Looking back
As he completes his final term as a BCI board director,  
Jim Burtles discusses his career in BCM, the evolution of 
the Institute and talks of his hopes for the development of 
business continuity
When did you first become involved in
business continuity management?
It was then that I began to develop a reputation for being
a kind of ‘worst case scenario’ specialist
Back in the 1970s, I was an IBM hardware
engineer; this was at the time when
computers were still quite large and relatively simple and logical step to talk coming into the profession, so the future
rather expensive, but robust enough to about business continuity management; looks bright.
be repairable. I was called in to fix the something serious enough to be properly
system in a bank which had been struck by organised and managed. Do you think there is a sufficient level
lightning. Eventually I managed to restore In recent times, some forward thinking of professionalism within the BCM
a basic level of data processing; although organisations have appointed a senior
community?
I didn’t have enough spares with me to executive as their ‘business assurance
replace all of the tiny indicator lamps which manager’ to ensure that risks, security and There are some very competent and
were a feature of main frames in those days. continuity are all considered as an integral capable people working in BCM who set a
Shortly afterwards, I was called upon part of safeguarding the future of the good example, establishing high standards
to fix a machine located in a flooded business. for themselves and those around them. This
basement. It was then that I began to represents the majority in most of those
develop a reputation for being a kind of What do you think have been the main areas where BCM is firmly established.
‘worst case scenario’ specialist. In 1980, stumbling blocks to the advancement of However, there are one or two, operating
I was appointed to the post of disaster
BCM practices?
in what you might call the fringe territories,
recovery country specialist, although I had who seem willing to grant anybody some
received no proper training for the job, A reluctance to waste time, effort and form of recognition in return for a fee.
other than several years of fixing extreme money based on the rather short-sighted There are parts of the world where the mere
problems as a service engineer. My first view that it would reduce their competitive possession of a simple certificate of some
task was to develop some form of training edge; whereas, in fact, it is an investment sort is seen as a passport to success in the
programme to encourage others to get which can give a tremendous competitive job market.
involved, and I spent the best part of a year advantage in difficult times. Regulators in This is why we set up the BCI in the
travelling around the country, presenting my the financial industry have long recognised first place. We wanted to establish a
ideas and beliefs on planning for the worst this and call for BCM as a regulatory qualification system with real merit and
and expecting the best. requirement. value, based on a formal and transparent
Here in the UK, the Civil Contingencies qualification process.
How would you say that the focus of Act requires all local authorities to promote
business continuity has evolved since then the subject of business continuity, but it is In your career, you have played a very
and where would you say the discipline is
not mandatory for local enterprises to take it prominent role in the Business Continuity
in terms of its evolutionary process?
up. However, legislative support is rare and
Institute. Can you explain how your
it is probably not the best way to encourage
relationship with the Institute began?
Originally, business continuity was adequate investment in the subject. Many
confined to the IT room and was focused companies seem to regard BCM as an Under the auspices of the now defunct
on recovering and restarting basic operating antidote to the threat of litigation which Survive! membership group, a few of us
systems. Gradually, the technical guys leads towards a rather simplistic ‘tick- formed a committee in 1992 to look into
extended their efforts to include the box’ approach. This means little or no the question of standards and qualifications
recovery of critical applications. Then, the intellectual effort is applied and thus there in order to raise the profile, and advance
business began to call for the recovery is no ambition to develop or extend the the level of professionalism, of the business
of service to the users. After that, it underlying tools and techniques. Simply continuity practitioner. We wanted to be on e
became clear that survival of the business going through the motions does not lead to a par with people like accountants, lawyers
extended well beyond the IT department. advancement. and auditors. Because I had previously
This resulted in the development of the On the other hand, I have noticed that written a code of practice for disaster
work area recovery concept which, in the subject is now being taught in many recovery professionals at the Computer
turn, led to the more holistic discipline of business colleges and universities. This Services Association, I took the lead in this
s
tockphoto.com/lorrainedark
business continuity. From there it was a suggests that a lot of smart young minds are group.
©i
  Continuity  January/February 2010
Cont Jan/Feb 2010_insides.indd 8 3/2/10 14:49:22
Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44