What are the pros and cons of ISO 22301 vs. NIST SP 800-34 for BCDR planning?

ISO 22301 is a great starting point if you are starting a Business Continuity Management Program or your company wants to self-audit to ensure alignment with global best practices. It does not tell you how to do BCM but gives you the fundamentals for what the program could look like, based on the input of global experts. It's helpful to understand best practices and align with businesses globally.

ISO 22301 is an international standard for Business Continuity Management Systems (BCMS), outlining requirements for organizations to manage continuity risks and develop BCDR plans. Following the PDCA cycle, ISO 22301 supports continuous improvement and strategic alignment in business continuity practices.

Comparison of ISO 22301 and NIST SP 800-34 for Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery planning ? ISO is comprehensive, globally applicable business continuity management framework with formal certification. ? NIST provides practical IT system guidance, focusing on U.S. federal requirements. ? ISO includes a formal certification process, enhancing credibility. ? NIST provides free, freely available guidance. ? ISO is suitable for organizations seeking internationally recognized standards. ? NIST is ideal for IT-focused guidance, especially in U.S. federal sector. ? ISO is complex due to certification process and extensive documentation. ? NIST is more cost-effective but may require additional frameworks.

This is a good base line for building a BCM program. However, it needs to be applied in the "context" of the organisation to meet their needs sufficiently. Alignment to this standard can often be a more easy route for smaller businesses wanting to have a foundation but without the cost and complexity of possessing the standard and following the external audit program.

ISO 22301 Pros and Cons: Pros: - Globally recognized, ensuring broad acceptance. - Comprehensive scope covering all BCM aspects. - Flexible for different organizational sizes and industries. Cons: - Can be costly for implementation and maintenance. - Complex standards may be challenging for smaller organizations. NIST SP 800-34 Pros and Cons: Pros: - Specifically tailored to IT systems, offering detailed IT-centric recovery guidelines. - Freely available, making it accessible to all organizations. - Provides a structured approach to IT contingency planning. Cons: - Primarily designed for U.S. federal agencies, which may limit its global applicability. - Focuses more on IT, less on broader business continuity aspects.

NIST SP 800-34 is a NIST publication guiding the development and execution of BCDR plans for federal information systems. It includes key elements like risk assessment, business impact analysis, recovery strategies, plan development, testing, training, and maintenance. Following a six-step process, SP 800-34 involves forming a planning team, conducting impact analysis, identifying controls, developing strategies, implementing the plan, and testing it.

In the US, there is no set standard or regulation for Business Continuity Management (Disaster Recovery is a subset of a robust BCM program). However, guidance provided by NIST is helpful. Of course, IT cannot conduct BCM in a vacuum and ideally, should work with the business groups to understand operational recovery. An AIA is not enough!

This is a easily to interpret standard that can be applied to most organisations. However, NIST tends to focus primarily on information security, so a business may need to avoid the risk of its focus on IT and consider the wider context of the business and its critical functions in order to have a comprehensive program. Therefore input from key stakeholders from other business areas may be necessary to ensure the above is avoided.

Problem with standards is they were initially written decades ago, the world, commercial, business world has moved on rapidly, and will continue to do so, and technology has also, even quicker!!!! To keep up standards should be reviewed “daily”, (i’m being flippant, but you get the idea), instead they “seem” to be reviewed every few years…in those “few” years, the business world has evolved many times!!! Just a thought!

ISO 22301 provides a comprehensive framework for business continuity management, offering international recognition and a risk-based approach. However, implementing ISO 22301 can be complex, costly, time-consuming, and open to interpretation. Organizations should weigh these factors carefully when considering adoption.

ISO 22301 offers global recognition, applicability to diverse organizations, and a comprehensive framework for business continuity management. It showcases commitment to resilience and quality, potentially enhancing competitiveness. However, implementation and maintenance can be costly and time-consuming, particularly for smaller entities. Extensive documentation requirements may pose challenges, and the standard lacks detailed technical guidance on BCDR aspects like data backup and cybersecurity.

Most businesses, even corporations, do not choose to certify to ISO 22301 because of the cost. It can provide a business advantage and limit the number of inquires received from customers or prospective customers because certification signals that a robust BCM is already in place and it can by-pass the requests to share business continuity plans. This is a benefit as the customer understands that your organization is following the standards set by ISO. As mentioned, getting certified is cost-prohibitive and time-consuming, both of which most organizations do not have. So, this is limiting the effectiveness of the standard. Instead, companies may self-audit or hire a contractor to conduct an analysis.

NIST SP 800-34 offers practical guidance that can be customized, structured steps, and aids in compliance with federal regulations for critical systems. However, its focus on federal systems may limit relevance to other organizations. It lacks a certification mechanism to validate BCDR effectiveness and does not cover organizational or cultural aspects of business continuity like leadership and communication.

Regardless of which program you choose to implement, having full support from the executive leadership in your organization is going to be key to the success of the BCPDR program implemented. Leveraging best practices from both policies will allow your organization to succeed on both the business recovery and the technical recovery in the event of a disruption. Beginning with a discussion on risk to your organization can help align leaders in identifying the critical business processes and technical recovery needs.

To choose and implement a Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery (BCDR) framework, start by assessing your organization's needs and selecting a framework that aligns with those needs. Customize the framework to fit your organization, define roles and responsibilities, develop comprehensive BCDR plans, and regularly test them. Provide training to employees, monitor and review your plans regularly, communicate effectively, and stay flexible to adapt to changing circumstances. By following these steps, you can effectively protect your organization and ensure resilience in the face of disruptions.

When choosing and implementing a BCDR framework, consider factors like organizational scope, stakeholder objectives, resources, and process maturity. Analyze risks and impacts, prioritize recovery objectives, evaluate framework options, align with IT strategy, involve stakeholders, and conduct regular testing. Update the plan to reflect environment, technology, and business changes for effective BCDR implementation.

BCDR is a vital component of a BCM program. However, the industry is evolving beyond the reactive planning and response to embrace business resilience, including operational resilience. That's where organizations are going to get the most value going forward.

ISO 22301 - Globally recognized, and suitable for all types of organizations, Certification against ISO 22301 is possible for organizations NIST SP 800-34 - Focuses specifically on IT disaster recovery, Primarily designed for U.S. federal agencies, Does not offer a certification process

Another element is that businesses are leveraging risk intelligence and management in ways not experience previously BCM and BCDR professionals should be incorporating not only identification of risk but a 360 understanding into their practice.