Today's Edition
SARA ALZAABI (ABU DHABI)
Leaders and experts of government departments recently came together in a two-day Abu Dhabi forum that focused on enhancing preparedness and ensuring service continuity during times of crisis.
During this year’s annual ‘Business Continuity and Alternative National Service – Murona’ — held from April 29 to 30 — insights were exchanged on ways to sustain essential operations when contingencies arise.
The forum, organised by yhe Emergencies, Crises, and Disasters Management Centre - Abu Dhabi (ADCMC), featured a series of presentations highlighting best practices in business continuity.
Sheikha Al Azizi, Director of Business Continuity and Alternative Services Department at the ADCMC, stressed the emirate’s commitment to resilience and preparedness.
Strategic preparations go beyond simple planning, she told Aletihad.
“We have a national standard of business continuity, based on which we assess an entity and ensure that it identifies critical jobs. This critical job can be supported by a different strategy in order to ensure that this operation will not be disrupted in case of an emergency or a different type of crisis.”
In its third edition, the forum has expanded from a sole focus on business continuity to the coverage of the Alternative National Service Programme.
Once an entity meets the standard and identifies the critical jobs in its operations, it will be certified to implement the alternative service, Al Azizi said.
With collaborations at local and federal levels, the centre supports government, semi-government, and private entities, and works closely with the National Emergency Crisis and Disasters Management Authority (NCEMA) on alternative service strategies.
“We have conducted an audit across 93 entities, and 89 of them are found to be compliant with the national standard of business continuity. Twenty-two of these entities have activated alternative services as a strategy, through the approved process within the centre in Abu Dhabi,” Al Azizi said.
The centre, she said, is guided by a vision to enhance crisis readiness and foster a culture of resilience across all sectors in Abu Dhabi.
