Disaster Recovery Journal- Volume 18, Issue 1 - Winter 2005 Issue -Business Continuity Chronicles

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Winter 2005 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

EXECUTIVE PUBLISHER
Richard L. Arnold, CBCP
richard@drj.com

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Jon Seals
jon@drj.com

SENIOR EDITOR
Janette Ballman
janette@drj.com

ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Ed Pearce, CBCP
ed@drj.com

ASSISTANT EDITOR
Pamela Clifton
pamelaclifton@hotmail.com

COPY EDITORS
Jim Hammill, CBCP
Richard Sandhofer
richards@drj.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
Mike Croy, Forsythe
Jeff Dato, MBCP, KPMG
John Jackson, IBM
Edward S. Devlin, E.S. Devlin & Associates
James Hammill, CBCP, JMH Consulting Inc.
Pat McAnally, SunGard Availability Services
Brian Turley, Strohl Systems
Belinda Wilson, Hewlett-Packard

INTERNATIONAL
CONTACTS
England: Thom Hetherington
Business Continuity
Phone: 0161-237-1007
thomh@tempus.demon.co.uk
Japan: Shinji Hosotsubo
Crisis Management and Preparedness Organization
Phone: 03-3519-6270
fax: 03-3519-6255
hosotsubo@cmpo.org
Brazil: José Carlos Ferreira
Disaster Recovery Mercosul
Phone and fax: 011-3666-9506
jocaff@uol.com.br

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Executive Council

Business Continuity Chronicles

By MICHAEL CROY

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the fourth in a series of columns featuring the members of our executive council. Through these personal accounts, we hope to not only highlight their careers, but also give a 10-sided view of the history of the disaster recovery/business continuity industry.

When I look back at the long and winding road (and I don’t mean the Beatles’ song) that brought me to this field, I can’t help but marvel at all the changes.
Back in the late 70s and early 80s I was a field engineer in the Chicago area, working on disk drives and wonderful technology like NRZI tape drives. One of my customers (who shall remain nameless to keep the lawyers out of this) asked the question:“What do we do if we have a serious catastrophe?” By the way, sometime later they did suffer a catastrophe and were not ready for it. May they rest in peace.
My first task in the “disaster recovery” industry was to figure out a solution for them. What a shame they wouldn’t spend the money. But it was, in their words, “How much?!” Unfortunately, my solution didn’t save them since they declined to implement it, but it did much for my reputation and I was suddenly “the DR man.”
When I joined Network Systems Corp. out of Minneapolis it seemed like every deal I was involved with had a disaster recovery component in it. It was a pleasant surprise that not only corporate interest but also expenditures were increasing so companies could actually protect themselves. At the time, firms such as Comdisco and SunGard were becoming mainstays in everyone’s DR plan. Boy did that catch my interest.
Being opportunistic, I joined Comdisco and settled into the disaster recovery/business continuity marketplace to stay. While I was at Comdisco I rolled out a series of offerings to the solution-thirsty marketplace. My personal favorite was our trading floor/financial services recovery offering here in the U.S. and in Europe. Alas, another firm eventually acquired Comdisco and it was time to move on.
Through all these years I have always been amazed at the dedication of the disaster recovery/business continuity community members. At every DRJ conference I see people I’ve known for 10, 20 or 30 years (boy am I getting old) who still revel in the experience of finding the best solutions for their firms. At the most recent fall 2004 conference in San Diego, I realized something even more important: we’re growing.
For every one face I recognized, I saw two new faces I didn’t. I observed and met a new generation of individuals who are committed to this profession and will continue to carry forward the dedication of us more “mature” members. Even more amazing, these newest members are teaching us things by sharing their newer views on how to approach the issues, which are exciting, fresh, and on the leading edge.
Here at Forsythe as director of business continuity solutions, I’ve been reminded of the importance of opening our minds to what the true issues are that businesses must deal with on a daily basis. Fiscal and fiduciary responsibilities, governance and regulatory issues, threats of terrorism, and our old “friends” fire, flood, and plagues of locusts are all drivers that continue to change the business we are in. We have been reminded yet again, by this fresh focus of our newer members, that it’s not about IT, it’s about the business.
This is a great business to be part of, a business that has enriched my life and that I hope to continue enjoying for many years to come. I would like to welcome our new friends and encourage all of my fellow “old timers” to really give them your time and attention. I guarantee you will learn from them, just as they will most certainly learn from you.

Michael Croy joined Forsythe in 2002, bringing more than 20 years of experience in building, developing, and implementing disaster recovery and business continuity programs. As Forsythe’s business continuity practice manager, Croy is responsible for the company’s business continuity offerings, including risk analysis, best practice models for continuity of IT infrastructure (storage, server, and network), and disaster recovery planning, strategy, and management.