HP's Foray into SME BCP

The ad world has created a number of memorable messages intended to make consumers rethink the way they traditionally perceive a product or service. Two examples that immediately come to mind are Oldsmobile's slogan "This is not Your Father's Oldsmobile" - which was intended to convince consumers that Olds was actually cool (alas, the Olds brand was put away for good in 2000); and the "It's not Just For Breakfast Anymore" campaign launched by the Florida Orange Growers to sell more OJ (great campaign that worked very well).

I cite these examples today, because they could very well serve as metaphors for how business continuity planning has not only gone enterprise-wide, but has moved into new market segments. Take small to medium sized enterprises for instance. HP has recently launched a program aimed squarely at this segment:

The HP Business Protection portfolio offers business continuity for SMBs through security, data protection and availability features.

To stress the importance of continuity and disaster preparedness, HP cited a recent University of Texas study that found that 43 percent of companies that suffered catastrophic data loss due to disaster never reopened, and 51 percent closed within two years.

BCP - It's not just for Financial Services and IT anymore. Hmmm, I could be on to something.