Business continuity and disaster recovery provider Databarracks has bid farewell to Windows 7 with a Viking funeral. After 10 years, Windows 7 support ends tomorrow, 14th January 2020.

Will 2020 remain a period of change and instability, and will that bring significant challenges? I believe it will, and there are many drivers for this.

My prediction for 2020 is that we will see a rise in the regularity and impact of climate change protests. This protest movement is here to stay and will only get more regular and more militant as the climate emergency deepens over time. From a resilience point of view, organisations will need to review their risk assessments. Recognise any threat of being targeted because of how your business might impact on climate change, and consider the possibility of being caught up in a protest occurring in your area (in particular if you have offices in a large city), or affecting a supplier. The internet and social media make protests easier to organise and easier to target specific organisations.

Confidence among business leaders in organisational resilience has fallen for the first time since 2017, according to figures from the BSI, which concludes that businesses are struggling to adapt to new technology amid political and economic uncertainty.

Dealing with unknowns is part of the territory as a risk manager – it is integral to the job. But the level of uncertainty surrounding the possible outcomes and timings of Brexit is proving a huge challenge for even the most seasoned risk professionals. The range of scenarios businesses must prepare for is vast. This is a huge operational challenge first and foremost, but it is also proving an obstacle to getting senior management buy-in. As such, some of our members report that the lack of clarity is making it hard to get businesses to engage with – and allocate budget for – the potential impact of Brexit on their firms.

With the proliferation of social media, news of a crisis can spread instantaneously, and response tactics have a huge impact on a company’s resilience. Crisp’s 2019 Crisis Impact Report reveals the increasing power of communications on social media, the power it holds in the wake of a corporate crisis and the impact it can have on commercial reputation.

Three quarters of Japanese companies have been affected by a string of natural disasters over the past two years, suffering damage to multiple parts of their operations including factories, office buildings, distribution networks and supply chains. According to a survey by Reuters, most of those companies suffered direct or indirect effects that lasted more than a week, while the impact lasted more than a month for a third of respondents.

The international standard for business continuity management systems has been updated. Replacing the 2012 version, ISO 22301:2019 ‘Security and resilience - Business continuity management systems - Requirements’ was developed by the ISO ISO/TC 292 Security and Resilience Technical Committee, and helps organisations protect against, prepare for, respond to, and recover when disruptive incidents arise.

A combination of geopolitical tensions, climate volatility and technological dependencies are contributing to a complex web of global supply chain pressures, the costs of which will build if they are not tackled now. This is the stark warning of a joint report from Airmic, AIR Worldwide, Gallagher, HDI, Lloyd’s and Sedgwick.

Climate change activist group, Extinction Rebellion is planning a week of demonstrations in the capital, focused mainly in and around Westminster. Businesses in the area are urged to consider continuity plans and contingencies -- particularly in relation to loss of access and especially relating to the safety of certain members of staff, such as those who are disabled or pregnant.

Engagement with C-level execs in business continuity planning is on the rise, but IT staff are still too heavily involved. This is according to the a study conducted by Databarracks, which asked over 400 IT decision-makers in the UK a series of questions surrounding critical issues relating to IT, security, disaster recovery and business continuity practices.

As domestic Brexit negotiations sway between intricate chess moves and matches of tiddlywinks, contingency planning for a hard Brexit is finally taking centre stage across both government and industry. Ant Gould looks at the latest plans

One of the world’s most significant commercial hubs has recently found itself at the centre of uncharacteristic unrest. Hong Kong’s future is hard to predict, but the business impact could have global implications. Martin Allen Smith reports

A recent study reveals that nearly two in five companies have lost business due to lack of cybersecurity expertise. The September 2019 study conducted by Forrester Consulting shows that cybersecurity performance is vital to achieve commercial success and a higher focus on security can make all the difference to business.

Fusion Risk Management has secured investment from Vista Equity Partners, supplying additional funding for the business continuity and risk management solutions provider to further scale its platform and accelerate product development. The investment in Fusion is made by Vista’s Endeavor investment fund, which is focused on mission-critical, high-growth enterprise software, data and technology-enabled businesses.