Business continuity management (BCM) maturity levels differ across industry sectors. While some in the financial services or insurance sectors will have had BCM in place for quite some time, others are only starting their journey.
But no matter what the scenario, the secret to resilient and effective BCM is to adopt a structured, systemic approach to planning according to Michael Conway, director of business continuity consultancy provider, Renaissance.
Disaster recovery (DR) was traditionally seen as beyond the reach of most small and medium-sized organisations in terms of cost. But advancements in public cloud technologies in particular, have changed the DR landscape forever.
Business continuity management (BCM) and disaster recovery (DR) are often used interchangeably but erroneously so. Business continuity planning involves a holistic approach to business protection, seeking to ensure that mission-critical functions – from HR to manufacturing – continue to operate during and after an unforeseen event.
Disaster recovery on the other hand typically involves contingency for recovering and restoring business applications in the event of outage or systems loss.
A 2012 report from cloud services provider, MJ Flood Technology revealed that just over half (51 per cent) of organisations had no DR plan and 48 per cent no business continuity plan in place.
According to the CSO’s annual information technology review, just under one third of companies with broadband connectivity are currently using CRM or customer relationship management software to manage customer contact points across the business.
But a new generation of start-ups and ambitious SMEs are creating a surge of CRM adoption, according to Gary Cullen, sales and marketing director with Provident CRM, a reseller of the SugarCRM platform.
It’s all about getting found. Today’s philosophy of inbound marketing focuses on using high quality content and user-friendly website designs to attract, nurture and convert customers through the sales funnel.
Digital channels such as social media, email, search engine marketing, blogs and online events play a key role in creating a high-ranking search position online but all roads lead back to the website.
The internet has revolutionised the way in which we search for and purchase products and services, forever shifting buying power from vendor to consumer. Long gone are the days when consumers sat passively by, waiting to be hit by the next wave of slick advertising messages through TV, print or radio campaigns.
The internet empowers consumers, giving them an unprecedented level of choice and they’re using it.
Video is not all about connecting with people from a sterile, office environment. Organisations of all types are using online, face-to-face communications in more creative ways.
Eircom is currently running an innovative pilot project in music education as Enda Doyle, director of business development and innovation for eircom Business Solutions explains.
Video is poised to undergo a steep growth curve as workgroup or desktop systems find a sweet spot in businesses of all sizes. And this period of strong market adoption is characterised by technology evolution, greater industry co-operation and strategic alliances.
Niall Dunne, country manager for Ireland with Polycom sees strong growth in non-traditional spaces such as ‘huddle rooms’.
For some, enterprise video conferencing conjures up a somewhat stuffy image of senior executives gathered around a well-stocked boardroom table on a Monday morning, patiently waiting to connect to colleagues in far flung reaches of the globe.
But the reality of video conferencing in the enterprise today is rather different with employees across the business demanding access to video communications as an aid to productivity and efficiency.
And small businesses are just as likely to use video conferencing as their cash-rich, multinational counterparts.
We’re all familiar with smartphone apps – from accessing the latest news headlines and managing our health and fitness to pre-planning TV consumption or staying in touch with friends through social media.
The popularity and pervasiveness of consumer apps is now blending seamlessly into the business sphere and with higher performance mobile networks thanks to 4G speeds, businesses of all sizes are embracing the opportunity to do things differently.