Tackling terrorism by building awareness of business continuity management

The Chartered Management Institute today announces a partnership with the Continuity Forum - the business continuity & risk management development organisation - and VERITAS Software (NASDAQ: VRTS). It will provide in-depth analysis of the business continuity issues that face UK organisations and give managers advice for building resilience in the face of disasters.

As a result of the partnership the Chartered Management Institute will undertake further research amongst general managers to discover what the key causes behind business disruption have been over the past twelve months and explore the impact that these interruptions have had.

The research, scheduled to be launched in March in support of Business Continuity Awareness Week (14 - 19 March 2005), will be the sixth annual survey, conducted by the Chartered Management Institute, that looks into business continuity management. The report will also offer insights into UK organisationsí preparedness for disaster and track changes in attitudes since 1999.

John Sharp, policy and development director at Continuity Forum said, The Chartered Management Institute has vast experience in researching and communicating the issues that matter to management. By partnering with them, we will be able to identify the problems faced by managers in many sectors and across the UK and help them ensure their organisation is prepared for all eventualities.

Business Continuity is a key area of concern for all business, of all sizes, and more and more companies are approaching VERITAS to provide software solutions that will keep their business operating at all times, added Chris Boorman, Executive Vice President of Marketing, EMEA at VERITAS. However, there are also a large number of companies which havenít yet taken steps to either prevent system failures, or at least recover quickly from them. I have no doubt that the findings of this report will make for interesting reading across all business sectors.

Christine Hayhurst, director of professional affairs at the Chartered Management Institute, adds: For too long our research has shown that organisations are failing to make continuity plans. Many managers recognise the importance of business continuity management but there is a huge gulf between awareness and action. Our partnership with VERITAS Software and the Continuity Forum will enable us to provide advice and will help to start addressing this problem.