3-Day Course: Certification in IT Business Continuity Management (CITBCM)

As businesses grow rapidly, their critical services tend to lean more heavily on technology – like complex IT systems and telecommunication networks, which automate and support their daily operations. It is no surprise that IT has become today’s key enabler for local and regional businesses, allowing for a convenient and efficient link between them and their (global) customer base.

These critical IT servers, telecommunication network equipment and data are hosted and maintained in data centres, which need to be resilient against all forms of potential hazards so as to ensure the continuity of these critical services.

The course has identified three (3) important components which practitioners often manage independently – where it is highly likely that their focus is aligned more heavily towards a single component without complementing or addressing the concerns of the other two. This course encompasses these 3 components for professionals. The 3 components are Business Continuity Management (BCM), IT Disaster Recovery (ITDR) and Data Centre Management (DCIM).

With the increasingly volatile nature of external threats such as terrorism and floods, system outages have unfortunately become a common occurrence – and at risk are crucial elements of Data centres that host new technologies like high power density servers as well as high power and cooling loads. It has certainly become essential for us to have a more comprehensive and holistic business continuity plan that encompasses the integration of ITDR, DCM and BCM as a single competency.

This course will equip professionals with skills and competencies, not just in IT or BCM, but a combination of the three (3) domain knowledge areas in ITDR, DCM and BCM. This combination will ensure the holistic resiliency of the critical business functions with a strong foundation that builds towards the better management of IT resiliency and the infrastructure of data centres. CITBCM also provides professionals with a holistic outlook – using proper IT disaster recovery planning and management through a business perspective.

Specifically, this course focuses on building your capability and credential to develop skills to build an effective and holistic business continuity management for the organisation in these professional competency practices:

1. Programme Management
2. Business Impact Analysis
3. Risk Analysis
4. Business Continuity Strategy
5. Crisis Management, Communications & Social Media
6. Business Continuity Planning & Exercises
7. Continual Improvement

This course is designed for all levels of executives from all backgrounds and those who have responsibilities in holistic business continuity management, data centre, IT disaster recovery, risk management and compliances in meeting industry and regulatory compliances. This course is suitable for participants who wish to acquire strong knowledge, techniques and competence skills for effective risk analysis, impact analysis, strategies and continuity & resiliency practice in their organisation. Participants who are also responsible for managing a functional area, division, department, team or organisation at the middle and senior management, including those responsible for the daily business-as-usual, production, sales, marketing, human capital, information technology, finance and development.

Module 1: Programme Management

• What is Programme Management?
• Scope of BCM
• BCM Policy
• Minimum Business Continuity Objective
• BCM Organisation Structure
• People
• Resources
• Processes and documentations

Module 2: Business Impact Analysis (BIA)

• What is BIA?
• Designing of BIA Questionnaires
• Different categories of Impact Ratings
• Methodology of information gathering
• Identify critical services
• Identify critical data centre components
• Identify critical ICT systems, applications and network communications
• Determine Recovery Time Objective (RTO)
• Determine Recovery Point Objective (RPO)
• Identify Vital Records and Grab List

Module 3: Risk Analysis

• What is Risk Analysis?
• Establish risk context
• Identify areas of risks
• Risk analysis and evaluation
• Treating Risks – Concept of Risk Treatment
• Design of Questionnaires
• Methodology of information gathering

Module 4: Business Continuity Strategy

• What is Business Continuity Strategy?
• Considerations for Strategies, such as facilities, work sites, data centre, ICT systems, Application Systems, Network Communications and Data Storage
• Determine Strategy Context
• Strategies considerations
• Strategy formulation and selection criteria
• Strategy categories – Reduce Risk, Respond, Recover & Resume, Restore & Return
• Establish Emergency Operations Centre
• Establish Incident Response Management

Module 5: Crisis Management, Communication and Social Media Management

• Key elements of effective crisis management
• Managing traditional media channels
• Social media in crisis communication
• Post crisis communication

Module 6: Business Continuity Planning & Exercises

• What is planning and exercises?
• Who should be involved in planning and exercising?
• Considerations for resources for planning and exercising?
• Scope of planning and exercising
• Planning for documenting procedures
• Training and awareness education
• Testing and exercising of plans

Module 7: Continual Improvement

• Audit, Review for continual improvement
• Considerations for resources for audit, review and continual improvement
• Scope of audit, review and continual improvement
• Periodic review
• Continuous trainings (competency – ICT Resilience, Data Centre and Business Continuity Management)

This course is classroom-led, participant-centred with inject-based workshop approach with relevant case studies.

Wong Tew Kiat

CBCP, Fellow BCI, CITBCM(S), CITPM(S), COMIT(S), Fellow SCS

More than 30 years of experience and is equipped with excellent knowledge in Business Continuity Management (BCM), IT Disaster Recovery (DR), Data Centre (DC) Management, Pandemic Preparedness and Incident Response Management.

He is a Certified Business Continuity Professional (CBCP) since 1997, a Certification by the Disaster Recovery Institute International (USA) and Associate Fellow of the Business Continuity Institute (MBCI, UK) since 2005. He is also a Certified IT Project Manager, Senior (CITPM), Certified Outsourcing IT Manager, Senior (COMIT) and Certified IT BCM Manager, Senior (CITBCM) by the Singapore Computer Society (SCS), Singapore. He was the President for the Business Continuity Group, an industry chapter in SCS from 2005 – 2008 and 2010 – 2011. In addition, he chaired the CITBCM Resource Panel to develop the Body of Knowledge for the CITBCM.

He has been actively engaged in providing BCM consultancy, DC risk & resiliency workshops for the Ministries, government agencies and SMBs. He had also developed the Body of Knowledge for the CITBCM (Certification in IT BCM) Certification Course and is appointed by Singapore Computer Society as the authorised training provider for the CITBCM course.

Martin Garner

CITBCM(A), IOD, CDir, SID Member, Chief Examiner (SAICSA)

• IOD – Chartered Director Regional Ambassador for Singapore
• CDir – Chartered Director (UK) – Member Institute of Directors London (IOD)
• Member – Singapore Institute of Directors (SID)
• Member – Singapore Computer Society (SCS), CITBCM (Associate)
• Chief Examiner, Corporate Governance (SAICSA)
• SGX/SID Listed Company Directors (LCD) + Effective Board Leadership (EBL) Programmes
• Singapore Sports Council, Member – Volunteer Management and Communications Groups
• Senior Doping Control Officer – Anti-Doping Singapore (ADS)
• Lead Race Official for F1 Singapore, Australia and Korea
• Area Supervisor for Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon
• Member of the Golden Key National Honours Society

1. Trainees are required to apply for SCS Membership Subscription at https://www.scs.org.sg/membership prior to submitting their CITBCM Application documentation to the Certification Secretariat. Please contact Ms Evelyn Chan of Singapore Computer Society (SCS) at evelyn.chan@scs.org.sg for your Certification Assessment.  For assistance on SCS Membership Application, please contact SCS secretariat at Tel: 6226 2567 or email scs.secretariat@scs.org.sg
2. Trainees applying for the Certification in IT Business Continuity Management (Associate) or CITBCM (Associate) title are requested to submit their CITBCM Form BCM1, copies of highest educational qualification certificates and their Curriculum Vitae to the Certification Secretariat for assessment by the CITBCM Board of Assessors.
3. All personal information collected will be shared with Singapore Computer Society (SCS) for the purpose of certification. If you do not consent to this, please highlight to us during registration.
4. ORM would treat all personal information to be provided to Singapore Computer Society as confidential in compliance with the PDPA.