Where your business is concerned, backup and restoration are key components to protect against consequences or damage of prolonged downtime. Your business continuity plan won’t just help your company stay afloat but will also keep it thriving in the face of unpredictable interruptions. If you’re still on the fence about investing in the development of a business continuity plan, consider these 4 essential facts.
- A business continuity planning doesn’t have to be difficult
A business continuity plan outlines key strategies for your organization to minimize the impact of potential threats or damage to operations, help get back up and running as quickly as possible, and protect your workforce and business assets in the process. This is what it can look like according to ready.gov:- Prepare a business impact analysis to specifically determine critical business functions, time-sensitive processes, or vital resources that are needed to keep them operational.
- Identify recovery strategies and execute them as soon as there is an incident that disrupts business operations.
- Assign a specific team that will oversee and manage the business continuity plan in case of business disruptions.
- Carry out trainings and workshops for the business continuity planning team to determine the efficacy of the strategies in place.
Although each organization has different strategies on how to conduct business when disaster hits, this is a good starting point for creating a business continuity plan for your organization. - A business continuity plan is not a disaster recovery plan
Disaster recovery strategies are highly focused on system restoration of various aspects of an organization such as communication systems, IT infrastructure systems, or records management systems. A business continuity plan is the holistic effort to get the entire business operations as fully operational as possible and as quickly as possible after a business disruption.
There might be overlapping qualities between the two in terms of business restoration; however, the former is concentrated on just a few aspects of your business while the latter takes into consideration the full picture. Therefore, a business continuity plan provides a more comprehensive protection for your organization. - It isn’t just about profits and revenue
Going back to fully operational mode is one of the most important goals for executing a business continuity plan. The organization can continue providing its customer base with company product or service. This, in turn, will ensure that revenue continues flowing to pay for cover operational expenses. It may also help earn profits to be used for future business growth.
But more than that, a business continuity plan ensures that you can access crucial systems so you can operate as normally as possible despite business disruptions. Having remote access to payroll systems means you can provide compensation for your workforce without making a mess for accounting to clean up later. It can also be a lifesaver when you need to offsite backup for retrieving all your customer data, employee files, or sensitive business documents. - It needs constant updating and evaluation
Just because you have put a business continuity plan in place this year doesn’t mean it’s something that can be used or remain effective for the coming years. Business operations change and evolve so you have to take into account all these adjustments and alterations to ensure that what you have is something that will keep pace with the way you do business or will keep up with new trends in your specific industry.
If you’re convinced that it’s time to create a business continuity plan for your organization – or update the one you have already set in place – you need a professional resource to give you customized advice and assistance. ClinkIT Solutions is here to help.
