Facility Management and Business Continuity

February 22, 2017 - As a facility manager, you have a lot on your plate every day. You have to be a combination juggler, enforcer, and clairvoyant among other things. When it comes to business continuity, your list of roles increases yet again. Facility management and business continuity have a lot of synergies, and you have a part in both. We hope this week's articles can help make your job(s) a bit easier and provide some ideas on how you can work to improve the business continuity of your organization.

One of the most important potential partnerships, and one BC professionals frequently overlook, is facilities management. (Item #1)   Facility Management should play a crucial role in Business Continuity – they manage the 2nd largest and most consequential business "assets" (after IT) on which day-to-day business operation rely. (Item #2)   IFMA and RLE Technologies have released a report on facility management perspectives on emergency preparedness and business continuity in North America. (Item #3)

Emergency response training helps managers and departments respond to and recover from disaster. (Item #4)   Here are seven ways you can increase your organization's resilience to changing conditions. (Item #5)   Learn how to deal with protesters outside and inside your building. (Item #6)


For the full issue, click here.

Records Retention

February 15, 2017 - When's the last time you reviewed your records retention policy (if you have one)? You should have a policy/process for records retention and should review it at least annually. This issue discusses why records retention is critical and can help you determine which records to keep and for how long, how to handle a retention schedule, and other issues of interest.

These three rules can help you stay on top of your record management responsibilities. (Item #1) Do you need to develop document retention standards and procedures for your Business Continuity Program?  (Item #2) Preservation of vital records is a pillar of any Business Continuity/Disaster Recovery plan. (Item #3)

Here are seven common mistakes of record retention—dare we call them deadly sins?—and strategies to avoid them. (Item #4) This article can help answer your questions about email retention. (Item #5) Here's some help to determine which documents to shred and which to keep and for how long. (Item #6)


For the full issue, click here.

Cyber Security

Feb 8, 2017 - We hope there isn't anyone walking around thinking they are immune to cyber attacks because it just isn't so. As we've said before, it's not if, it's when. But how do you protect your organization? This week's articles offer information and some suggestions on how to improve your cyber security... and recognize that insiders can cause more vulnerability than outsiders.

If you consider all these crazy trends, blips in the news about attacks, and the patterns -- from password re-use to the rise in usage of end of life systems -- predicting the future for cyber security is really not that outrageous. (Item #1)   The role that insiders play in the vulnerability of all sizes of corporations is massive and growing. (Item #2)   Finance leaders now have a leading role to play in data security. (Item #3)

Here's an overview of everything you need to know to protect yourself from cyber attacks. (Item #4)  To help you protect your business, here are 13 small-business-friendly cyber-security solutions to get you started. (Item #5)   This article's purpose is to share the defense department's approach to cyber attacks so that business leaders can apply it in their own organizations. (Item #6)


For the full issue, click here.

Data Privacy

Feb 1, 2017 - Are you doing the best job possible to manage your users' privacy? Yes, your data is likely secure but privacy is another matter. The dangers to data privacy often are more likely to come from your authorized users -- employees, vendors, etc. This issue looks at data privacy and discuss what we should be doing to maintain that privacy.

The difference between security and privacy is critical, and it's when we confuse them that we reveal more information than we intended. (Item #1)   The collection and manipulation of Big Data can result in real-world benefits, but it also can lead to big privacy problems. (Item #2)   Here are some key areas where planners need to be concerned with private and personally identifiable information when creating, updating, and testing disaster recovery plans. (Item #3)

In the digital economy, our personal information is the New Money to pay for services. (Item #4)   With organizations collecting increasing amounts of data, customers and the governments that represent them have evolving expectations about the transparency surrounding data collection, and the laws that govern the usage and reporting of it.  (Item #5)   Companies are increasing technology investments to protect against external data breaches, but employees pose a bigger threat than hackers. (Item #6)


For the full issue, click here.