Some years ago, I wrote about my friends and colleagues Michael Miora and Stephen Cobb's incident management planning and training program, then called IMCD. Now Michael and Stephen Cobb’s brother, Michael Cobb, have updated the product and reduced the price all the way down to $99 per copy (10% of the original price). They have renamed this new version 3 as "IMCD Business Backup" to make it clearer that the software is an actual preparation and recovery tool, not just a planning tool. 

I spoke with Michael about the new version in early July. He explained that most of the functionality that is being highlighted in v3 actually existed in the previous versions but was not obvious to most users. In response to the perceived need, ContingenZ experts worked on bringing these aspects of the product to light and making them easier to use. The main improvement is to make it clear to users that IMCD Business Backup can help them prepare and maintain thorough documentation that will be invaluable in responding to business interruptions quickly and effectively.

IMCD Business Backup does not replace traditional backup programs; it augments them by offering a different way of storing identified important business information so the information is available even before systems are replaced, restored and reconfigured. Specifically, the program prompts the user to enter information about the business and to provide specific data. Data entry can be via keyboard, copy/paste, import (for Microsoft Access aficionados) and via inclusion of PDF files generated by other programs. The company even provides templates for use in importing information on its Web site. 

The business information provided to IMCD helps the product categorize and prioritize data. IMCD then generates PDF files containing the key information in a usable, easily sharable format: PDF files. These files are small enough, even for large organizations, to fit on inexpensive (and appropriately secured) thumb drives, to be e-mailed easily to team members, to be stored (securely) on handheld computers, or to be put on Web sites (behind good security).

These PDFs are the “anytime, anywhere, on any computer” elements of a good business-continuity plan. They are universal, readable by any computer, via the Web and on most handhelds. The documentation points out that IMCD Business Backup provides many valuable features that support critical business needs:

M. E. Kabay, PhD, CISSP-ISSMP, is Program Director of the Master of Science in Information Assurance program at Norwich University.