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Principles and Practice of Business Continuity: Tools and Techniques

Jim Burtles

This book gives an in-depth explanation on the subject of business continuity management. It brings together a comprehensive range of topics in the discipline.

The book is divided into 20 chapters which forms the entire lifecycle of business continuity management. It provides readers with an introduction to business continuity and recovery concepts and the establishment, implementation and maintenance of a business continuity management programme.

The book is logically structured to enable readers to read in its entirety or pick those topics which are of interest to them. Every chapter contains solutions that answer different aspects of business continuity. At the beginning of each chapter, there is an Overview which highlights the key points of the subject. A Conclusion is also provided to reiterate the gist of the chapter.

The aim of the book is to equip readers with a theoretical foundation of business continuity management and enable them to apply the knowledge acquired to all activities associated with the development, operation and maintenance of an effective business continuity programme. It includes topics such as basic arithmetic calculation of the cost of outages and current good practices in the profession.

Unlike some books which go into the deep end of the subject matter, the book makes simple this specialist subject by introducing basic principles of business continuity and providing the best practices without compromising complex facet of the discipline. It provides useful tips such as corporate buy-ins, carrying out a business impact analysis and running an effective exercise programme.

A special CD is enclosed with the book, which comprises a complete suite of tools and templates for risk assessment, business impact analysis, plans and exercise, and a selection of supplementary reading materials to help business continuity practitioners make the most of the resources.

Principles and Practice of Business Continuity: Tools and Techniques is more than just a reference book, it is a journey of understanding the need for business continuity management and developing the resilience capability of ensuring that organisations can survive in an unexpected crisis, not just the immediate aftermath, but the long-term challenges after the crisis.

Burtles has provided the breadth and depth of the subject based on his experience that spans over three decades. He has opened up a new horizon to the planning and management of business continuity. Whether it is for new entrants to the business continuity profession or seasoned practitioners, this book will prove to be an indispensable trouble-shooter for the day-to-day management of business continuity tasks. It should be on every resilience manager's booklist.

Dr Zechariah Wei Ning WONG
Crisis and Business Continuity Management Consultant