Ken Simpson is a Business Continuity professional working out of Canberra, Australia for The VR Group. Although his blog Contemplating … is a fairly new addition to the blogosphere, he regularly posts on topics that should interest us all. I especially appreciate the time Ken has taken to comment here at the ABC blog. You can also follow Ken on twitter at @simpsonkd and he also has a comprehensive linkedin profile.
As I will try to do in each Blogosphere Focus I carried out a brief interview with Ken.
How did you get started in the industry?
I began in IT in a mainframe data centre (back in 1973). A few years later, as Data Centre Manager I inherited this new thing called Disaster Recovery Planning. I guess the scars and identification marks from that experience just kept me expanding and exploring in the discipline.
I have done other things over the years, but keep coming back. Have been working exclusively in the BC field since 2000.
What is your most important aspect of the work you do?
Challenging people’s perceptions about what they are trying to do. I have been working in this field for a long time, and am still very passionate about doing it justice, rather than “tick box” and compliance-driven outcomes.
Getting people to think about why they are really doing this, and to see Senior Executives fully committed, focussed and interacting in a realistic simulation exercise – that is what is important.
How do you think business continuity will develop over the next 5 years?
There is a risk that it will become more tick-box oriented as the current trend towards “management systems” standards continue. These will drive the process to be repeatable and generic, rather than to assess the true capability being delivered.
What was the biggest lesson you’ve learned during your years in the industry?
Too many to list! Perhaps the biggest was actually having to deal with a disaster and the subsequent recovery of the organisation. Did not open a single book/binder – in fact we did not have any documented plans in place at the time.
Confirmed what I had been starting to notice up to that point, that the power and capability is in the people, and has influenced my approaches ever since.
I would like to thank Ken for taking the time to be interviewed and hope that you take the time to visit the Contemplating … Blog. If you think your own blog should be profiled here, then please feel free to email me at paul@agilecontinuity.org
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