A Business Continuity Plan (BCP) Ensures That the Unexpected Doesn’t Slow You Down
You can’t predict when a business disaster may happen, but a Business Continuity Plan (BCP) ensures that the unexpected doesn’t slow you down. Downtime costs SMBs $137-$427 per minute, according to a 2020 IBM report, and can be the death of the business.
What Is a Business Continuity Plan?
Simply, it’s a plan to keep businesses continuously running when an unplanned event occurs. It could be a natural disaster, cyberattack or human error. A BCP outlines processes and procedures to follow during a crisis. It considers operations, assets, human resources, technology, and safety. It is your guide to keep all necessary functions running until the disaster is handled.
Isn’t a Disaster Recovery Plan the Same Thing?
Disaster recovery plans focus solely on restoring your IT systems. A DRP is a component of your BCP. If a winter storm knocks out your Internet, the disaster recovery plan outlines how to restore any lost IT services.
Why a BCP Is Important
What if there is a major fire incident? Do you know where and how your employees would work? Would they be able to handle customer calls? Where would your executive team meet to make critical, time-sensitive decisions? Do you know the best way to communicate with clients and vendors? Laying out this in a BCP provides a framework for your company’s resiliency and sustainability. It also demonstrates strong management. Leaders do not hesitate in response to an emergency.
What Your BCP Needs
A few basic elements make up a solid BCP framework for every business, no matter your industry.
- Your company’s critical functions. What are the must-do activities in your business? This could be anything from order fulfillment to customer support. Knowing what is absolutely critical to your company helps you prioritize during a disruptive emergency. Assess the likelihood and impact of these risks to understand what you’re preparing for.
- Risk assessment. What types of crises could disrupt your business? These could range from floods or earthquakes, cyberattacks or a key employee leaving unexpectedly. Deliberate but don’t get hung up as it’s impossible to think through every scenario.
- Recovery strategies. For each critical function and process, develop strategies to recover if disrupted. This might include alternative methods of operation, using various locations, employing backup systems, etc. Pro Tip: ditch wordy manuals for flow charts and checklists to communicate plans to your team.
- Data backup and recovery. Check (and double-check) that all your critical company data is regularly backed up and can be restored quickly. Decide on off-site storage, cloud backups, and establish protocols for data recovery.
- Communication plan. How you will communicate with employees, customers and stakeholders during a crisis? Include contact lists, communication templates, and dissemination methods (e.g., email, social media, website updates).
- Alternative operations. If your main office isn’t usable or accessible, where will your team work? Do you have relationships with alternate suppliers if your primary ones are unavailable?
- Review schedule. Your business will evolve, and so should your continuity plan. Create a schedule to run drills and update your plan regularly. Also, distribute it to everyone who needs to know, so everyone knows their role during a crisis.
Is a BCP Right for Your Business?
There is absolutely no company—big or small—that’s not at risk of a disaster. According to a 2022 threat report by ConnectWise, nearly two in three midsize businesses experienced a ransomware attack in the last 18 months. One in five victims spent $250,000 or more to recover. A BCP reduces those risks.
The goal of a BCP is to minimize disruption and help you return to normal operations as fast as possible. Get with your team and review your BCP today. If you don’t have one, consider this your sign to get it done. Contact IT Radix today… we’re here to help .
First published in our September 2024 IT Radix Resource newsletter