Business Continuity

usiness continuity planning provides a quick and smooth restoration of operations after a disruptive event, such as an owner's death or disability or major catastrophic event. Business continuity planning is a major component of risk management. Business continuity planning includes business impact analysis, business continuity plan (BCP) development, testing, awareness, training, and maintenance. A business continuity plan addresses actions to be taken before, during, and after a a disruptive event. A BCP spells out in detail what, who, how, and when. It requires a continuing investment of time and resources. Interruptions to business functions can result from major natural disasters such as tornadoes, floods, and fires, or from man-made disasters such as terrorist attacks. The most frequent disruptions are less sensational— equipment failures, theft, or employee sabotage. The definition of a disaster, then, is any incident that causes an extended disruption of business functions. Traditionally, disaster recovery planning has focused on computer systems. Because mission-critical functions inevitably depend on technology and telecommunications networks, rapid recovery of these is of little value without also recovering business unit operations. Recovering functional processes includes more than just information systems—consideration needs to be given to all the aspects of the business.

with an insurance policy, it is hoped that a business continuity plan is never needed for a real disaster. Keep in mind that a BCP not maintained can be worse than no plan at all. A company's ability to recover mission-critical processes, resume operations, and eventually return to a normal business environment can be considered a major asset. Thorough planning can reduce liability, disruption to normal operations, decision making during a disaster, and financial loss.