NEWS : north america,
JUNE 2008

Community resilience: the next stage in business continuity thinking?
A comment by David Honour, editor, Continuity Central.
Read article
•Date: 27th June 2008• Region: World •Type: Article •Topic: BC general
Rate this article or make a comment - click here

Roche introduces program to facilitate corporate pandemic stockpiling of Tamiflu
Offers businesses new flexibility for pandemic planning.
Read article
•Date: 27th June 2008• Region: US •Type: Article •Topic: Pandemic planning
Rate this article or make a comment - click here

New disaster recovery facility opened in McClellan, CA
Quest's new Business Resumption Center offers both work-area and data recovery space.
Read article
•Date: 27th June 2008• Region: US •Type: Article •Topic: Recovery facilities
Rate this article or make a comment - click here

Recovery Solutions provides mobile banks after natural disaster invocation
Contributes to First State Bank business continuity success story.
Read article
•Date: 26th June 2008• Region: US •Type: Article •Topic: Recovery facilities
Rate this article or make a comment - click here

New Dell services simplify storage management and data protection
Dell has introduced new infrastructure consulting services to help US organizations of all sizes improve their storage management and data protection, enable effective disaster recovery procedures and implementation of backup recovery processes. These services will help companies better manage traditional data and the new and rapidly growing digital file content created by the increasing adoption of Web 2.0 technologies in business. Read press release.
•Date: 26th June 2008• Region:US •Type: Briefing •Topic: BC markets
Rate this article or make a comment - click here

US disaster declarations
Major disaster: Illinois
FEMA has announced that federal disaster aid has been made available for Illinois to supplement state and local recovery efforts in the area struck by severe storms and flooding during the period of June 1, 2008 and continuing. http://www.fema.gov/news/event.fema?id=10107

Major disaster: Minnesota
FEMA has announced that federal disaster aid has been made available for Minnesota to supplement state and local recovery efforts in the areas struck by severe storms and flooding beginning on June 7, 2008 and continuing. http://www.fema.gov/news/event.fema?id=10127
•Date: 26th June 2008• Region:US •Type: Briefing •Topic: DR general
Rate this article or make a comment - click here

Scientific assessment captures effects of a changing climate on extreme weather events in North America
Droughts, heavy downpours, excessive heat, and intense hurricanes are likely to become more commonplace.
Read article
•Date: 24th June 2008• Region: N.America •Type: Article •Topic: DR general
Rate this article or make a comment - click here

HP launches data deduplication solutions
HP claims that the new solutions will increase disk utilization by up to 50 times to deliver scalable solutions that reduce storage costs and protect business critical data.
Read article
•Date: 24th June 2008• Region: US/World •Type: Article •Topic: IT continuity
Rate this article or make a comment - click here

Major disaster declared for Nebraska
FEMA has announced that federal disaster aid has been made available for Nebraska to supplement state and local recovery efforts in the area struck by severe storms, tornadoes and flooding during the period of May 22, 2008. Willie G. Nunn has been named as the federal coordinating officer for federal recovery operations in the affected area. http://www.fema.gov/news/event.fema?id=10067
•Date: 24th June 2008• Region: N.America •Type: Briefing •Topic: DR general
Rate this article or make a comment - click here

FEMA to pilot Citizen Corps National Emergency Technology Guard (NET Guard) program
NET Guard teams will be comprised of volunteers with information technology and communications expertise to assist States and localities in responding to and recovering from incidents that cause significant damage or destruction to IT and communications infrastructure.
Read article
•Date: 20th June 2008• Region: US •Type: Article •Topic: IT continuity
Rate this article or make a comment - click here

Major disaster declared for West Virginia
FEMA has announced that federal disaster aid has been made available for the state of West Virginia to help people and communities recover from the effects of severe storms, tornadoes, flooding, mudslides, and landslides during the period of June 3-7, 2008. Ed Smith was named as the federal coordinating officer for federal recovery operations in the affected area. http://www.fema.gov/news/event.fema?id=10047
•Date: 20th June 2008• Region:US •Type: Briefing •Topic: DR general
Rate this article or make a comment - click here

New business continuity & disaster recovery consulting firm opens in Birmingham, AL
Stuart Murray, a former DR/BCP project manager with Comdisco, Inc., has opened Strategic Recovery Solutions (SRS) to provide a range of business continuity and disaster recovery consulting services. Basing the business in the Birmingham, AL, area allows SRS to respond more quickly and efficiently to customers in the Gulf Coast region of the US, while being able to serve customers in other regions.http://www.strategicrecovery.biz
•Date: 20th June 2008• Region:US •Type: Briefing •Topic: BC markets
Rate this article or make a comment - click here

Midwest floods: disaster recovery resources and news
Activities related to flooding in the US Midwest are starting to move from the emergency response phase into the disaster recovery phase. This update page provides helpful information and links.
Read article
•Date: 19th June 2008• Region:US •Type: Article •Topic: DR general
Rate this article or make a comment - click here

