A business continuity plan (BCP) outlines how your organization will maintain operations during and after a natural disaster, man-made incident, severe market changes, or sudden leadership transitions. This could encompass events from a stock market crash to a hurricane or the unexpected loss or incapacitation of a key leader. BCPs have become a significant focus due to increasing legislation and heightened risks associated with data security and other potential threats. All organizations, regardless of size, can benefit from implementing a BCP framework.
What is Business Continuity Management?
Business continuity management (BCM) refers to the strategies and actions organizations employ to prepare for and respond to risks. It ensures that essential functions can continue during and after disruptions, such as adverse weather conditions or cyberattacks. Effective planning enables employees to resume normal operations swiftly.
How Does Business Continuity Work?
Achieving seamless risk management and disaster recovery is best accomplished through a business continuity management system (BCMS). This may necessitate external expertise to ensure the BCMS aligns with the international standard ISO 22301. However, businesses can initiate the process by developing a continuity plan that identifies and mitigates risks.
Why is ISO 22301 Important?
ISO 22301 provides a comprehensive framework for a robust BCMS, serving as the most authoritative guide for effective business continuity management. Certification under ISO 22301 demonstrates to clients that your organization is prepared for emergencies, thereby reinforcing their confidence in your reliability and stability.
This certification ensures potential clients that your company will continue delivering essential products or services during crises. Additionally, it offers:
- An independent evaluation of your business continuity management, ensuring it is effective or identifying areas for improvement
- Accredited certification with regular audits to foster continuous improvement
- Oversight of regulatory compliance, including adherence to the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and other privacy regulations impacting customer data management.
What is the Difference Between Disaster Recovery and BCM?
Disaster recovery and business continuity are often conflated, but they serve distinct purposes. Business continuity focuses on maintaining business functions and relocating operations, whereas disaster recovery, a subset of business continuity, is concerned with the technical restoration of systems and resources.
Disaster recovery plans detail the procedures for restoring technical functions, sites, operations, and applications. A comprehensive business continuity plan may encompass several disaster recovery plans.
Key Components of a Business Continuity Plan:
A well-structured business continuity plan should include:
- Succession plans for key employees
- Identification of critical functions with assigned priorities
- Contact information for all employees and their roles in the plan
- Tested backup strategies
