Disaster Recovery Journal

AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND -- Catch Software,
a leading provider of test management software and services, today
announced an agreement with Unitec Institute of Technology, an
Auckland-based tertiary provider, to bring Enterprise Tester to their
computing department.

As the only tertiary provider in New Zealand with dedicated software
testing courses, Unitec is leading the way in recognising software
testing as a profession. The agreement, which includes the provision of
Catch Software's test management software and services, has been put in
place to support this growing profession. Unitec has put significant
investment into their computing department and will soon be adding a
third software testing course to their program. They see software
testing as an important area for students to gain experience in, as it
is likely employers will be seeking more graduates with testing skills.

Founder / CEO of Catch Software, Bryce Day, sees this partnership as an
opportunity to support the growth and development of the software
testing industry in New Zealand and the wider Asia-Pacific region. "To
be able to foster the growth of the next generation of testers, and
allow them to leave university with experience using our software, is a
great priviledge," says Mr Day. "Enterprise Tester is being used by
major corporations in New Zealand and globally - our customers include
Air New Zealand, Orion Health, PayPal, Intel, LG Electronics, Bayer
Healthcare, and Stanford University. If Unitec students can leave
university with real-world experience of software testing tools, and a
more than theoretical understanding of software testing methodologies
and situations, they will be able to 'hit the ground running' in the
workforce. That can only be a good thing for the software testing
industry, both here and overseas."

Unitec appreciates the generosity of Catch Software in providing their
software and services and welcomes the opportunity to expose students to
software that is being used by market leaders. "This will be of
considerable benefit to our students when they enter employment, and
will differentiate them in a very competitive market," says Unitec's
Head of Computing, Dr Hossein Sarrafzadeh.

This partnership demonstrates the way that businesses can interact with
the education sector and the value that this can bring to both students
and the corporate world. Catch and Unitec agree that creating the
industry leaders of tomorrow begins with exposing students to today's
leading technologies, which is why this is such an exciting opportunity
for both organizations.

About Unitec

Unitec is the largest Institute of Technology in New Zealand. With
21,000 students enrolled in 160 courses, it is committed to the delivery
of vocational and applied education, and practically orientated
research. Unitec's passionate about the transformative power of
education. Its focus on real world education provides work-ready
graduates with professional and vocational skills that are highly sought
after in New Zealand and around the world.

About Catch Software

Catch Software develops test management software for the global market
and counts Fortune 500 and Global 2000 customers, including Intel, Cox
Communications, eBay, Sky TV, Bayer Healthcare, NCS, LG Electronics,
PayPal, the US Airforce, and the US Navy, among its customers. Their
flagship product, Enterprise Tester, is an award-winning test management
platform offering great features and pricing, responsive support, and
deep integration with Enterprise Architect and JIRA.

WASHINGTON, D.C., -- Rimhub, Inc.
<http://trk.cp20.com/Tracking/t.c?5di8b-7vgom-jnemwa3&_v=2>,a leading
provider of Outsourced Managed Services for telecoms, is pleased to
announce the launch of its new Custom Application Development
<http://trk.cp20.com/Tracking/t.c?5di8b-7vgon-jnemwa4&_v=2> service. The
service is designed for telecommunications services providers (TSPs)
that build, integrate and provide value-added applications to existing
communication products. A key offering of Rimhub’s IP Center of
Excellence (COE)
<http://trk.cp20.com/Tracking/t.c?5di8b-7vgoo-jnemwa5&_v=2> portfolio,
the Custom Apps Development service leverages Rimhub’s strong
telecommunications background, and expertise in the BroadSoft
BroadWorks® platform.

“Rimhub’s Custom Applications Development service offers TSPs an
affordable and comprehensive solution to building and integrating apps
that enhance value, reduce churn and increase their subscribers'
satisfaction,” comments Omar Paul, VP of IP Services for Rimhub. “By
utilizing Rimhub’s IP COE engineers, customers have access to a team of
trained, professional software developers with deep experience in
communication product integrations. A distinguishing benefit we have is
that we don't just build it and walk away, but rather provide
product-level enhancement and support options for the life of the
deployment. That is the difference between Rimhub and a typical
development shop.”

Rimhub has already completed and successfully deployed several such
turnkey applications for industry-leading Hosted PBX providers. Examples
include custom Call Center monitoring dashboards written in rapid
application development technologies such as Node.JS, MongoDB, and
HTML5; apps components designed to connect VoIP platforms with Instant
Messaging; and Presence servers using Java and custom desktop-based
notification applications that integrate incoming and outgoing call
information with 3rd-party SaaS platforms.

Rimhub is a forerunner in IP Support services, specializing in boutique
services that can enhance, maintain and manage leading VoIP and
Telecommunications products. As an example, Rimhub's IP COE is a growing
practice comprised of more than a dozen BroadSoft-certified engineers,
making it the largest dedicated services group outside of BroadSoft
itself.  Rimhub's IP COE assists organizations across a wide spectrum of
services, to address business needs and revenue growth; including but
not limited to platform/subscriber migrations, scaling, apps
development, process execution, re-imagining products, and mobility.

