Disclaimer: The articles in this blog post are those that I
found interesting and relevant to the topic of ERP and technology in
general. I have no commercial association with any of the entities
mentioned in this article. I may be following a few of these entities on
LinkedIn and even some of these entities may be on my LinkedIn or
Social Media network. These articles are selected purely based on their
relevance to the objective of this blog, to promote ERP. Finally, the
summary is mine. While I stay close to the points in the articles, I
also elaborate a few of them based on my understanding.
The Short URL for this post is http://bit.ly/ERP_BCP
The articles that we have so far covered in this series in Year 2019 are:
11. Week 2019-13: ERP Implementation: ERP Project Management
12. Week 2019-14: ERP Implementation: Requirements Gathering
13. Week 2019-15: ERP Implementation: Solution Design
14. Week 2019-16: ERP Implementation: Solution Testing
15. Week 2019-17: ERP Implementation: End user training
16. Week 2019-18: ERP Implementation: RICE
17. Week 2019-19: ERP Implementation: Integration
18. Week 2019-20: ERP Implementation: Data Migration / Conversion
12. Week 2019-14: ERP Implementation: Requirements Gathering
13. Week 2019-15: ERP Implementation: Solution Design
14. Week 2019-16: ERP Implementation: Solution Testing
15. Week 2019-17: ERP Implementation: End user training
16. Week 2019-18: ERP Implementation: RICE
17. Week 2019-19: ERP Implementation: Integration
18. Week 2019-20: ERP Implementation: Data Migration / Conversion
21. Week 2019-24: ERP and Business Continuity Planing
22. Week 2019-25: ERP and Block Chain
23. Week 2019-26: ERP On Cloud
24. Week 2019-27: ERP for SMBs
The focus of this week is Business Continuity Planning. Many Organizations mistake BCP for Disaster Recovery. However (as shown in article #3 below) DR is a subset of BCP. As per the first article in this post (from this blog, thank you), it is a paradox that a company that was running perfectly fine before ERP was implemented, becomes helpless against an ERP disruption. The article points out identification and involvement of stakeholders as a critical step in BCP in an Organization. The second article says that while BCP is a very important part of ERP implementation, the overarching positive mood during an ERP implementation will dilute the focus on BCP.
The third article explains four aspects of BCP including Business Recovery and Disaster Recovery. The fourth article discusses five DR strategies including Documented Strategy and Plan and Planned Redundancy as two of them. The last article discusses how manufacturing industry handles BCP. There are five aspects to be considered including risk assessment and Business Impact Analysis (BIA)
Do read on. I enjoyed preparing this blog post. Hope you find value.
Top Five Articles
24. Week 2019-27: ERP for SMBs
The focus of this week is Business Continuity Planning. Many Organizations mistake BCP for Disaster Recovery. However (as shown in article #3 below) DR is a subset of BCP. As per the first article in this post (from this blog, thank you), it is a paradox that a company that was running perfectly fine before ERP was implemented, becomes helpless against an ERP disruption. The article points out identification and involvement of stakeholders as a critical step in BCP in an Organization. The second article says that while BCP is a very important part of ERP implementation, the overarching positive mood during an ERP implementation will dilute the focus on BCP.
The third article explains four aspects of BCP including Business Recovery and Disaster Recovery. The fourth article discusses five DR strategies including Documented Strategy and Plan and Planned Redundancy as two of them. The last article discusses how manufacturing industry handles BCP. There are five aspects to be considered including risk assessment and Business Impact Analysis (BIA)
Do read on. I enjoyed preparing this blog post. Hope you find value.
Top Five Articles
1. How to handle Business Continuity in case of ERP system failure? erp-consultancy blog
https://erp-consultancy.blogspot.com/2019/06/how-to-handle-business-continutity-in.html
One of the paradoxes of ERP implementation is that the companies that were running their operations 'perfectly' till ERP is implemented becomes dependent on ERP to run their businesses post implementation so much so that they become 'Helpless' in the event of an ERP disruption. Business continuity during ERP disruption has to be factored in during the implementation, not after. This articles provides five points to consider regarding Business Continuity
- It is a business issue, not an IT issue
- ERP disruption is a fact of life. Most of it is due to factors beyond control
- Organization should put in place a strategy to handle disruption
- Involve all stakeholders including users, auditors, statutory authorities and top management
- The strategy should also include element of moving back to ERP
This is a conceptual article to initiate a debate on the issue. Checkout and let me know.
2. ERP Software and Business Continuity. Panorama Consulting Blog
https://www.panorama-consulting.com/erp-software-and-business-continuity/
I like articles from Consulting Companies. They provide hands-on, practical and common sense guidelines and opens our eyes to simple things that we tend to overlook. This article says in the overarching positive mood experienced during ERP implementation, companies tend to downplay continuity and contingency planning. Overlooking these can increase project risk and cost in the long run.
This article gives five tips for Business Continuity planning in an ERP landscape.
