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What is a business continuity plan (bcp), and how does it work.

define and describe business continuity plan

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What Is a Business Continuity Plan (BCP)?

A business continuity plan (BCP) is a system of prevention and recovery from potential threats to a company. The plan ensures that personnel and assets are protected and are able to function quickly in the event of a disaster.

Key Takeaways

Business continuity plans (BCPs) are prevention and recovery systems for potential threats, such as natural disasters or cyber-attacks.
BCP is designed to protect personnel and assets and make sure they can function quickly when disaster strikes.
BCPs should be tested to ensure there are no weaknesses, which can be identified and corrected.

Understanding Business Continuity Plans (BCPs)

BCP involves defining any and all risks that can affect the company's operations, making it an important part of the organization's risk management strategy. Risks may include natural disasters—fire, flood, or weather-related events—and cyber-attacks . Once the risks are identified, the plan should also include:

Determining how those risks will affect operations
Implementing safeguards and procedures to mitigate the risks
Testing procedures to ensure they work
Reviewing the process to make sure that it is up to date

BCPs are an important part of any business. Threats and disruptions mean a loss of revenue and higher costs, which leads to a drop in profitability. And businesses can't rely on insurance alone because it doesn't cover all the costs and the customers who move to the competition. It is generally conceived in advance and involves input from key stakeholders and personnel.

Business impact analysis, recovery, organization, and training are all steps corporations need to follow when creating a Business Continuity Plan.

Benefits of a Business Continuity Plan

Businesses are prone to a host of disasters that vary in degree from minor to catastrophic. Business continuity planning is typically meant to help a company continue operating in the event of major disasters such as fires. BCPs are different from a disaster recovery plan, which focuses on the recovery of a company's information technology system after a crisis.

Consider a finance company based in a major city. It may put a BCP in place by taking steps including backing up its computer and client files offsite. If something were to happen to the company's corporate office, its satellite offices would still have access to important information.

An important point to note is that BCP may not be as effective if a large portion of the population is affected, as in the case of a disease outbreak. Nonetheless, BCPs can improve risk management—preventing disruptions from spreading. They can also help mitigate downtime of networks or technology, saving the company money.

How To Create a Business Continuity Plan

There are several steps many companies must follow to develop a solid BCP. They include:

Business Impact Analysis : Here, the business will identify functions and related resources that are time-sensitive. (More on this below.)
Recovery : In this portion, the business must identify and implement steps to recover critical business functions.
Organization : A continuity team must be created. This team will devise a plan to manage the disruption.
Training : The continuity team must be trained and tested. Members of the team should also complete exercises that go over the plan and strategies.

Companies may also find it useful to come up with a checklist that includes key details such as emergency contact information, a list of resources the continuity team may need, where backup data and other required information are housed or stored, and other important personnel.

Along with testing the continuity team, the company should also test the BCP itself. It should be tested several times to ensure it can be applied to many different risk scenarios . This will help identify any weaknesses in the plan which can then be corrected.

In order for a business continuity plan to be successful, all employees—even those who aren't on the continuity team—must be aware of the plan.

Business Continuity Impact Analysis

An important part of developing a BCP is a business continuity impact analysis. It identifies the effects of disruption of business functions and processes. It also uses the information to make decisions about recovery priorities and strategies.

FEMA provides an operational and financial impact worksheet to help run a business continuity analysis. The worksheet should be completed by business function and process managers who are well acquainted with the business. These worksheets will summarize the following:

The impacts—both financial and operational—that stem from the loss of individual business functions and process
Identifying when the loss of a function or process would result in the identified business impacts

Completing the analysis can help companies identify and prioritize the processes that have the most impact on the business's financial and operational functions. The point at which they must be recovered is generally known as the “recovery time objective.”

Business Continuity Plan vs. Disaster Recovery Plan

BCPs and disaster recovery plans are similar in nature, the latter focuses on technology and information technology (IT) infrastructure. BCPs are more encompassing—focusing on the entire organization, such as customer service and supply chain.

BCPs focus on reducing overall costs or losses, while disaster recovery plans look only at technology downtimes and related costs. Disaster recovery plans tend to involve only IT personnel—which create and manage the policy. However, BCPs tend to have more personnel trained on the potential processes.

