By Denyse Cromwell-Mackey

IT risk. It’s the basis for a serious conversation your clients are having, or should be having: what it is, what the financial and reputational consequences are if operations are disrupted as a result of IT system failures or cyber attacks, and how do they prevent or minimize it.

With virtually every aspect of a business now vulnerable to disruption, minutes of downtime can be costly, and being offline for days could shutter a business for good. The average total cost of disruption to business and IT operations over the next 24 months ranges from $1 million for minor disruptions to $14.25 million for substantial disruptions.⁽¹⁾ When you add the risk to a business’s reputation, you can see why the global market for Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery (BC/DR) Solutions and Services is forecast to reach $61.7 billion by the year 2017.⁽²⁾

So how do you become part of the IT risk conversations your clients are having and provide them with winning solutions?

Team up with IBM

Our proven business continuity and disaster recovery methods can help your clients maintain continuous business operations, manage costs, and improve overall resiliency. With so much at stake, your clients need a trusted source like IBM Business Continuity and Resiliency Services (BCRS) with a proven track record that includes:

• 100% success in meeting commitments to clients who have declared a disaster
• Over 50 years of business continuity and disaster recovery experience
• More than 1,800 BCRS professionals, backed by over 400,000 IBM employees and Business Partners
• 150+ Resiliency Centers across 50 countries
• A continuum of solutions that can support a multi-vendor environment, including consulting; assessment; planning and design; implementation and testing; business continuity management; and disaster recovery

Work with IBM GTS

IBM® Global Technology Services® (GTS) recently launched a powerful triple-punch BCRS incentive program for IBM Business Partners in the US that includes:

• A co-marketing program with funding support to help Business Partners uncover opportunities to fill the pipeline
• An executive briefing incentive payment when you invite a client who attends a briefing and tour at the IBM Recovery Center Executive Briefing Centers in Boulder, Colorado or Sterling Forest, New York
• An enhancement to the US fee payment to Business Partners that includes increases in payments and an expanded portfolio

Are you ready to provide solutions to your clients’ most pressing business survival issues while you evolve and grow your own business at the same time? Email me at [email protected], connect with me on LinkedIn or follow me on Twitter to talk about joining the IBM® Global Technology Services® Business Partner team.

Want to hear more from IBM?

(1) Implications of the IBM Global Study on the Economic Impact of IT Risk white paper

(2) Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Solutions and Services: A Global Strategic Business Report”, Global Industry Analysts Inc