A year in the life…
Colin Ive discusses the evolution of BCM at Nokia and explores some  
of the key continuity steps undertaken by the organisation over the  
last twelve months
Building Business Resilience
The BCM journey
Are you undertaking Business Impact Analysis, Risk
Assessments, Emergency Planning and Crisis
Management to build business resilience?
Do you need Business Continuity training at Gold,
Silver, Bronze, board executive or introductory level?
T
he positive aspect of being invited IT, a detailed analysis was performed to To commence the introduction of BCM
to write an article looking back identify the applications and operations within our IT environments, we embarked
over the past twelve months is critical to the business from the many upon a far-reaching training programme
As part of the team chosen by the Cabinet Office to
that it encourages you to step out of the thousands of applications in use. From an targeting the IT managers and application
provide Gold Standard Training, Needhams 1834 has
usual frenetic pace of business life to operations perspective the ability of our engineers responsible for application
both appreciate and examine more fully factories to produce phones was critical. To development and maintenance together
the necessary expertise, experience and facilities to
the recently trodden path. In turn, this lose a factory which produced five million with factory-based IT staff. This training was
help you to ensure your organisation is prepared to
sharpens one’s focus to use the lessons units per week for even just a few hours based on the BCM Lifecycle reproduced
learned along the way. was clearly an unacceptable risk for the from PAS56, the precursor to BS25999
deal with emergency situations.
business. shown below.
Setting the scene
To set the context of this article I need
phase 1
For public and private sectors, we provide
to go back several years as Nokia, like
1
Analyse impact & risks
so many other organisations, initially
consultancy and planning services to develop and
struggled then slowly but surely began to
embed resilience across organisations. Vital training
embrace BCM across many areas.
phase 2
phase 5
Develop Continuity Strategies
The considerable success and growth
Maintain & Excercise  
BCM
the Continuity Plan 5
2
and testing is brought to life using our BCI approved
that Nokia has experienced over the past
programme
15 years or so, resulting in it becoming the
Management
courses, workshops, desk-top and live exercises and
fifth most recognisable brand in the world,
high fidelity simulations.
has demanded extraordinary resources
phase 3
and in the early years the need for BCM phase 4
was regarded with scepticism and even
Training and communication 4
3 Create the plan and  
implement the strategy
All of which can take place at your own offices or at
by some with disdain. This can, to a point,
The Nokia BCM Lifecycle
be easily understood as Nokia’s corporate
our central London Training Centre.
headquarters, multiple departments of 1. Understanding The Organisation:
R&D, plus a factory are located in Finland, Business impact and risk assessment tools are used to identify the critical deliverables and enablers evaluating
reputably the second safest country in the
recovery priorities and assessing the risks of the organisation through the identification of its key products and
services and the critical activities and resources that support them. It ensures that the BCM programme is aligned
For more details on how we can help you to
world.
to the organisation’s objectives, obligations and statutory duties.
Nokia today has evolved into a large
build business resilience, contact us today
2. Determine The BCM Strategy:
multinational with sales offices in most
As a result of the previous analysis, determine the selection of alternative strategies available to mitigate
countries of the world and factories in
on +44 (0) 207 353 9498.
loss, assessing the relative merits of these against the business environment and their likely effectiveness in
South America, Eastern Europe and Asia maintaining the organisation’s critical business functions and enable the business to meet its objectives.
plus multiple R&D sites across the globe. 3. Developing & Implementing The BCM Response:
During this growth, many new risks improving the risk profile by the development of appropriate plans and arrangements to ensure continuity of
were encountered and a few crises were
critical activities, and the management of an incident. Implementing alternative business strategies, using risk
financing measures (including insurance) and building continuity plans.
experienced along the way. This, plus the
Needhams 1834 Ltd, 42 Fleet Street, London, EC4Y 1QA, UK.
4. Embedding BCM In The Organisation’s Culture:
e
recognition of the importance by Nokia
T: +44 (0)207 353 9498. E: enquiry@needhams1834.com.
of preserving its brand reputation, has led
To be successful, business continuity has to become part of the way that an organisation is managed,
regardless of size or sector. At each stage of the BCM process, opportunities exist to introduce and enhance an
to a much wider acceptance and indeed
organisation’s culture by education and awareness of all stakeholders, including employees, customers, suppliers
W: needhams1834.com. Contact: Chris Needham-Bennett
insistence upon the establishment of good
and shareholders
quality BCM in a number of its corporate
5. Exercising & Plan Maintenance:
functions.
Ensures that an organisation’s BCM arrangements are validated by exercise and review and that they are kept
©iStockphoto.com/lorrainedark Within my specific responsibility for
up-to-date.
November/December 2009  Continuity  3
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