The Business Solution
Business Continuity
September 2007
In this issue:
Are you prepared as well as you think you are?
Business Continuity vs. Disaster Recovery
by: Joshua Kearley, Continuity Inc.
It seems every time I turn on the television I see some new crisis, people struggling to save their homes, businesses and family members. As bad as it was, compared to the terrible disaster that devastated New Orleans, the recent flooding and black outs in Toronto were just minor inconveniences. However, there are disasters that experts say not only could occur, but definitely will occur ... sooner or later.
Is your business prepared as well as you think you are?
The majority of businesses have a basic plan or know they need some sort of disaster recovery plan, yet it still sits on the bottom of the to do list.
What is Business Continuity planning?
Put simply, business continuity is about anticipating the crises that could affect a business and planning for them, to make sure that your business can continue to function in the event of an emergency. There are more than 300 types of disasters that can interrupt your business.
For many companies, the real tragedy occurs after a disaster: they had excellent business interruption insurance, but no Disaster Recovery Plan. Insurance is known as the best way to protect your business in the event of a disaster, however it will not help protect the most valuable asset you have: your customers. A recent study showed that 3 out of 5 businesses that experience a disaster or significant business disruption went bankrupt within one year of the event. Just because you are able to regain business operations does not necessarily mean your customers will be waiting for you!
So why do businesses need a Business Continuity Plan and a Disaster Recovery Plan?
Traditionally, disaster recovery focuses on the IT recovery of the business such as tape back-up systems, storage systems, and hot sites. A business continuity plan exists to address all the essential requirements to keeping your business running. This includes processes to keep disruptions to customers, employees and business as usual to a minimum. Both plans are a necessity to ensure the continuity of your business.
Why should small firms care about business continuity planning?
Business success is as much about protection as it is growth. In an uncertain world, that means creating a business that is strong enough to survive should a disaster strike. There is also a commercial benefit to consider, as companies with business continuity plans are more attractive to do business with, and usually boost morale with employees by providing stability in the time of a crisis.
Protecting the future of a business whatever size has to be the number one priority for every business leader.
What are the costs of a continuity plan?
Commonly mistaken for an expensive process, business continuity does not need to be a costly or time consuming program. A business continuity plan can be designed to fit your business as it accounts for your key risks and essential areas of business. With that said the actual costs of not doing so, greatly outweighs the costs of not building a plan!
The Buzzzz...
Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats
Have you started seeing file extensions recently that look really strange? Extensions like: xlsx or .docx? Well, you’re not imagining things. But things are a-changing.
The new extensions are Microsoft Office 2007 extensions, and these files DO NOT automatically open in previous versions of Microsoft Office. They require the downloading of a Compatibility Pack that can be accessed directly from the Microsoft website.
This compatibility pack will allow you to open, edit, and save documents, workbooks, and presentations in the file formats new to Microsoft Office Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007. By saving them in the new formats you also save on disk space.
Blue Link strongly recommends that all our customers install this pack.
Go to: www.microsoft.ca/compatibility.
Inventory Management Toolkit
Ever wondered how you could reduce inventory levels, improve customer service levels, increase cash flow and productivity and not even leave your office?
Blue Link’s new 3rd party add-on, Inventory Management Toolkit is specifically designed to deliver on these four key elements to success. The toolkit
- automates forecasting and reordering which ensure only the optimal amount of product is ordered.
- automatically identifies dead and dying inventory for liquidation.
- automatically identifies the best items to add to a PO to get to vendor-specific free shipping levels
- automates consideration of satellite warehouse needs when ordering for master warehouses
Call Blue Link today to learn how the Inventory Management Toolkit can dramatically improve your business!
Blue Link Elite
Speed Tip
If you’ve ever had a form open in Blue Link with a lot of details and want to quickly get to a new blank row, try pressing CTRL and the Plus sign:
CTRL+
Your cursor will instantly appear on a new blank record.
Example of usage: you’ve got a quote or sales order with more lines than will fit on the screen. Instead of scrolling to the bottom, just click on any record that you can see so that your cursor is in the details then press CTRL+
Webinars
Have you viewed one of Blue Link's past webinars?
Topics now available include:
- Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
- Advanced Financial Reporting
- Blue Link Elite Version 11 - Tips & Tricks, Part 1
- The Magic of Managing Your Receivables
- The Magic of Order Fulfilment
