Five Common Threats to Oklahoma Business Continuity

Its central U.S. location, close proximity to airport hubs and other metropolitan areas and ample available land make Oklahoma an ideal spot for locating a business. It, however, also deserves distinction as a state experiencing one of the most diverse arrays of natural hazards in the country. These hazards can become disasters for a company if it does not have a workable and fully implemented business continuity plan.

Tornado
In the U.S., Oklahoma ranks second only to Texas in number of annual tornadoes. According to The Tornado Project, the state averages 53 tornadoes per year, the costliest being the 1999 Bridge Creek-Oklahoma City-Moore-Del City tornado which caused $1 billion in property damage.

Although business continuity planning can not prevent tornado damage, it can protect the business from closure and loss of income streams. Some common mitigation techniques include alternate facilities (bricks and mortar locations and virtual offices), off-site backup servers, Web sites using two-way communications such as integrated IM or shopping carts and PIN-to-PIN and VoIP communications.

Flood
As an inland state, many do not associate Oklahoma with floods, but it experienced 129 floods in 2009 alone. The 2009 floods caused $3.37 million in damages. Many roads become impassable during these events, delaying or preventing deliveries and pick ups. These supply chain disruptions create a domino effect between businesses. Water-logged buried cables can cause power outages.

Some of a business’ flood mitigation actions duplicate those used for tornado, such as off-site backup servers, Web sites using two-way communications such as integrated IM or shopping carts and PIN-to-PIN and VoIP communications. Others include alternate delivery routing, alternate delivery vehicles and backup generators.

Thunderstorms
Thunderstorms are a constant in Oklahoma life, as well as the power outages and flash floods they cause. This everyday threat can wreak havoc on a business due to its prevalence and persistence.

Common business continuity solutions for this include installing uninterruptible power sources for local servers and computers, backup off-site servers and daily backups of critical data.

Earthquakes
The Meers fault runs underneath southwest Oklahoma causing earthquakes with some regularity. The cities and towns normally experiencing these geologic events include the areas in and around Enid, Oklahoma City, Norman, and Lawton. The greatest magnitude experienced, so far, a 5.5 on the Richter scale, occurred in El Reno, OK in 1952. The most recent Oklahoma quake, at this writing, was September 4, 2010, a magnitude 3.1 in the Oklahoma City metro.

Aside from infrastructure and property damage, earthquakes also cause power outages and water and gas pipe breaks. A company might include installation of uninterruptible power sources for local servers and computers, utilize backup off-site servers, conduct daily backups of critical data, identify alternate work sites, alternate delivery routing and alternate delivery vehicles and install backup generators.

Ice Storms
The December 2007 ice storm rendered more than 1/2 million structures powerless, made roads impassable and even foot travel dangerous due to frozen, falling tree limbs. The weight of the ice and falling limbs also damaged roofs. A smaller scale storm re-damaged many of the same areas in January 2010.

To combat data loss during the power outages businesses can use uninterruptible power sources for local servers and computers, utilize backup off-site servers and conduct daily backups of critical data. To continue business operations, utilize a Web site with two-way communications such as integrated IM or shopping carts and VoIP communications.

Conclusion
A business continuity plan and implementation make your business more resilient and protect your bottom line from the common natural hazards experienced in Oklahoma. Although your main work site may be affected, by instituting appropriate backups, you can weather the storm without closing up shop.

----

Carlie Lawson owns Natural Hazards Consulting, based in Norman, OK. NHC specializes in developing and implementing business continuity and hazards plans for businesses and municipalities. Her articles have appeared in "Weather and Society Watch," "Journal of Regional Studies," "Oklahoma College Press," and "eHow." She holds Bachelor of Arts degrees in journalism, and film and video studies, and a Master of Regional and City Planning from the University of Oklahoma.

Business Continuity Basics

A business continuity plan provides the strategies and actions to allow a business to continue critical functions during any disruptive event. It addresses seven equally important areas: personnel, information, technology, legal counsel, infrastructure, accommodations, and finances.

Although the plan becomes the final product, business continuity must become a standing program within the business with an established governance structure. This senior management committee directs the process from inception to audit to update and should be comprised of executives and senior management.

It will identify the critical functions of the business, followed by conducting a business impact analysis of each to define risks, impacts, potential losses, expenses, intangibles, insurance needs, and dependencies. The plan addresses each critical function with specific mitigation strategies and actions, analysis of current recovery capabilities, response preparations, and alternate facilities. It also details readiness provisions, including training procedures, practice exercises, and drills with post-exercise evaluations. The final plan component, the quality assurance program, includes both an initial internal review and an external audit, with repeat internal reviews on an annual or bi-annual basis.

----

Carlie Lawson owns Natural Hazards Consulting, based in Norman, OK. NHC specializes in developing and implementing business continuity and hazards plans for businesses and municipalities. Her articles have appeared in "Weather and Society Watch," "Journal of Regional Studies," "Oklahoma College Press," and "eHow." She holds Bachelor of Arts degrees in journalism, and film and video studies, and a Master of Regional and City Planning from the University of Oklahoma.

Why Business Continuity Matters

Nearly 100 percent of businesses realize they face daily disruptive risks, according to The Conference Board, but only five percent of businesses have a viable business continuity plan. Although creating a business continuity plan may seem daunting, the benefits far outnumber the costs, both tangibly and intangibly.

Business face natural, man-made, and technological disasters on a daily basis. The disasters can range from fires and floods to network failure and server power supply failure to lost data and corrupted data with one commonality: a loss of productivity that equals a loss of money. The bottom line is a continuity plan protects your bottom line.

Without a plan in place, managers will likely assign resources on a first-come, first-serve basis, rather than where the need is greatest. A business continuity plan facilitates uninterrupted continuation of the company's critical functions during any disruptive event. Beyond protecting the bottom line though, adoption of a BCP creates added value for the organization in a number of ways, including:

• enhancing the company's public image and reputation by demonstrating a proactive, you-can-count-on-us attitude,
• identifying relationships between assets, personnel, and financial resources,
• identifying organizational vulnerabilities,
• improving organizational efficiency,
• minimizing crisis impacts on the business, contractors, vendors and customers,
• reducing disruption costs, and
• reducing insurance premiums.

In short, the long-term benefits of developing and implementing a business continuity plan far exceed the minimal four month time investment for research, development, and implementation.
----

Carlie Lawson owns Natural Hazards Consulting, based in Norman, OK. NHC specializes in developing and implementing business continuity and hazards plans for businesses and municipalities. Her articles have appeared in "Weather and Society Watch," "Journal of Regional Studies," "Oklahoma College Press," and "eHow." She holds Bachelor of Arts degrees in journalism, and film and video studies, and a Master of Regional and City Planning from the University of Oklahoma.