Countywide IT Programs - Business Continuity Program
The County of Orange Business Continuity (BC) Program is responsible for managing the identification of risks and their impact on critical business functions and the development of strategies and plans to mitigate those risks and ensure ongoing business operations in the event of a disruption. The program provides a framework for building organizational resilience and enabling the organization to survive the loss of part or all of its operational capabilities.
Business Continuity Planning is the process of developing and testing the internal operational arrangements and processes needed to maintain critical service delivery in the event of a disruptive incident. When executed, Business Continuity Plans allow organizations to continue serving customers by:
- Ensuring that people in critical jobs are available and have the processes, equipment, resources and facilities they need to provide essential services
- Bringing networks and critical systems and applications back into service in support of critical services (IT Disaster Recovery)
Business Continuity Plans support the Orange County Emergency Response and Recovery Plan (ERRP) but differ from the ERRP in that they focus on restoring Agency/Department internal operations rather than the larger external issues involved with coordinated emergency responses by state, counties, cities, special districts and local agencies
Major disruptive incidents (e.g., large earthquake, regional flooding) resulting in severe impacts on County services will be managed via the County Emergency Management Bureau (EMB) and the ERRP. In such cases, agency/department response will need to address both internal operations and the requirements for external response as outlined by the ERRP and the OC Recovery Plan and determined by the Director of Emergency Services (DES), the CEO and the Board of Supervisors.
Business Continuity Goals
FY 2011-12
- Develop formal Program Policy
- Develop formal Strategic Plan
- Establish, review and document all agency/department critical process recovery strategies
- Establish agency/department internal testing and plan maintenance schedules
FY 2012-13
- Initiate formal business process and IT recovery test exercises
- Establish and integrate program/plan maintenance and audit methodology
- Review/refresh Risk Analysis
- Review/refresh Business Impact Analysis (BIA)
- Establish standardized training and communications