To learn more information about Rimhub’s Custom Application Development, visit http://www.rimhub.com/ip-support.html#app


For additional information how Rimhub helps communications service providers, please visit http://www.rimhub.com

London – Organizations should keep in mind that
gamification is about more than just the underlying technology, says
Ovum. By also considering the strategic, organizational, cultural, and
psychological aspects of reasonably priced and low-risk gamification
applications, businesses can improve productivity.

In new research by Ovum, the global analyst firm shows how enterprises
and the public sector can effectively apply gamification for maximum
advantage, and recommends that organizations should begin exploring
gamification for either customer- or employee-facing uses.

“Gamification can help enhance customer engagement and manage employee
behaviors and productivity levels, but there must be clear understanding
of how such an initiative will directly benefit the business,” says Adam
Holtby, a Software & IT Solutions analyst at Ovum. “However, to better
support business goals, the mapping of the value of desired outcomes
will be developed as part of the planning stage.”

According to Ovum, social technologies and gamification work well
together when points, badges, and leaderboards (PBLs) are tied to a
meaningful value system that records status and accomplishments and
meets users’ desire for feedback. Applied this way, these tools can help
to change behaviours, develop skills, and drive innovation.

However, Holtby believes gamification can also do much more: “While much
of the early coverage on gamification has focused on guiding behavior
and building engagement, increasingly organizations can use the data
generated by gamified systems to gain insights into the skills and
reputations of both their employees and customers.”

In its report, Ovum indicates a good example of gamification in the SAP
Community Network (SCN). This network has been designed to encourage
members to participate in forums to help other members by sharing
knowledge and focusing more on the quality, rather than the quantity, of
contributions. Members automatically earn points for posting content,
but can be awarded additional points at different levels for the quality
of their contributions.

Get Involved with the EAB

We are always looking for individuals from the industry to help guide the DRJ with new ideas and suggestions. Click here to email us of your interest in participating on this very active Advisory Board.

Tough Questions? Ask the Experts (Email the EAB)

The experts on the EAB are ready and willing to help assist you on topics/questions that may be stumping you. Email them your question.

The purpose of the DRJ EAB is to promote and enhance the professionalism and effectiveness of the business continuity and emergency management industry by:

• Providing strategic direction regarding the focus, format, and content of the DRJ magazine, Web site, and conferences;
• Contributing editorial columns and articles when possible;
• Actively searching out authors, speakers, and content for DRJ publications, Web site, and events;
• Liaising with related professional and government organizations active in DRJ’s field of interest.

Current Membership

Kathleen Aris, CMP
SunGard Availability Services Inc.

Anna M. Bathon, CBCP
Bank of America

Theresa G. Crawford, MBCI, CBCP, ITIL
Equifax, Inc.

Kevin Cunningham, MS, CEM, CBCP
UBS AG

Cole H. Emerson, MBCI, MBCP, CPP
Cole Emerson & Associates, LLC

Beth Epstein, MBCI, CBCP
Kaiser Permanente

Colleen Huber, MBCI, CBRM, CBCP
Great Lakes Educational Loan Services

Dr. Theresa Kirchner, MBCP, MBCI
Hampton University/Old Dominion University

Louise Lachapelle, M.Sc., MBCI, CBCP
Desjardins Financial Group

Peter Laz, MBCP, MBCI
Forsythe

Jim Nelson MS, MBCP, CORP, CDCP, MBCI
Business Continuity Services, Inc.

Jean D. Rowe, MBCI, CBCP, CDCP

Bobby Williams, MBCP, MBCI
Fidelity Investments

David H. Ziev, MBCP, MBCI, ITIL PPBI

Kathleen Ari, SunGard Availability Services

Pat Corcoran,IBM Business Continuity and Recovery

Mike Croy, Forsythe
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 forthe company’s business continuity offerings, including riskanalysis, best practice models for continuity of IT infrastructure (storage, server, and network), and disaster recovery planning, strategy, and management.

Jeff Dato, MBCP, Pinnacle Airline
Jeffrey M. Dato currently serves as the Vice President of Risk Management and Corporate Real Estate for Pinnacle Airlines Corp. (NASDAQ: PNCL), the Memphis-based regional airline holding company forColgan Air, Inc. and Pinnacle Airlines, Inc. He is responsible for enterpriserisk management, business continuity and emergency response, dangerous goods, environmental protection, occupational health and safety, workers compensation, records management, corporate real estate, physical security, corporate sustainability and responsibility, and, until January 2010, information technology. Prior to joining Pinnacle in 2006, Dato worked with more than 100 domesticand international companies and governments to assess, manage and monitorfinancial, operational and technology risks since 1989. He brings a uniqueperspective to the risk management equation in that he has been a practitioner, vendor and independent advisor. Dato has lead advisory practices for several Big-4 accounting firms with a specific focus on operational resiliencyand technology availability as they relate to enterprise risk, toiled as a consultant for the world’s largest recovery services vendor, and built business continuity and crisis management programs for two national banks. Dato holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Accounting and Finance from the College of William and Mary and was a member of the initial cadre of 10 professionals to have obtained a Master BusinessContinuity Professional (MBCP) certification from the Disaster Recovery Institute International in 1997.

