The Business Continuity Institute (BCI) has released its first Technology in Resilience Report. It covers the state of the market; and what are the drivers and barriers to organisations adopting tech such as cloud storage, drones, and predictive analytics and AI for resilience purposes.
Near all of those responding to a BCI survey said that they have incorporated new technologies into their workplaces. The top five technologies receiving most investment are: cloud, virtual training and exercising, predictive analytics, Internet of Things (IoT), and user experience personification. As for emerging tech, augmented reality, user experience personification, and drones have seen a significant rise in deployment over the past four years. Each of these has a specific use for resilience, the report argued, and, as these technologies mature further, their use is likely to increase over the next five years, the report predicted.
Some BC managers are reaping benefits from AI, the report stated. AI is helping resilience professionals to improve the risk assessment process, to bring faster and better decision making, to aid the sourcing and aggregation of information, and improving controls management. Predicative analytics is an area which most are approaching with caution: computer generated reasoning (such as that provided by ChatGPT) is an area where most of those in the survey say they feel uncomfortable, not just from a standpoint of the integrity of the information, but in terms of ethics.
Tech is in use for training, the report found; just over one in four of those in the survey still carry out all training in a classroom setting, while most adopt some kind of virtual platform for training purposes. Some of the new techniques for virtual exercising (using augmented or virtual reality) are seeing more take-up. For senior managers, for example, a carefully crafted, impactful 30-minute simulation can entice them to engage, and with willingness to take time away from their day-to-day work, the report suggested.
The case is made for tech; that in a post-covid world, the workplace has seen drastic change to hybrid and virtual working patterns, making technology key; knowledge sharing becomes increasingly important and has to be embedded into the design and use of technology, the report stressed, to help to reduce any “information silo” culture.
You can download the 80-page report by registering on the BCI website; it’s free. Visit https://www.thebci.org/.
The report was launched last week with a webinar, chaired by Rachael Elliott, Head of Thought Leadership, at the BCI; with Terry Downing – Head of Operational Resilience, Mastercard; Leon Israel – Director of Operations, at the report sponsor, iluminr, a platform; and Christopher Glennie – Global Head of Business Continuity, Arm Ltd.
Rachael Elliott said: “The findings from the report clearly demonstrate that COVID-19 has moved technology from being a ‘nice to have’ in resilience settings, to one which is quickly becoming the enabler of resilience in organizations. When compared to the BCI Disruptive Technologies Report 2019, artificial intelligence and drone use within resilience settings has grown by 550 per cent and 236pc, respectively, showing just how fast the use of new technologies is rising within organizations. There are still concerns around cyber resilience and data security, but most resilience professionals are embracing the changes: more than four in ten would like to see some degree of automation within the BIA process, something that was seldom mentioned in conversations only four years ago.”
Joshua Shields, founder and CEO, iluminr, added: “In the face of rapid and disruptive change, technology has emerged as a critical enabler of resilience. This Technology in Resilience Report underscores the pivotal role of technology in empowering organizations to proactively identify vulnerabilities, bring training and exercising programmes to life, foster agility, and enable greater adaptability through continuous learning and improvement.
“As we look to the future, emerging technologies such as AI, augmented reality, and blockchain will play an even larger role in building resilience. It is crucial for organizations to have a strategic approach to technology adoption in resilience, as it can greatly impact their ability to proactively navigate change and thrive in today’s dynamic business environment.”
Photo by Mark Rowe; street art, Camden Town, north London.
