San Jose State University, College of Business Offers Disaster Preparedness Seminar for Bay Area Businesses

Business Wire, Oct 22, 2001

Business Editors

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 22, 2001

Full-Day Seminars Provide Planning and Implementation Strategies for

Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity

Dr. David Conrath, Dean of the College of Business at San Jose State University, today announced that Dr. Raja Iyer, an internationally recognized IT consultant, speaker, and educator, and an associate professor of Management Information Systems at the College of Business, will offer full-day disaster preparedness seminars in November.

This seminar series follows right on the heals of the Oct. 25 Business Recovery Managers Association (BRMA) meeting held for the first time on the SJSU campus as part of the efforts of Iyer and College of Business to service the community with relevant training and preparedness in light of recent events.

"Given the real possibility of new terrorist attacks in the U.S., in addition to the ever-present threats of earthquakes and power outages, it is absolutely essential that Silicon Valley leaders have at their disposal the current best-practice information and training on disaster preparedness, recovery and business continuity," advised Conrath. "Dr. Iyer is a renowned researcher and educator in this field, and we are privileged to be able to offer his services at this critical time."

The school will offer training seminars on Nov. 1 in San Jose and Nov. 8 in San Francisco. These seminars are geared to address critical issues for executives and senior management, IT and HR professionals, and those responsible for business continuity programs.

"Studies have shown that 73 percent of firms hit by a disaster end up closing; 43 percent immediately and 30 percent within a year," stated Iyer. "Most corporations have insurance, but this only covers between 30-60 percent of the cost of a disaster. Furthermore, we now face the potential for losses of entire offices and staffs, as well as the entire operation."

"Perhaps for Silicon Valley, a complete re-thinking is called for," added Iyer. "All Silicon Valley companies must now be prepared to keep their businesses running in the event of disruption, interruption and disaster. We must now examine the new threats faced by a company today, how much a company could lose, and how much a company wants to spend to manage this necessary planning. We have to consider people, buildings, supply chains, information, processes, products and revenue."

Iyer served on the Certification Board of the Disaster Recovery Institute International for six years, and has lectured worldwide on disaster recovery and business continuity planning. He has consulted with Fortune 1000 companies worldwide and has served on the editorial board of several professional and academic journals, including, most recently, the Disaster Resource Guide.

This Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity seminar will address what small, medium, and large businesses can do now to implement simple and cost-effective business continuity strategies that work for virtually any disruptive crisis or event. Solutions discussed will focus on the company's critical assets, namely its staff, systems and data. The seminar will also show how managers can appraise and evaluate their company's existing organizational controls, data center backup and recovery procedures, and procedures for recovery and resumption to minimize the impact of disasters. Iyer will also discuss best-practice strategies for developing high-impact disaster recovery plans.

The seminar will be offered in a full-day format as follows:

Event Date    Location                  Time                      Cost

Nov. 1        San Jose, Rose Orchard    Full-Day - 8:30AM to      $495
                                        5:30PM
Nov. 8        San Francisco State       Full-Day - 8:30AM to      $495
              Campus                    5:30PM

Note: Seminars include all materials and lunch.

San Jose State University, College of Business provides corporate Silicon Valley with "real-time" and "real-need" education and preparation. It is the mission of SJSU College of Business to be the institution of opportunity, providing innovative business education and applied research for the Silicon Valley region. For more information and to register for this seminar, please visit: www.eventable.com/cob or call Emi Tuvey at 408/557-6839; etuvey@trestria.com.