New study demonstrates that lack of pandemic planning will affect the bottom line
‘Making a case for investing in pandemic preparedness.’
Read article
•Date: 19th June 2008• Region: NA/World •Type: Article •Topic: Pandemic planning
Rate this article or make a comment - click here

Softbank Telecom and Bay Microsystems deploy multi-site disaster recovery solution for virtual machines
Bay Microsystems, Inc. has announced that Softbank Telecom has deployed Bay Microsystems’ ABEx2020 Multi-Service Transport Gateway to deliver high-performance carrier Infiniband services as part of its wide area virtualization infrastructure and to demonstrate its automated multi-site disaster recovery solution. Read press release
•Date: 19th June 2008• Region: US/World •Type: Briefing •Topic: IT continuity
Rate this article or make a comment - click here

HP launches ‘world’s first blade server for 24/7 mission critical computing’
High availability, fault-tolerant blade server.
Read article
•Date: 17th June 2008• Region: US/World •Type: Article •Topic: IT continuity
Rate this article or make a comment - click here

FEMA update on Midwest floods response
FEMA has published an update on federal response to support people and businesses impacted by floods in Iowa, Indiana, Missouri, Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota, Kansas, Nebraska and South Dakota. More than 11 million residents in these states could be affected by flooding and other weather-related events. Read the update
•Date: 17th June 2008• Region: US •Type: Briefing •Topic: DR general
Rate this article or make a comment - click here

US major disaster declarations
- Wisconsin
FEMA has announced that federal disaster aid has been made available for the state of Wisconsin to help people and communities recover from the effects of severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding beginning on June 5, 2008, and continuing. Dolph A. Diemont has been named as the federal coordinating officer for federal recovery operations in the affected area. http://www.fema.gov/news/event.fema?id=10028

- Montana
FEMA has announced that federal disaster aid has been made available for Montana to supplement state and local recovery efforts in the area struck by a severe winter storm during the period of May 1-2, 2008. Tony Russell has been named as the federal coordinating officer for federal recovery operations in the affected area. http://www.fema.gov/news/event.fema?id=10027
•Date: 17th June 2008• Region: US •Type: Briefing •Topic: DR general
Rate this article or make a comment - click here

GAO releases two reports into US disaster preparedness
FEMA and DHS planning under the spotlight.
Read article
•Date: 12th June 2008• Region: US •Type: Article •Topic: Emergency planning
Rate this article or make a comment - click here

The 2008 Data Breach Investigations Report
Contrary to popular wisdom a new survey finds that most data breaches are caused by external rather than internal sources.
Read article
•Date: 12th June 2008• Region: US/World •Type: Article •Topic: ISM
Rate this article or make a comment - click here

RMS makes expert catastrophe analysis publicly available
Risk Management Solutions has launched an initiative to keep businesses informed of the impact of catastrophic events by making its expert analysis publicly available on its website. The RMS Cat Updates service - which has long provided the insurance industry with damage summaries and loss reports following significant natural or man-made catastrophes - applies expert scientific analysis to data from a wide range of sources. Information is posted within hours of a catastrophe occurring and is updated as the situation unfolds. The service, launched in time for the US hurricane season, is now accessible at www.rms.com/Catastrophe/Catupdates
•Date: 12th June 2008• Region: US/World •Type: Briefing •Topic: DR general
Rate this article or make a comment - click here

Protecting critical data from loss or theft
It’s a matter of due diligence says Dr. Jim Kennedy.
Read article
•Date: 11th June 2008• Region: US/World •Type: Article •Topic: ISM
Rate this article or make a comment - click here

Senate committee urges DHS to implement a modern emergency alert system
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee writes to Michael Chertoff.
Read article
•Date: 10th June 2008• Region: US •Type: Article •Topic: Emergency planning
Rate this article or make a comment - click here

Major disaster declared for Indiana
FEMA has announced that federal disaster aid has been made available for Indiana to supplement state and local recovery efforts in the area struck by severe storms and flooding beginning on June 6, 2008, and continuing. FEMA Administrator David Paulison named Michael H. Smith as the federal coordinating officer for federal recovery operations in the affected area. http://www.fema.gov/news/event.fema?id=9987
•Date: 10th June 2008• Region: US •Type: Briefing •Topic: DR general
Rate this article or make a comment - click here

SBA appoints new chief of Executive Office of Disaster Strategic Planning and Operations
Retired Rear Admiral Steven G. Smith has been hired by the US Small Business Administration to oversee the newly created Executive Office of Disaster Strategic Planning and Operations (EODSPO). The EODSPO will continue to develop and implement institutional changes to SBA's disaster assistance program that will enable the agency to provide timely, effective assistance to disaster victims. http://www.sba.gov
•Date: 10th June 2008• Region: US •Type: Briefing •Topic: DR general
Rate this article or make a comment - click here

Leveraging ITIL to improve business continuity and availability
John Bennett explains the benefits which can be achieved for both business continuity and availability through the application of ITIL best practices.
Read article
•Date: 6th June 2008• Region: US/World •Type: Article •Topic: IT Continuity
Rate this article or make a comment - click here

