Indicators of Successful BCP & DR Programs

In our thirteen (13) years of consulting to organizations of all sizes and industries, we have seen BCP and DR programs of all shapes, sizes and capabilities.  Some successful, some never made it off the ground.  Alot has changed in the last 13 years, but the indicators of what makes a program successful or not, haven’t changed much.

At our recent customer summit, I looked at our customers over the last three (3) years and evaluated the following indicators of success:

1. Management Support -How effective is the management support to the program?  It is regular, effective and business driven?
2. Management Direction – Is management providing the team with the right direction at the right time?  Is the direction consistent with short and long term needs of the organization?
3. Steady Progress – The race does not always go the hare but to the turtle who makes  steady progress over time.  Does your program have the proper support and direction to make consistent progress that leads to a higher level of sophistication and maturity over time?
4. Budget – Yes, you must have the financial resources to implement a successful program.  However, without the right support, direction and steady progress, the size of the budget does not guarantee success.  We have seen programs with large budgets that cannot recover their business and others with small budgets who with the support and direction make the steady progress to a “best of class” program.

So, we took a look at our client base and mapped them based on how long the program has been in existence as well as the criteria listed above.  Additionally, we identified their current capability as well as predicted.

So, in conclusion, what we see as key to success is Management Support, Management Direction and Steady Progress.  Budget is key must be properly directed and used to make progress. Our data will continue to be updated.

 So, as the saying goes, the more things change, the more they remain the same.