This glossary is from Disaster Recovery Journal and is an initiative of the Editorial Advisory Board of DRJ. This committee of industry experts solicits the input of business continuity professionals on an ongoing basis and incorporates the feedback into its consideration of industry terms and definitions.
| Term | Definition |
| ABCI | Associate Business Continuity Institute. A professional certification granted by the Business Continuity Institute for business continuity practitioners who are currently working in business continuity management but do not yet have sufficient experience to qualify for the MBCI or SBCI designation. |
| ABCP | Associate Business Continuity Professional. The ABCP level is designed for individuals with less than two years of Continuity Mgmt experience, but who have minimum knowledge in continuity management, and have passed the qualifying exam. |
| Alert | Notification that a potential disaster situation is imminent exists or has occurred; usually includes a directive for personnel. To stand by for possible activation |
| Alternate Site | An alternate operating location to be used by business functions when the primary facilities are inaccessible. 1) Another location, computer center or work area designated for recovery. 2) Location, other than the main facility, that can be used to conduct business functions. 3) A location, other than the normal facility, used to process data and/or conduct critical business functions in the event of a disaster. |
| Alternate Work Area | Recovery environment complete with necessary infrastructure (desk, telephone, workstation, and associated hardware and equipment, communications, etc) |
| Annual Loss Exposure/Expectancy (ALE) | A risk management method of calculating loss based on a value and level of frequency. |
| Application Recovery | The component of Disaster Recovery that deals specifically with the restoration of business system software and data after the processing platform has been restored or replaced. |
| Assembly Area | The designated area at which employees, visitors, and contractors assemble if evacuated from their building/site. |
| Asset | An item of property and/or component of a business activity/process owned by an organization. There are three types of assets: physical assets (e.g. buildings and equipment); financial assets (e.g. currency, bank deposits and shares) and non-tangible assets (e.g. goodwill, reputation) |
| Backlog | a) The amount of work that accumulates when a system or process is unavailable for a long period of time. This work needs to be processed once the system or process is available and may take a considerable amount of time to process. b) A situation whereby a backlog of work requires more time to action than is available through normal working patterns. In extreme circumstances, the backlog may become so marked that the backlog cannot be cleared. |
| Backup (Data) | A process by which data, electronic or paper-based, is copied in some form so as to be available and used if the original data from which it originated is lost, destroyed or corrupted. |
| Backup Generator | An independent source of power, usually fueled by diesel or natural gas. |
| Business Continuity | A program which develops, exercises and maintains plans to enable the organization to:-respond to a disruption with minimum harm to life and resources;-recover, resume and restore functions within time frames which ensure continuing viability; and-provide crisis communications to all stakeholders. Note: the program and its outputs: are based upon risk evaluation and impact assessment; and require management support, staff training and coordination with external agencies. |
-coordination with external agencies.
Notes: Assessment includes the activities which occur before or after an initiating event, and lead to confirmation of the execution priorities, time line and responsibilities, and a decision regarding when to execute.
Execution includes the activities related to accomplishing the pre-planned steps required within the phase to deliver a function, system or application in a new location to its owner.