Scientists report new way to protect computer networks from Internet worms
The method automatically detects within minutes when an Internet worm has infected a computer network
Read article
•Date: 6th June 2008• Region:US/ World •Type: Article •Topic: ISM
Rate this article or make a comment - click here

Governor Schwarzenegger awards $2 Million for telephone emergency notification systems
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has awarded $2 million in funding to help implement a statewide alert and warning initiative and improve local emergency response capabilities. There are 17 counties in California without telephone emergency notification systems, and each is receiving funding to purchase and install such systems.
•Date: 6th June 2008• Region:US •Type: Briefing
Rate this article or make a comment - click here

Bob Brennan elected chief executive officer of Iron Mountain
Iron Mountain has announced that its board of directors elected Bob Brennan, 48, president and chief executive officer, making official the elevation first announced in February 2008. He succeeds Richard Reese, who after serving 27 years as CEO, now assumes the new full-time role of executive chairman of the board. Brennan, Iron Mountain's president and chief operating officer since December 2005, was also elected today to the company's board of directors at its annual meeting of stockholders.
•Date: 6th June 2008• Region: US •Type: Briefing •Topic: BC markets
Rate this article or make a comment - click here

NextPhase adds business continuity services to portfolio
Hybrid wired/wireless connectivity solutions provide network diversity, redundancy, load balancing and failover capabilities.
Read article
•Date: 4th June 2008• Region: US •Type: Article •Topic: IT continuity
Rate this article or make a comment - click here

Rontal announces marketing agreement with T&M Protection Resources for North American market
Israel-based Rontal Applications Ltd., a developer and provider of innovative incident management and business continuity systems, has announced a marketing agreement with T&M Protection Resources, a provider of security systems and services. Under the terms of the agreement, Rontal USA and T&M Protection Resources will jointly market Rontal’s advanced incident management system, SimGuard. www.rontal.com
•Date: 4th June 2008• Region: US •Type: Briefing •Topic: BC markets
Rate this article or make a comment - click here

AT&T 2008 Business Continuity Study
AT&T has published the results of its latest annual survey of business continuity practices in US organizations.
Read article
•Date: 3rd June 2008• Region: US •Type: Article •Topic: BC statistics
Rate this article or make a comment - click here

Major disaster declared for Nebraska
FEMA has announced that federal disaster aid has been made available for Nebraska to supplement state and local recovery efforts in the area struck by severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding during the period of April 23-26, 2008. Thomas A. Hall has been named as the federal coordinating officer for federal recovery operations in the affected area. http://www.fema.gov/news/event.fema?id=9906
•Date: 3rd June 2008• Region: US •Type: Briefing •Topic: DR general
Rate this article or make a comment - click here

NFPA committee looking for assistance
The NFPA Committee on Emergency Services Organization Risk
Management is seeking individuals to help with its work. This committee is responsible for NFPA 1201, Standard for Providing Emergency Services to the Public and NFPA 1250, Recommended Practice in Emergency Service
Organization Risk Management. http://www.nfpa.org
•Date: 3rd June 2008• Region: US •Type: Briefing
Rate this article or make a comment - click here

Norwich University launches online Master of Science in Business Continuity Management degree course
The first master’s degree in the United States focused solely on business continuity.
Read article
•Date: 30th May 2008• Region: US •Type: Article •Topic: Courses and events
Rate this article or make a comment - click here

Small business disaster planning resource now available in Spanish
The US Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) has announced that its popular ‘Open for Business’ disaster planning toolkit is now available in Spanish.
Read article
•Date: 30th May 2008• Region: US •Type: Article •Topic: DR general
Rate this article or make a comment - click here

Major disaster declared for Mississippi
FEMA has announced that federal disaster aid has been made available for Mississippi to supplement state and local recovery efforts in the area struck by severe storms and tornadoes on April 4, 2008. Michael L. Parker has been named as the federal coordinating officer for federal recovery operations in the affected area.
http://www.fema.gov/news/event.fema?id=9886
•Date: 30th May 2008• Region: US •Type: Briefing •Topic: DR general
Rate this article or make a comment - click here

Study identifies key success factors for IT governance, risk and compliance management
Business continuity planning and management found to be an important aspect of successful organizations.
Read article
•Date: 29th May 2008• Region: US/World •Type: Article •Topic: Operational risk
Rate this article or make a comment - click here

FEMA makes $27.2 million available for preparedness training initiatives
Applications can be received no later than 8:00 p.m. EST June 9, 2008.
Read article
•Date: 29th May 2008• Region: US •Type: Article •Topic: Emergency planning
Rate this article or make a comment - click here

40 percent of US small businesses not prepared for disasters
Office Depot survey reveals that time and perceived expense are the biggest barriers to adequate preparation.
Read article
•Date: 28th May 2008• Region: US •Type: Article •Topic: BC statistics
Rate this article or make a comment - click here

MORE MAY NEWS

North American news indexes: