Institute for Crisis, Disaster, and Risk Management

Crisis and Emergency Management

February 2004 Volume 6 - Number 1

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Business Continuity Planning...

Businesses Turn to DRII for Continuity Planning

By Greg Licamele

With the growth of business continuity planning, the Disaster Recovery Institute International plays a prominent role in educating, training and certifying professionals to safeguard their organizations.

“‘Business continuity’ is the ability to continue operations with minimal disruption or downtime after any unplanned interruption caused by nature or people,” wrote Tom Mawson, DRII executive director, in a recent article. “Those incidents include power or phone outages, terrorist attacks (bombs, anthrax, etc.), earthquakes, fires, information technology disruptions ... and so on” (Mawson, December 8, 2003).

Founded in 1988, DRI International provides a common base of knowledge in contingency planning. DRII administers the industry’s top certification program for qualified planners, which includes four levels based on experiences (Mawson, January 26, 2004). The curriculum centers around introductory and intermediate level courses; specialized courses in selected areas for individuals at any level of experience; and review courses for professionals who want to deepen their understanding of continuity planning and/or prepare for the certification exam

Mawson reported that most organizations have disaster-recovery plans for core technology, but few have robust continuity plans.

“DRI statistics also show that 80 percent of small businesses experiencing significant interruptions will go out of business within five years,” Mawson continued. “Many more suffer bottom-line losses” (Mawson, December 8, 2003).

Approximately 2,350 people claim DRII certification. More than 10,000 people have attended courses over the past 15 years and more than 6,000 people have taken the certification exam. Last year, over 1,200 people registered for DRII courses and 378 earned the certified business continuity professional designation. Currently, 55 individuals have earned the highest certification -- the master business continuity professional. Since January 2002, the number of DRII certified professionals has grown by over 40 percent (Mawson, January 26, 2004).

The “professional practices” form the basis for DRII’s certification examination in both domestic and international curriculums. The 10 core classes include: risk evaluation and control, business impact analysis, developing business continuity strategies, emergency response and operations, and crisis communications.

DRII, based in Falls Church, Va., also works with companies to produce specialized training and seminars around the country. For example, DRII and Biometric Digest announced plans in October to jointly sponsor a series of seminars on biometric identification technology in 2004. The one-day seminars are presented with the business continuity certification courses offered (Rogers, October 8, 2003).

DRII's board of directors is responsible for its business direction, and the certification commission administers policies and sets guidelines for the educational aspects. Among those on the board of directors are executives from Hewlett-Packard Company, KPMG and IBM.

As business continuity planning certification forms the core of DRII, its leaders are focused on legislation and future needs in the field.

“DRII now has a legislative affairs committee to review regulatory and legislative issues/actions that may affect business continuity planning/emergency management,” Mawson said. “We also have established liaisons with many other organizations to advance the concepts of proper business planning in the wake of (Department of) Homeland Security issues” (Mawson, January 26, 2004).

List of References

DRII Web Site: http://www.drii.org

Rogers, William. “Biometric Digest and DRI International Announce Dallas Seminar on Biometric Identification Technology.” PR Newswire, October 8, 2003. http://www.prweb.com/releases/2003/10/prweb83392.php

Mawson, Tom. E-mail interview, January 26, 2004.

Mawson, Tom. “Continuity Plan Gets Hotel Ready for Disaster's Arrival.” Washington Business Journal, December 8, 2003. http://washington.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2003/12/08/focus4.html