Disaster Recovery Journal - Summer 2003 Issue- From the Publishers Desk

Return to the Summer 2003 Issue

DISASTER RECOVERY
JOURNAL

P. O. Box 510110
St. Louis, MO 63151
(314) 894-0276
Fax: (314) 894-7474
Internet www.drj.com
E-mail drj@drj.com

PUBLISHER &
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Richard L. Arnold, CBCP
richard@drj.com

SENIOR EDITOR
Janette Ballman
janette@drj.com

MANAGING EDITOR
Jon Seals
jon@drj.com

COPY EDITORS
Richard Sandhofer
richards@drj.com
Pamela Clifton
pamelaclifton@hotmail.com

ADVERTISING
Robert Arnold
bob@drj.com

_____________

Corporate

President/CEO
Richard L. Arnold, CBCP
richard@drj.com

Vice President
Robert Arnold
bob@drj.com

CONFERENCE COORDINATOR
Patti Fitzgerald, CBCP
patti@drj.com

CONFERENCE REGISTRAR
Merce Knese
mercedes@drj.com

CIRCULATION
Laura Baugh
laurab@drj.com

EXECUTIVE COUNCIL
Patrick Corcoran, IBM Bus. Cont. & Rec. Services
Jeff Dato, MBCP, KPMG
Edward S. Devlin, E.S. Devlin & Associates
Judith Eckles, SunGard Availability Services
James Hammill, CBCP, JMH Consulting Inc.
John Jackson, Independant

INTERNATIONAL
CONTACTS
England: Thom Hetherington
Business Continuity
Phone: 0161-237-1007
thomh@tempus.demon.co.uk

Australia: Anthony J. Harvey
Journal of Business Continuity
Phone: 0011-613-953-0055-8
fax: 0011-613-953-0528
sector@notability.com.au

Japan: Shinji Hosotsubo
Quake Japan Co., Ltd.
Phone: 03-3215-2880
fax: 03-3215-2881

Brazil: Jose Carlos Ferreira
Disaster Recovery Mercosul
Phone: 55 11 3666-9506
conc2000@uol.com.br
www.drms.com.br

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‘Could My Business Survive That?’

By RICHARD L. ARNOLD, CBCP

Recent events around the world have bombarded the business continuity industry and have kept many continuity professionals on their toes. Pick up any newspaper and you’ll find an article on some facet of continuity planning.
Here in the Midwest, many of us found ourselves preparing for tornadoes. According to the article by Michael Smith on page 24, the 413 tornadoes during the week of May 4-10, 2003 was the most in one week since reliable record keeping began in 1950.
Natural disasters may not have threatened your business in a while, but every news story seems to bring the same question to my mind. Whether it is an earthquake in a third-world country, the threat of terrorism in the U.S., or even a new federal regulation, my first thought is always, “Could my business survive that?”
It’s a natural reaction for most of us. When you are trained to prepare for risks, it becomes instinctive to protect your organization. Usually, when I come across an article involving a catastrophe, I will mentally evaluate my company’s vulnerability to it and evaluate my preparedness. It’s a habit I can’t break – and I guess I shouldn’t.
In today’s world, it doesn’t pay to let your guard down. It is a fast-paced industry out there and we all need to keep up with the latest developments.
In this edition of Disaster Recovery Journal, we are featuring articles on some of the events that have captured our attention over the past few months. Each of these events in its own way has or will affect the business continuity industry.
HIPAA, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, has been a big story to healthcare providers across the nation. The final standards for this act were in place April 21, 2003.
I’ve been to several dentists’ and doctors’ offices recently where the implementation of these regulations is very visible. I’ve heard many personnel in that industry speak of how difficult the task is. As you’ll read in the articles beginning on page 40, reaching HIPAA compliance is an enormous challenge. It is not just a matter of securing records. It involves changing policies, procedures and training methods.
Of course, another top story of late has been terrorism. We have all had to rewrite our plans in the past few years to include this continual threat.
Several hundred contingency planners recently had a chance to learn more about terrorism while participating in the Mock Disaster Exercise at Spring World 2003, DRJ’s most recent conference.
Dr. Ivan Walks, the former chief health officer for the District of Columbia during the anthrax crisis in 2001, served as the medical advisor for E Team during the mock disaster. His article on page 34 gives us valuable insight into health-related incidents. We also have articles on the SARS outbreak on page 48.
By increasing our knowledge and staying aware, business continuity professionals have a much better chance of keeping their organization safe. Hopefully, with the right preparation, we can all answer that burning question, “Could my business survive that?” with a resounding, “Yes.”
One of the best ways for increasing our awareness and knowledge is networking with others in the industry. For your chance to share solutions and problems with other continuity planners, register for our upcoming conference, DRJ Fall World 2003. We already have 600 people signed up, so reserve your place very soon.
DRJ Fall World 2003 will be held in San Diego, Sept. 21-24 at the San Diego Sheraton Hotel and Marina. I’d love to see you there. These conferences provide an excellent resource for many of today’s contingency planning dilemmas. Check out our conference brochure at www.drj.com or call our office at (314) 894-0276 for a copy.

To comment on this article, go to 1603-pub at www.drj.com/feedback.