have lined up many interesting features and case studies that would provide insights into enterprise technology and management issues. Do write back and let us know what issues you would like us to cover.

Sandeep Ajgaonkar, Associate Editor
sandeepa@networkmagazineindia.com