Ed Devlin, CBCP, Edward S. Devlin & Associates
Ed Devlin, a 1998 nominee of the Contingency Planning Industry Hall of Fame, is a leading consultant, author, instructor and speaker in the disaster recovery/business continuity industry. A co-founder in 1973 of the first U.S. company to specialize in DR planning and consulting, Devlin has assisted more than 1,000companies worldwide in developing their business continuity plans. Devlin co-authored the book “Business Resumption Planning” published by Auerbach Publishing in 1994 and has been writing “The Perspective of Ed Devlin” column for the DRJ from 1992-2012. He has been a highly sought speaker on the topics of disaster recovery and business continuity both in the U.S. and abroad.

Jim Hammill, CBCP, JMH Consulting
Jim Hammill is an independent consultant and has been an activeparticipant in business continuity for 18 years. He has been an advisor to private sector CIOs, Federal Emergency Management Agency, and a member of the Natural Hazards Caucus Committee, advising 18 U.S. senators to widen the understanding in Congress to risk and cost reduction for natural and man-made disasters. Hammill served the Disaster Recovery Journal Editorial Advisory Board for many years and is now a member of the DRJ Executive Council.

John Jackson, Fusion Risk Management
John Jackson is the Executive Vice President of Fusion RiskManagement. Recognized worldwide as an expert and spokesperson on business continuity and high availability services, Jackson brings a wealth of industry expertise with more than 24 years in this area.

Jerry Montella, Mail-Gard

Randy Till, CBCP, Visa

Belinda Wilson, MBCI, CBCP, Ernst & Young
Belinda Wilson manages the Business Continuity practice for the West Coast of EY’s business. With 24 years of experience in business continuity, disaster recovery and high-availability, Wilson is a recognized expert in her profession providing valuable insight to clients for their BC strategies and programs. In addition to being a member of the DRJ Executive Council, Belinda is also on the peer review panel of the Business Continuity Journal and member of the BC Standing Committee of the Financial Services Technology Consortium. She has served on DRII’s Executive Board of Directors, president of ACP Northern California Chapter, president of BRMA, and on the Continuity Insights Editorial Advisory Board. Wilson is a Certified Business Continuity Professional from DRII, certified member of the Business Continuity Institute and inducted in the CPM Hall of Fame for BC Vendor Practitioner.

Bill Worsley, CBCP, Dow Chemical, retired

Business Continuity Chronicles
EDITOR’S NOTE: This was a series featuring the members of our executive council a few years ago. These personal accounts not only highlighted the individual careers, but give a glimpse into of the history of the disaster recovery/business continuity industry.

• Spring 2004 Issue - By John Jackson
• Summer 2004 Issue - Jim Hammill
• Fall 2004 Issue - Pat McAnally
• Winter 2005 Issue - Mike Croy
• Spring 2005 Issue - Belinda Wilson
• Summer 2005 Issue - Jeff Dato

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NFPA report details $328 billion impact of fire

April 18, 2013 – The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) released an updated report on the Total Cost of Fire in the United States. It can be seen from the report that the total cost of fire in 2010, adjusted for inflation, is 38 percent higher than in 1980, while its proportion of U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) has declined by roughly one-third.

However, both the total cost of fire and total cost as percentage of GDP have been roughly steady for the past several years. The total cost of fire for 2010 is estimated at $328 billion, or roughly 2.2 percent of U.S. GDP.

The complete total cost of fire is defined as the sum of economic loss (e.g. property damage, business interruption), human loss (e.g. lives lost, medical treatment, pain and suffering), and the cost of provisions to prevent or mitigate the cost of fire (e.g. fire departments, insurance, and fire protection equipment and construction).

Other key findings from the report:

• Although the core total cost of fire has increased by 45 percent since 1980 to total $108.4 billion, the economic loss due to fire decreased by 29 percent, totaling $14.8 billion.
• The total cost of direct property damages, reported or unreported, was $13.2 billion. This figure represents 89 percent of the economic loss. The other 11 percent represents indirect losses, such as business interruption.
• Building construction expenses needed solely for the purposes of fire safety and fire protection considerations totaled $31.7 billion.
• Human losses were estimated at $31.9 billion.

For a fact sheet on the total cost of fire, please visit www.nfpa.org/TotalCost.

About the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)
NFPA is a worldwide leader in fire, electrical, building, and life safety. The mission of the international nonprofit organization founded in 1896 is to reduce the worldwide burden of fire and other hazards on the quality of life by providing and advocating consensus codes and standards, research, training, and education. NFPA develops more than 300 codes and standards to minimize the possibility and effects of fire and other hazards. All NFPA codes and standards can be viewed at no cost at www.nfpa.org/freeaccess.

It seems hard to believe that it was only a little over a year ago that the threat from the US SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) was averted (and that ACTA was still with us in the EU). But of course the war is never won: new threats to freedom and openness on the Internet just keep on coming.

http://blogs.computerworlduk.com/open-enterprise/2013/04/why-cispa-shows-we-need-strong-eu-data-protection/index.htm