Business Continuity Planning The KISS Method for Local Governments Stanley France stan@co.schoharie.ny.us

Session Goals Raise awareness of potential problems Provide basic understanding of strategies Get started developing individual plans

Outline What is Business Continuity? Where do the threats come from? Can I Wing It? Getting Started Business Resumption Questions Developing a Plan Plan Components Additional Sources

What is Business Continuity The ability of the government to continue to function under adverse conditions

Where do the Threats Come From? External Mother Nature - Fire, Flood, Tornado Utilities & Suppliers - Electrical, telecom, Fuel oil Human Nature - Terrorists, psychos, hackers Internal Facility problems - leaky pipes Equipment failures - server crash Disgruntled staff

Can I Wing It? Do you have to run for election? Two components of risk analysis Figuring likelihood of an event happening Figuring loss if an event happens Credibility Public Health & Safety Financial Lost Information Recovery process

Getting Started (Questions From NYS Forum Checklist) Do you have someone in your organization who is assigned with the responsibility for business continuity planning? Does business continuity planning have sponsorship at an executive level? Has your agency identified which systems and processes are essential to the survival of your agency's ability to deliver its core services? Has your agency determined how quickly essential systems and processes need to be back in operation following a disaster?

Business Resumption Questions Will historical information be required in order to process new information? Are necessary forms available? Are trained personnel available? Is there a work site accessible by the public and with the necessary utilities? Is necessary hardware, software and data backup available?

Developing a Plan Identify processes likely to need to be recovered together Sum physical requirements Identify expertize, hardware, software overlaps Look for sites with similar configurations and possible extra capacity

Plan Components Identify Emergency Management Leadership & Notification Plan Establish Disaster Recovery Site Roles Detailed Lists Management - Internal & Recripricol Experts - Functions, Technical, Vendor Information Sources- Forms, Back Up Tapes, Microfilm Recovery Priority Order Public Information Dissemination

Additional Sources Business Continuity Institute http://www.thebci.org/ NYS Forum http://www.nysfirm.org/healthcheck.asp Business Continuity Planners Association http://www.bcpa.org/

Notes