FEATURE : BUSINESS CONTINUITY

The goal of a Business Continuity policy is to document what is needed to keep an organisation running on ordinary business days as well as times of emergency .

When the policy is well-defined and clearly adhered to , the company can set realistic expectations for Business Continuity and Disaster

Recovery processes . Industry experts share insights with

Intelligent CIO Middle East on the aims of a Business Continuity policy , what is needed to keep an organisation running on normal business days as well as times of crisis , writes Manda Banda .

Business Continuity policy is the set of standards and guidelines an organisation enforces to ensure resilience and proper risk management . Business Continuity policies vary by organisation and industry and require periodic updates as technologies evolve and business risks change .

“ While formulating Business Continuity framework and policies , it is important that CIOs focus on data protection , as well as Disaster Recovery strategies ,” he said . “ They must adopt technologies to accommodate the proliferation of devices outside the centralised workplace , solutions which enable them to manage the influx of remote work and adopt cloud data management platforms .”

Leona Mentz , Regional Operations Manager : Asia , Middle East and Africa , BT , said Business Continuity is not just about the nuts and bolts of keeping operations going in the event of a crisis . Mentz said it requires a careful understanding of the appropriate people , processes , technology , information and supplies in delivering essential activities .

“ Furthermore , the surge in a distributed work environment resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic has seen connectivity becoming more important than ever . With more organisations becoming reliant on cloudbased solutions , access provides the veritable glue that holds operations together ,” she said . “ During these uncertain times , having the right capabilities in place before a disruptive event does require some predictive planning . This means that even existing policies that would have been considered sufficient pre-pandemic need to be reviewed and , where applicable , enhanced .”

According to ResearchAndMarkets . com , The Business Continuity management solutions market is poised to grow by US $ 387 million during 2020 to 2024 progressing at a Compound Annual Growth Rate ( CAGR ) of 15 % during the forecast period .

Manish Ranjan , Program Manager , Software and Cloud , IDC Middle East , Turkey and Africa ( META ), said across the Middle East , organisations prioritised to provide secure access to IT services and applications to employees working from home , increase tech-enabled collaboration and engagement with business executives and strengthened technologies for Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity . As a result , Ranjan said there is an increasing investment on endpoint security and management solutions , smart and digital workspaces , unified communication and video conferencing systems , and team collaboration applications .

Sahem Azzam , VP Middle East and Africa ( MEA ), Orange Business Services , said not surprisingly , the demand for Business Continuity support and solutions closely mirrors the evolution of the threat landscape . Azzam said the threat landscape is certainly evolving and new threats emerging – are not replacing the existing threats , but adding to them and so multiplying the overall threats .

“ In the ‘ Orange Cyberdefence vision for 2021 ’, three trends were highlighted . First , a constant volume of attacks even during the COVID-19 lockdown with an explosion of ransomware attacks linked to new business models . Second , an acceleration of IT transformation as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic , introducing new risks and security challenges : cybersecurity is now at the core of most businesses , requiring a new approach . Third , a cybercriminal ecosystem that has become more structured and professional as a result of huge potential

40 INTELLIGENTCIO MIDDLE EAST www . intelligentcio . com