Why Is Business Continuity Plan (BCP) Important?

Businesses are prone to a host of disasters that vary in degree from minor to catastrophic and business continuity plans (BCPs) are an important part of any business. BCP is typically meant to help a company continue operating in the event of threats and disruptions. This could result in a loss of revenue and higher costs, which leads to a drop in profitability. And businesses can't rely on insurance alone because it doesn't cover all the costs and the customers who move to the competition.

What Should a Business Continuity Plan (BCP) Include?

Business continuity plans involve identifying any and all risks that can affect the company's operations. The plan should also determine how those risks will affect operations and implement safeguards and procedures to mitigate the risks. There should also be testing procedures to ensure these safeguards and procedures work. Finally, there should be a review process to make sure that the plan is up to date.

What Is Business Continuity Impact Analysis?

An important part of developing a BCP is a business continuity impact analysis which identifies the effects of disruption of business functions and processes. It also uses the information to make decisions about recovery priorities and strategies.

FEMA provides an operational and financial impact worksheet to help run a business continuity analysis.

These worksheets summarize the impacts—both financial and operational—that stem from the loss of individual business functions and processes. They also identify when the loss of a function or process would result in the identified business impacts.

Business continuity plans (BCPs) are created to help speed up the recovery of an organization filling a threat or disaster. The plan puts in place mechanisms and functions to allow personnel and assets to minimize company downtime. BCPs cover all organizational risks should a disaster happen, such as flood or fire.

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What Is A Business Continuity Plan? [+ Template & Examples]

Published: December 30, 2022

When a business crisis occurs, the last thing you want to do is panic.

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The second-to-last thing you want to do is be unprepared. Crises typically arise without warning. While you shouldn't start every day expecting the worst, you should be relatively prepared for anything to happen.

A business crisis can cost your company a lot of money and ruin your reputation if you don't have a business continuity plan in place. Customers aren't very forgiving, especially when a crisis is influenced by accidents within the company or other preventable mistakes. If you want your company to be able to maintain its business continuity in the face of a crisis, then you'll need to come up with this type of plan to uphold its essential functions.

In this post, we'll explain what a business continuity plan is, give examples of scenarios that would require a business continuity plan, and provide a template that you can use to create a well-rounded program for your business.

Table of Contents:

What is a business continuity plan?

Business Continuity Types
Business Continuity vs Disaster Recovery

Business Continuity Plan Template

How to write a business continuity plan.

Business Continuity Examples

A business continuity plan outlines directions and procedures that your company will follow when faced with a crisis. These plans include business procedures, names of assets and partners, human resource functions, and other helpful information that can help maintain your brand's relationships with relevant stakeholders. The goal of a business continuity plan is to handle anything from minor disruptions to full-blown threats.

For example, one crisis that your business may have to respond to is a severe snowstorm. Your team may be wondering, "If a snowstorm disrupted our supply chain, how would we resume business?" Planning contingencies ahead of time for situations like these can help your business stay afloat when you're faced with an unavoidable crisis.

When you think about business continuity in terms of the essential functions your business requires to operate, you can begin to mitigate and plan for specific risks within those functions.

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Business Continuity Planning

Business continuity planning is the process of creating a plan to address a crisis. When writing out a business continuity plan, it's important to consider the variety of crises that could potentially affect the company and prepare a resolution for each.

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What Is Business Continuity?

Business continuity is an organization's ability to maintain or quickly resume acceptable levels of product or service delivery following a short-term event that disrupts normal operations. Examples of disruptions range from natural disasters to power outages.

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Is business continuity the same as business resilience or disaster recovery?

Business continuity, disaster recovery, and business resilience are not the same, but they are related.

Business continuity is a process-driven approach to maintaining operations in the event of an unplanned disruption such as a cyber attack or natural disaster. Business continuity planning covers the entire business—processes, assets, workers, and more. It isn't focused solely on IT infrastructure and business systems.
Business resilience encompasses crisis management and business continuity. It requires a response to all types of risk that an organization may face. An organization that is business resilient is essentially in a constant state of "expecting the unexpected." It means continuously preparing to meet disruptions head-on, including events of extended duration that may affect more than one facility or region.
Disaster recovery focuses specifically on how to restore an enterprise's IT infrastructure and business systems following a disruption. It is considered an element of business continuity. A business continuity plan (BCP) might contain several disaster recovery plans, for example.

