This half-day conference series, sponsored by The Collaborative for Disaster Mitigation and the City of San Jose, Office of Emergency Services, is designed to provide a forum for information acquisition and exchange among industry professionals involved in Business Continuity Planning – a very important aspect of mitigation because it is only by preparing and planning for unexpected interruptions that continuity can be maintained.

The subject of Business Continuity Planning is extremely broad and covers a wide spectrum of topics. Regardless of the nature of the interruption, or the hazard – natural and otherwise, that causes the interruption, the approach to planning for business continuity is based on sound principles.

CDM has invited experts in Business Continuity Planning, especially those who are working at businesses and industries in the Greater Silicon Valley area, as speakers. In this manner, the information available for participants will be relevant to the conditions of our region.

Another objective of this conference series is to address the Business Continuity Planning needs of the smaller businesses in the Silicon Valley area. Small businesses are generally the suppliers for the larger businesses. As such, the vulnerability of small businesses to business interruptions can have adverse effects on the ability of the larger corporations to be able to continue their business and manufacturing operations.

Networking among professionals is also important, and this conference series provides a venue for Business Continuity Planning professionals to get to know not just their counterparts at other companies, but also their counterparts in the public sector. In this way the public and private sectors can work together towards planning for, and maintaining, business continuity.