Risk is something that dominates our lives but is sometimes hard to define and quantify – not least because it can mean anything from an injury resulting from a fall, going bankrupt the possibility of mass flooding caused by global warming, child sexual exploitation or a terrorist attack.

Having begun his career in disaster recovery at IBM in the 1970s, Jim Burtles has some 40 years’ experience in the business continuity sector. In 1994 he helped to found the original Business Continuity Institute. His practical experience includes hands-on recovery work with victims of traumatic events such as explosions, earthquakes, storms, and fires.

The most significant threats to the global business supply chain have been identified in a new industry report, with extreme weather and cargo theft topping the list. BSI's latest global supply chain intelligence report reveals the supply chain risks that caused the most damage to businesses in the last year, as well as predictions of the biggest threats in 2016.

Congratulations to all our finalists in this year's Business Continuity Awards, celebrating the very best in your sector. Winners will be announced at a gala dinner and awards presentation, during an evening of networking with hundreds of the business continuity and resilience professionals. Hosted by comedian Ed Byrne, the 2016 Awards will be a night to remember. This year’s finalists are…

Sungard Availability Services has announced its latest £4million investment across the organisation’s Workplace Recovery service locations, aimed at updating hardware. The upcoming refresh is Sungard AS’ most advanced so far, with each machine featuring Intel’s Quad core Itanium i7-6700 processor and the Q170 Skylake chipset.

New research from the Cloud Industry Forum (CIF) suggests a lack of confidence in disaster recovery and backup capabilities. The CIF’s survey asked participants to identify which applications represented the biggest risk to their business in the event of failure. Disaster recovery and data backup services were ranked the highest priority amongst those surveyed.

The BCI released its fifth Horizon Scan report today – the association’s annual analysis of the top threats as perceived by business continuity managers. Conducted with the British Standards Institution, this year’s findings reveal the business preparedness of about 600 organisations globally, and shows cyber attack as the greatest concern for the majority (85%) of business continuity managers. Shifting up the list from third last year, data breach was next, worrying about 80% of respondents. These are not surprising conclusions, given the amount of damage a cyber attack or data breach can do. Neither is it a shock to see that supply chain disruption remains in the top ten (even if it fell two places from fifth last year to seventh this year).

There is just one week until the deadline for entries for this year’s Business Continuity Awards. Stand out against the competition and submit an entry in one of our 20 categories – showcasing your best people, products and projects.

The risk landscape for businesses is changing substantially, according to the annual Allianz Risk Barometer, released today. While businesses are less concerned about the impact of traditional industrial risks such as natural catastrophes or fire, Allianz’s study shows they are increasingly worried about the impact of other disruptive events, fierce competition in their markets and cyber incidents.

We are delighted to announce that the Business Continuity Awards 2016 are open for entries. Now in its 18th year, the awards recognise those business continuity, security, resilience and risk professionals whose innovative strategies and industry savvy make them stand out above the rest.

Business interruption now typically accounts for a much higher proportion of the overall loss than was the case 10 years ago, according to data from Allianz. The average large BI property insurance claim is now in excess of €2m (€2.2m: US $2.4m), which is 36% higher than the corresponding average property damage claim of just over €1.6m.

Despite multiple warnings about the consequences of failing to have a robust disaster recovery plan in place, a new study suggests that only about a third of companies test their disaster recovery plans on a regular basis. Of the sample surveyed by Kroll Ontrack across the UK and Germany, only 9% of companies said they test their plans every one to five months and another 29% every six to 12 months.

The UK Defence Club, provider of FD&D (legal costs) insurance to the maritime industry, has announced that there will be no change to its premiums for the 2016 policy year, the second consecutive zero premium increase. The organisation, managed by Thomas Miller, has cited its financial strength as enabling it to freeze premiums, and the Club will also continue its Continuity Credits loyalty scheme, rewarding Members with premium reductions.

Ineffective management of supply chains is leaving organisations open to severe disruptions and the high financial costs incurred as a result. Nearly one in ten organisations are not aware of who their key suppliers are, leaving them open to severe disruption as they are unable to manage their supply chain effectively. This is according to a report published this week by the Business Continuity Institute.

New research suggests highlights some worrying trends in business continuity among SMEs. The study shows that just 27% of small businesses have a business continuity plan in place, compared to 68% of medium organisations and 75% of large organisations. Worse still, 73% of SMEs questioned admitted they had not tested their plan in the last 12 months, with nearly half not planning to within the next year.