Business Continuity Softwre Buyer s Guide Opertionlly strtegic nd deployble, business continuity plns re criticl to ensuring your orgniztion cn survive nd succeed following n unplnned incident. Mny orgniztions simply mintin lrge pper notebooks of BC/DR plns tht sit on shelf nd quickly become outdted. Mintining these plns with word processing softwre, or modulrized solutions is time consuming nd doesn t meet the growing requirements from regultors, uditors, government gencies, customers, or investors. Choosing the right softwre solutions is criticl to meeting these growing demnds. This Buyer s Guide covers: Wht is Business Continuity? Wht is Business Continuity Plnning Softwre? Business Continuity Progrm Deployment Methodologies Steps to Implementing Successful BC Progrm Criticl Questions to sk Business Continuity Softwre Vendors Key Feture Comprison Checklist
Wht is Business Continuity? Business Continuity is the process of prepring your orgniztion to respond to nd recover from nturl dissters, mn-mde threts, nd other significnt business interruptions. Wht is Business Continuity Plnning Softwre? Business Continuity Plnning Softwre enbles you to develop implementble business continuity plns, keep your plns up-to-dte, nd increses the vilbility of criticl dt nd opertions cross the enterprise. It should provide repetble methodology tht removes single points of filure in processes nd technology. Business Continuity Deployment Methodologies There re severl different methods one cn use to implement business continuity pln. These Include: Mnul: Using non-dedicted softwre tools like Microsoft Office or off-the-shelf templtes. Consultnt: Hiring n outside consultnt to come to your compny nd develop business continuity pln for you. Softwre: Purchse dedicted business continuity plnning softwre solution tht tkes you through the process nd helps you mintin, updte, nd keep your plns up-to-dte over time. Mnul Consultnt Softwre Initil Cost $ $$$ $$ Mintennce Cost $$ $$$ $ Ese of Mintennce x x Integrtion with other GRC Tools x x Pln Mturity Over-Time x Access to Dt x x Industry Benchmrks x Steps to Implementing Successful Business Continuity Progrm 1. Business Impct Anlysis Figure out wht is criticl to continuing business opertions nd determine wht process res need to hve pln. 2. Strtegy/Solutions Determine wht you re going to do when something goes wrong. 3. Plnning Document your lternte workround procedures. 4. Exercising Mke sure you hve your bses covered nd your tem understnds nd prctices your plns. 5. Mintennce - Continully improve nd updte your plns s your business chnges nd grows.
Steps to Implementing Successful Business Continuity Progrm 1. Business Impct Anlysis Figure out wht is criticl to continuing business opertions nd determine wht process res need to hve pln. 2. Strtegy/Solutions Determine wht you re going to do when something goes wrong. 3. Plnning Document your lternte workround procedures. 4. Exercising Mke sure you hve your bses covered nd your tem understnds nd prctices your plns. 5. Mintennce - Continully improve nd updte your plns s your business chnges nd grows. Criticl Questions to Ask Business Continuity Softwre Vendors Wht percentge of your customers renew your softwre/service? This is n indictor of how hppy vendor s customers re with the softwre solution nd the vlue users see in the softwre. Are there ny hidden fees or costs (e.g. Storge, support, or other required licenses like Orcle or Crystl)? These hidden costs cn significntly increse the price tg nd dding dditionl vendors dds complexity to the progrm. How does dt import/export from the softwre? Mke sure your dt is still usble nd ccessible to your orgniztion outside of the softwre solution. Wht is the formt of the reports tht re generted from the system? Ensure the reports you receive re comptible with other softwre tools you use nd the processes you hve in plce. Cn you provide n exmple Business Continuity Pln for us to review? Is the formt of the pln usble in your orgniztion? Does it comply with industry regultions or stndrds? Will you convert our existing plns for us? Why strt your plnning ll over? Mny vendors chrge extr for this service or don t even offer it. Hve your customers been through n exm/udit? If so, wht re the results? Be wry if vendor s plns or customers hve never been through n udit or exm. This is criticl to ensure the vendor s output is trustworthy, usble, nd ccepted in the industry.
Key Feture Comprison Checklist Use this comprison checklist to compre importnt feture sets from competing softwre solutions. Flexible pricing bsed on usge nd optionl services Optionl pln cretion nd mintennce service Free Existing Pln Conversion Free Dt Feed setup Unlimited Support Unlimited Trining Unlimited Users Complete Integrted Business Continuity Plnning Solution (Not Modulrized) Integrted Business Impct Anlysis Included Integrted Strtegy Development Included Integrted Incident Mngement Included Integrted Emergency Brodcst Notifictions Integrted Exercise Mngement Included Automticlly clculte gps for RTOs nd RPOs Templtes Included Business Continuity Pln Templte Crisis Mngement Pln Templte Pndemic Flu Pln Templte IT Disster Recovery Pln Templte Emergency Notifictions SMS Texting Notifictions to Mobile Phones Text to Speech Notifictions Voice Recording Notifictions Voice Polling Through Mobile Phones Customizble Unlimited Customizble User Defined Fields Customizble dshbords Customizble user permissions Customizble reports Integrte into other GRC modules (ERM, IA, VM, IT GRC. RCM) No Hidden Costs or Fees No need to purchse other softwre (e.g. Orcle, MS SQL, Crystl Reports, etc.) No dditionl Storge, Support, or Trining Fees Vendor B Vendor C
About Quntivte Quntivte is n industry-leding provider of web-bsed Governnce, Risk, nd Complince (GRC) softwre solutions. Founded in 2005 with the relese of its Business Continuity Softwre module, the compny hs grown to feture full integrted suite of GRC modules including Business Continuity, Vendor Mngement, Enterprise Risk Mngement, IT GRC, Internl Audit, nd Regultory Complince. Orgniztions, both lrge nd smll, from cross the country use Quntivte s suite of GRC modules to terdown dt silos, mnge risk, nd cost efficiently mnge their GRC inititives. Customers include locl, ntionl, nd interntionl orgniztions in diverse number of industries including: Community nd Commercil Bnking, Credit Unions, Lending, Mnufcturing, Retil, Energy & Utilities, Non-Profits, Helthcre, nd Technology. Quntivte, LLC PO Box 1504 Woodinville, WA 98072 www.quntivte.com Info@quntivte.com 1-800-969-4107