Abstract:
The use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is on the increase and
encompasses nearly the entire business process of Financi~d Industry. In this industry the
rising competition and customer expectations have compelled management to implement
and continuously upgrade scalable ICT practice and solutions. The range of financial
services combined with the complexity of integrated ICI enabled deli\ery mechanisms
require comprehensive partnership to be forged between hnancial Organisations and ICT
solution providers, especially with regards to Business Continuity & Crisis Management
(BCCM).
An effective BCCM model guarantees information mailability and plays a vital role in
ensuring an organization's survivability to run their business on 24*7. Such a model is
critical as it will also provide reliable assurance on ensuring continuity of critical
business functions in the event of crisis or disasters. Despite its importance, there has
been no much research done to identify the current status of BCCM in Financial
Organizations in Sri Lanka. This paper focuses on evaluating current status of BCCM in
large scale financial information systems in Sri Lanka.
Disaster tolerance, Disaster recovery planning, Digital systems security and Application
Availability have been identified as the main four factors in BCCM. A questionnaire was
developed and administered among total number of 100 executive levels and above staff
members from financial industry to gather information related to the above four factors.
The survey results indicate that 36°·() of executive management aware or im olves in
BCCM programs. But only 6% of them has valid BCCM programs and rest of the
organizations do not have acceptable BCCM program in place. 48% of the respondents
stated that their organizations have no BCCM leadership and they are unable to ans\ver
the questions. Majority of managers (53<Yo) believe Backup/Restore policy is the BCCM.
One (1) out of Four ( 4) organizations has a Business Continuity Management (BCM) or
BCCM in place against crisis or any kind of business functions discontinuity events. 17%
of survey participants only kmms their organisation has a BCCM and only 29% of
mam~ers have BCCM education in their organi/ation. Research reveals that a lot of Sri
Lankan businesses, especially financial industry, is yet to consider systematically about
BCCM and uncertainties in their environments.
