The BCPcast

Vicki Gavin is Head of Business Continuity for The Economist and is a returning contributor from season one. In this episode we discuss some of the major incidents she has handled and how to deal with the natural, human fight-or-flight response called ‘panic’.

For the first episode of the second season of The BCPcast our guest is Alastair Lee. Alastair is one of the few people we spoke to who took an academic route to business continuity, and he’s had a varied career as a result, including roles at Essex County Council, The Guardian and Virgin Media.

In the 6th and final episode of series one of the BCPcast, we take a closer look at one of the areas that, to the uninitiated, often represents the more off-putting and complex aspects of continuity: compliance.

We examine how good BC and DR practices are connected to (and represented by) regulatory compliance, and consider the merits of different approaches and attitudes towards certification.

Episode 5 of the BCPcast investigates what happens when carefully laid, and well-rehearsed plans collide with reality. This one is about big disasters, their effects, and the positives, if any, that can come out of them.

We also confront the uncomfortable paradox that many emergency planners grapple with throughout their careers - that disasters are inherently unknowable, and no amount of planning or speculation can truly emulate the chaos of real disruption.

The result is an uncomfortable double bind: you hope the worst never happens, but it's the only time your plans truly get tested.

In the fourth episode of the BCPcast, we’re going to look at the point at which business continuity and disaster recovery stop existing as ideas and start to take shape as actions, as we examine the very practical process of planning for the worst, and the testing that ensures those plans work.

How should you structure planning sessions? Who should you invite? And what obstacles and outcomes can you expect?

In episode 3 of the BCPcast, we take a look at a comparatively new source of risk that has landed in the lap of many already-overworked continuity professionals: cyber.

Cyber-crime is a multi-billion dollar industry, and it’s evolving at a staggering pace. Highly regimented criminal organisations are employing talented technical professionals to access and exploit privileged systems and data, whilst isolated threat actors enjoy easy access to sophisticated malware that’s affordable and easy-to-use.

In this episode we talk to continuity professionals and a cyber intelligence expert to look at some non-traditional planning exercises and education programmes that can help to inform existing cyber security programmes and guide user-behaviours towards a high degree of resilience against the emerging cyber threat landscape.

In the second episode of the BCPcast we turn the tables, and examine why BC and DR have a reputation for being difficult and expensive among so many organisations.

We examine the visceral emotional reaction that disruptive events can ellicit, and consider the etymological implications of dealing in areas like "disaster". We interrogate the disparity between anticipated consequences and eventual reality, why fear-based selling puts people off, and why the London Risk Register provides a baseline of continuity to all organisations, wherever they reside.

In the first episode of the Business Continuity Podcast, we meet the people who keep some of the largest organisations in the UK running throughout disruption, and ask the question: what makes someone good in a disaster? And why are certain people attracted to situations where everything goes wrong?

We also cover the first of our resilience quick fixes: What is one thing you could do tomorrow that would improve your ability to withstand and recover from major disruption?

For more information, get in touch at [email protected], or go to www.thebcpcast.com

Ever wondered how suet pudding could bring one of the UK’s busiest trading floors to a grinding halt? Or why there used to be a caterpillar in the London Risk Register?

The business continuity podcast is a straightforward, jargon-free discussion with people who deal with disasters for a living.

We delve into the exercises and methodologies that keep organisations like The Economist, Fujitsu and the London Fire Brigade secure and resilient, and explore just how much continuity planning goes into something like the London 2012 Olympics.

Listen to the Business Continuity Podcast trailer below, and check back in the coming weeks for new episodes featuring practical advice and fascinating stories about how to plan for the stuff you hope never happens.