Public Relations

Seven International Corporations Unified Behind BCM

- Taking Japanese BCM to the cutting edge -

February 13, 2004
Asgent,Inc.

Asgent, Inc. (President & CEO: Takahiro (Shuji) Sugimoto), InterRisk Research Institute and Consulting, Inc. (President: Tadashi Yasuda), SANKI (President: Kiyomitsu Taku), Hewlett Packard Japan (President: Yasuyuki Higuchi), BT Japan (CEO: Koshiro Kitazato), Strohl Systems (CEO: Mr. Myles Strohl; US-based BCM Software Developer) and Severn Group (CEO: Mr. Jon Ward; UK-based Risk Management Consulting Company) announce that they have agreed to collaborate on BCM (Business Continuity Management) issues by forming the Business Continuity Institute Japan Alliance, so named by the Business Continuity Institute.

Corporations constantly run the risk of encountering dangers such as fires, explosions and earthquakes, which have the potential to put a stop to business activities. On top of this, there is always the potential for business to be interrupted due to accidents at the supply or delivery phase, meaning that a company's survival is not always in it's own hands. As a result, concerns regarding corporate business continuity are growing stronger year by year. Efforts outside Japan towards promoting BCM are becoming increasingly prevalent, and it is also expected to gain the attention of companies in Japan as well. The BCI Japan Alliance, in an effort to take advantage of this newfound interest in BCM, intends to undertake the following actions.

1. The roles and functions of the BCI Japan Alliance

Each of the member companies in the BCI Japan Alliance has previously had some independent involvement in BCM consulting, and sees collaboration as part of the Alliance as an opportunity to expand their sphere of activities. Specifically, the members will work in cooperation with BCI Headquarters (UK) and affiliates in other countries to gain public recognition of the importance of BCM through the development and strengthening of educational and promotional activities such as those listed below.

The BCI Japan Alliance is an open organization, intent upon increasing the number of member corporations while widening it's base of activities. The establishment and diffusion of state-of-the-art Japanese BCM technology into industry requires that members of the alliance collaborate in order to capitalize on their differing strengths, because no one entity can undertake all of the technical development alone.

2. BCM Seminar

The BCI Japan Alliance, in collaboration with BCI (The Business Continuity Institute) and Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance, will host a BCM seminar on March 9 2004 entitled "Corporate BCM (Business Continuity Management) in a society that accepts accident/incidence occurrence - advocating Japanese BCM" (Sponsor: Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) et al.) as the first part of their promotional activities. There will also be a speaker from the METI who will discuss approaches to corporate BCM.

The outline of the seminar is as follows.

• Theme: "Corporate BCM (Business Continuity Management) in a society that accepts accident/incidence occurrence - advocating Japanese BCM"
• Time: March 9 2004, 13:30-17:00
• Place: Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Surugadai Building, 1F Main Conference Room (Surugadai 3-9, Kanda, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo)
• Lecturers:
  Mr. Takuichiro Yoshimura
  General Manager, Management Systems Standards Planning Office
  Industrial Science and Technology Policy and Environment Bureau, METI
  Mr. Takuya Yamazaki
  Assistant Division Chief, Information Security Policy Office
  Commerce and Information Policy Bureau, METI
  Mr. Masamichi Shinohara
  BCI Japan Representative
  (InterRisk Research Institute and Consulting, Senior Consultant)
  Mr. Brian Fowler
  Global Director, Hewlett Packard Company
• Attendance fee: \5,000 per person
• Contact: BCI Japan Alliance Seminar Office (Tel: 03-3212-3791 Fax: 03-3121-8585)
• Eligibility: Executive Officers, Corporate Planning/Administrative/IT/Safety Management
• Seminar topics:
  1. JIS Q 2001 and BCM: Future developments
  2. BCM in a society that accepts accident/incident occurrence
  3. Development of BCM
  4. BCM countermeasures as seen in US case studies