"Business continuity programs" and NFPA standards

A piece on business continuity programs from Forbes Magazine.
The author claims "its only a matter of time" before these programs
are regulated by DHS, so it behooves businesses, big and small, to have
continuity of operations plans in pocket prior to that outbreak of avian
flu that prevents all your employees from coming into work.

The NFPA 1600 standards define business continuity as "an ongoing process supported by senior management and funded to ensure that the necessary steps are taken to identify the impact of potential losses, maintain viable recovery strategies and recovery plans, and ensure continuity of services through personnel training, plan testing and maintenance." It provides an "all hazards" approach (identifying over 45 categories of hazards like pandemic disease, cyber-attack, flood and biological agent attack) and establishes a common set of criteria for disaster management, emergency management and business continuity. The standards provide the criteria to assess current programs and to develop, implement and maintain a program to mitigate, prepare for, respond to and recover from disasters.

Full article here:
http://www.forbes.com/opinions/2008/01/16/disaster-preparedness-companies-oped-cx_slw_0117disaster.html