We all live and work in a real-time world," says Cindy Todoroff, director of infrastructure and client technology with Penn National Insurance. "How do we maintain that when something bad happens?"

Business continuity programs may have been borne out of natural disasters or life-changing events such as 9/11, but today companies have been forced to consider a wide spectrum of events that could shut down their operations, ranging from the projected Avian flu to attacks on a company. "We have to think beyond the typical disaster," says Todoroff. "How do you keep the business running when people can't get to the office?"

The real-time atmosphere companies operate in today has meant the amount of time a company can afford to be down is shortening, according to Cole Emerson, a director at KPMG Advisory Services. "Years ago you could tolerate a day or two downtime depending on the industry," he says. "Now, it is hours or minutes."