- Educate the executives about the risks
- Understand that business continuity is a business issue, not IT issue
- Start developing a continuity plan at the beginning of ERP implementation: This should be a part of the system integration testing
- Business continuity experts should develop the plan
- Test the plan thoroughly. Each member of project team should be sensitized on their role in system recovery
These are simple but very important points, especially point 3 above.
https://erpfm.com/business-continuity-in-enterprise-resource-planning/
The value add from this article is that it lists four aspects of Business Continuity
- Business Recovery
- Disaster Recovery
- Emergency Response
- Crisis Management
4. Five disaster recovery strategies for handling ERP Failure IT Tool Box
https://it.toolbox.com/blogs/erpdesk/5-disaster-recovery-strategies-for-handling-erp-failure-121115
As per some studies, ERP downtime costs the companies about $108000 per hour. Despite this studies show that only 30% of companies have a comprehensive disaster recovery (DR) plan in place. The article give five DR strategies for handling ERP Failure
5. Business Continuity Planning in Manufacturing MoldMaking Technology Blog
https://www.moldmakingtechnology.com/articles/business-continuity-planning-in-manufacturing-preparing-for-the-worst-case-scenario
Cross-learning is one of the best ways to augment your knowledge in any area. This article discusses BCP for manufacturing industry. There are lessons that we can apply for ERP disruption as well. The authors define BCP as taking informed decisions about risk. This includes understanding the full implications of risk, knowing the Organization's risk tolerance and developing responses to different scenarios are components of BCP.
The focus on cost reduction and lean manufacturing has removed a lot of flexibility for BCP in the industry. The cost focus has led to reduction in Safety Stock, removal of excess plant capacity and reduction in human resources that would have given the required flexibility to handle any challenges.
There are three competing objectives that manufacturing industry faces. They are:
Great article....
Additional Readings
1.. Business Continuity versus Disaster Recovery or both? Sungard AS Blog
https://www.sungardas.com/en/about/resources/articles/disruption-planning-business-continuity-disaster-recovery/
2. Building a business contingency plan for ERP Failure Panorama Consulting Blog
https://www.panorama-consulting.com/building-a-business-contingency-plan-for-erp-failure/
3. How to develop an ERP Failure Recovery Plan ERPFocus.com
https://www.erpfocus.com/how-to-develop-an-erp-failure-and-recovery-plan-3319.html
https://it.toolbox.com/blogs/erpdesk/5-disaster-recovery-strategies-for-handling-erp-failure-121115
As per some studies, ERP downtime costs the companies about $108000 per hour. Despite this studies show that only 30% of companies have a comprehensive disaster recovery (DR) plan in place. The article give five DR strategies for handling ERP Failure
- Documented Business Continuity / Disaster Recovery Plan: Have a fully documented recovery plan before deploying ERP. This will contain at the minimum, DR procedures, primary contact and contingency plan in case the primary plan fails. Test the plan on a regular basis
- Server Redundancy: Consider keeping the redundant server in a different physical location. This is very important.
- Robust Backup System: Worst thing that can happen to a company is a disaster where Backup fails to restore. Ensure to test your backup recovery regularly.
- Backup Internet Service Provider: This is especially important in case of Cloud ERP adoption, especially if the ERP is hosted on a public cloud.
- Outsourcing DR Services: Using DRasS, you can have a range of DR solutions.
5. Business Continuity Planning in Manufacturing MoldMaking Technology Blog
https://www.moldmakingtechnology.com/articles/business-continuity-planning-in-manufacturing-preparing-for-the-worst-case-scenario
Cross-learning is one of the best ways to augment your knowledge in any area. This article discusses BCP for manufacturing industry. There are lessons that we can apply for ERP disruption as well. The authors define BCP as taking informed decisions about risk. This includes understanding the full implications of risk, knowing the Organization's risk tolerance and developing responses to different scenarios are components of BCP.
The focus on cost reduction and lean manufacturing has removed a lot of flexibility for BCP in the industry. The cost focus has led to reduction in Safety Stock, removal of excess plant capacity and reduction in human resources that would have given the required flexibility to handle any challenges.
There are three competing objectives that manufacturing industry faces. They are:
- Providing world class customer service
- Reducing working capital
- Reducing transaction costs
- Risk assessment--Considers probability and severity of a disaster
- Business process mapping--Cross-functional and across the supply chain
- Business impact analysis (BIA--Establishes scope and critical time constraints
- IT disaster recovery plan--Including communication channels
- Testing--Includes procedures and making revisions to the test plan.
Great article....
Additional Readings
1.. Business Continuity versus Disaster Recovery or both? Sungard AS Blog
https://www.sungardas.com/en/about/resources/articles/disruption-planning-business-continuity-disaster-recovery/
2. Building a business contingency plan for ERP Failure Panorama Consulting Blog
https://www.panorama-consulting.com/building-a-business-contingency-plan-for-erp-failure/
3. How to develop an ERP Failure Recovery Plan ERPFocus.com
https://www.erpfocus.com/how-to-develop-an-erp-failure-and-recovery-plan-3319.html
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