| London: Global Wi-Fi Benchmark "The City of London network is a global benchmark for cities and metro Wi-Fi," said Niall Murphy, co-founder and chief strategy officer at company behind the City's new wide area Wi-Fi network, The Cloud.  The network is said to be the most advanced network in Europe, providing wireless broadband to more than 350,000 people who work and visit the area. Free access is on offer for the first month and will be provided in association with Nokia. |
 12 months of development and testing preceeded the launch comprising 127 nodes and the network is planned to eventually cover 95% of of areas owned by the City of London Corporation. The launch comes in the same week as the launch of the 2Mbps Wi-Fi broadband on all Heathrow Express Trains. The technology combines satellite link with mobile 3G/GPRS networks to provide connectivity both above ground and in tunnels. This service as to other existing Wi-Fi train services already in use including London to Brighton, Oxford Tube and Virgin Train services.  |
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 |
Addressing
Global Risks "Many of the 23 core global risks have worsened over the last 12 months, despite growing awareness of their potential impacts," according to the World Economic Forum referring to it's recently published Global Risks 2007 Report. Other contributors to the report include Swiss Re, MCC, Citigroup and the Wharton School Risk Center. |
In addition to it's findings, the report also
suggests the appointment of governmental Country Risk Officers who meet
regularly on an intergovernmental level as well as the creation of
flexible "coalitions of the willing" allowing mitigation strategies to
emerge from dynamic interplay between governments and business. Thierry Malleret, Director, Head of Global Challenges Team of the World Economic Forum, said: "This report makes clear that there exists a fundamental disconnect between risk and mitigation. While opinion suggests that levels of risk are rising in almost all of the 23 risks on which the Global Risk Network has been focused over the last year, the mechanisms in place to manage and mitigate these risks are inadequate; world leaders must act now. While the global economy has been expanding faster than at any time in history, it remains vulnerable." According to the report, climate change |
 and
associated severe storms, water
shortages or rising sea levels would have an impact "far beyond the
environment".While effective measures to mitigate global warming could also improve resilience to oil price shocks by diversifying energy supply, the report said, ineffective steps "will almost certainly be a factor in major interstate and civl wars within the next 50 years". The report also insisted that co-operation between the USA and China was crucial. Related links: Global Risks 2007 Report (PDF) World Economic Forum Risk to World Economy Rises From Climate and Disease |
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SURVIVE: to
Liquidate |
This
week, the long standing membership group for business
continuity professionals, SURVIVE, is said to be holding a creditors
meeting as
it prepares to liquidate according to their insolvency partners Ian
Holland + Co Limited. Having maintained Gold Membership with SURVIVE for many years, Criticall |
is
very sorry to hear this news as are many other
members of the Business Continuity community and BC professionals alike. Related Links: Ian Holland + Co Continuity Central |
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| UK Companies Pay Lip Service to BCM According to the latest Business Continuity Management report (2007) from the Chartered Management Institute, UK organisations are " paying lip service to the importance of planning for disaster, but failing to make business resilience a reality.  |
 Surprisingly the report discovered that only half of
organisations with plans carry out regular and thorough rehearsals
despite strong evidence that rehearsals are vital to ensure the
effectiveness of planning.A third of organisations reported disruptions due to loss of IT and a similar figure was reported for disruption due to loss of people. Those affected by extreme weather conditions more than tripled to 28%. Perhaps the most surprising finding was that over half of the managers surveyed work in organisations where there is no specific Business Continuity Plan in place. |
Bruce Mann, Director of Civil Contingencies Secretariat
at the Cabinet Office says that "the report reveals a situation where
there is still much work to be done."
He urges that there are "still too many organisations that have no business continuity plan, of have one that is unknown to staff or is not subject to exercise and review. Recommendations of the report include: • Utilising the British Standard 25999 as a basis for assessing and benchmarking their BCPs. • Organisation's BCPs should address not only technological or physical requirements, but also people and skill needs. Related links: CMI's BCM Report 2007 (PDF) Chartered Management Institute Preparing for Emergencies (Cabinet Office) |
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| BCM: Top 5 Web Goodies Here's a little list we've compiled for you to make your life as a business continuity professional easier. i. Glossary of BCM Terms A 29 page PDF document comprising a comprehensive list of BCM terms to help you come to grips with this wordy field. ii. Major Incidents Database Published by the Emergency Planning College in Excel format, this list details almost 700 major events. With an emphasis on UK incidents, the list also includes around 300 international incidents dating back over the past century. |
iii. Google Pages The easiest way to publish your own "Incident Status" website. It's an absolute no-brainer. Just get a gmail account, create your page and update it instantly from any web browser, anywhere. As long as your staff know where to log on (eg. your_company.googlepages.com) they can check for updates and instructions in the case of an incident.  |
iv. Google Docs
With your new gmail account, you can now upload your full Business Continuity Plan to the web. No one else can see it (unless of course you wish to share it for viewing or collaboration). Now you can access this from anywhere too - just get yourself to a web browser (wi-fi laptop, smartphone, pda etc etc). v. Mozy Free Online Backup Okay, just when you thought it couldn't get any better, this company offers you 2GB of free online backup. That means you can put all your important BC documents (and anything else you can think of for that matter!) offsite in a secure facility that you have access to.... you guessed it... anywhere! |
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| BS 25999 Replacing PAS 56:2003, BS 25999-1:2006 is the first part of the two part BS 25999. BS 25999-2:2007 is due to be released over the summer. Part 1 is a code of practice for business continuity management and can currently be purchased as a download from the BSI for £45 (£90 for non-members). Part 2 will specify the process for achieving certification. This certification will be based on whether an organisation's business continuity capability is appropriate to the size and complexity of an organization.  Related links: BSI Global: Publication Detail "Staying on Track" (PDF) Continuity Shop (BS 25999 training) |
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Apple iPhone This is one for all those tech-hungry consumers but it's also a very effective business tool. It's basically the best iPod Apple has ever released plus a pda plus a phone.... plus a status symbol.  Due to launch in the UK on October and with way too many features to even get going on in this newsletter, you best check out Steve Jobs' keynote speech for all the fancy details. For now, let's just say, it's a ground breaker and you have to check it out... now! Related links: Apple iPhone Steve Jobs Keynote Speech |
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BlackBerry for Windows Research In Motion has announced plans to expand its support for Windows-based mobile devices allowing third-party manufacturers to benefit from the popular BlackBerry application software and services. The new software is planned for release later this year for selected Windows Mobile 6 devices. Related Links: Research in Motion Criticall Comment  Criticall lands in New York.Adding to Criticall's two existing sites in London and Cardiff, we have launched a US hosted site in New York's Atlantic Telecoms Center. For an animated online demonstration, go to www.criticall.co.uk/tour or for more information contact us on info@criticall.co.uk. |
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| Resource
Corner Useful links and events for the business continuity professional Events Understanding Governance & Risk Management - FREE May 17th, 2007 Intellect Annual General Meeting May 24th, 2007 EPS Annual Conference 2007 June 18th-19th, 2007 BS25999 Understanding the Standard June 26th, 2007 |
CIO
& CSO Business Continuity Forum 2007, New York July 17th-18th, 2007 Links Bapco The Emergency Planning Society Intellect UK SEISO The Business Continuity Institute UK Resilience Data Storage Expo Continuity Forum Continuity Shop Mi5 Preparing for Emergencies Criticall Limited |
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