Business Continuity & Disaster Recovery

Today’s business environment has increased concerns about disaster recovery. The growing dependence on remote suppliers, often linked via fragile technologies, has combined with a growth in regulatory requirements and broader reputational risk to push this topic up the list of ‘most negotiated terms’.

I am pleased to see that several US regulatory authorities combined forces to develop guidance on business continuity and disaster recovery. They have just issued their report which covers a wide range of areas that an organization should consider in order to protect itself from unexpected disruption. The guidance is aimed at those responsible for compliance and may therefore assist contract specialists as they consider the nature of the commitments they wish to seek or offer to trading partners.

It is early to hail a trend in the attitude and role of regulators and auditors, but I see encouraging signs that they are emerging from a world where they simply made judgments on poor performance, to a growing recognition that their insights and observations can be used to assist in prevention.