What is a business continuity strategy?

A business continuity strategy is a summary of the mitigation, crisis, and recovery plans to be implemented after a disruption to resume normal operations. "Business continuity strategy" is often used interchangeably with "business continuity plan." Both consider the broader goals, legal and regulatory requirements, personnel, and even the business's clients and partners.

What does a business continuity plan mitigate?

A relevant and well-tested BCP can help ease the negative impacts of an unexpected business disruption in many ways.

Financial impact: Disruptions to product supply chains and critical services to customers can directly affect sales and revenue. Downtime caused by unplanned disruptions can also result in higher costs for a business as it looks to repair operations and mitigate previously unidentified threats.
Reputation and brand impact: Failure to resume operations quickly and supply customers with the products or services they expect can prompt customer defections and tarnish the brand. Damage to reputation can in turn cause investors and capital sources to pull back funding, exacerbating the financial impact of a business disruption.
Regulatory impact: Customers and vendors are likely to complain when businesses fail to respond appropriately to disruptions, which may result in regulatory scrutiny or even censure. In highly-regulated industries, such as energy and financial services, business continuity planning is mandatory to ensure regulatory compliance.

Business continuity planning activities

A well-crafted and tested BCP can go a long way toward helping a business recover swiftly from a disruption. These are key steps a business may want to take.

Identifying critical business areas and functions

Business continuity planning begins with identifying an organization's key business areas and the critical functions within those areas. A business needs to determine and document the acceptable downtime for each area and function considered vital to operations. Then a plan to restore operations can be established, documented, and communicated.

Analyzing risks, threats, and potential impacts

Creating appropriate response scenarios requires knowing what disruptions the business could experience. An upfront analysis of risks and threats is necessary in order to prepare contingency responses to events. Organizations can also conduct a back-end analysis after an event to gather metrics and assess lessons learned. This information can drive improvements in how the business responds to disruptions.

Outlining and assigning responsibilities

A BCP details which personnel will be responsible for implementing specific aspects of the plan. It also identifies key decision-makers and a chain of command. The plan should include alternative options in case primary personnel are incapacitated or unavailable to respond to the disruption.

Defining and documenting alternatives

A business continuity plan should define and document alternative communication strategies in case telephone services or the internet are down. Enterprises should also have alternatives for mission-critical spaces such as data centers or manufacturing facilities in case buildings are damaged.

Assessing the need for critical backups

Essential equipment may be damaged or unavailable during a disruptive event. A business should consider whether it has access to backup equipment and uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) during extended power outages. Business-critical data needs to be backed up regularly, and is mandatory in many regulated industries.

Testing, training, and communication

Business continuity plans need to be tested to ensure they will be effective. (Disaster recovery plans should be tested as well.) A best practice is to conduct a plan review at least quarterly with leadership and key team members who are responsible for executing the plan.

Many companies use role-playing sessions, simulations, and other types of exercises several times per year to test their BCPs. This approach helps to identify gaps, develop strategies for improvement, and determine if more resources are needed. Targeted staff training and communicating to the whole workforce the benefits of having a business continuity plan are also vital to its success.

How to Write a Business Continuity Plan Step-by-Step: Our Experts Provide Tips

By Andy Marker | October 21, 2020 (updated August 17, 2021)

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In order to adequately prepare for a crisis, your company needs a business continuity plan. We’ve culled detailed step-by-step instructions, as well as expert tips for writing a business continuity plan and free downloadable tools.

Included on this page, find the steps to writing a business continuity plan and a discussion of the key components in a plan . You’ll also find a business continuity plan quick-start template and a disruptive incident quick-reference card template for print or mobile, and an expert disaster preparation checklist .

Step by Step: How to Write a Business Continuity Plan

A business continuity plan refers to the steps a company takes to help it continue operations during a crisis. In order to write a business continuity plan, you gather information about key people, tools, and processes, then write the plan as procedures and lists of resources.

To make formatting easy, download a free business continuity plan template . To learn more about the role of a business continuity plan, read our comprehensive guide to business continuity planning .

Write a Mission Statement for the Plan: Describe the objectives of the plan. When does it need to be completed? What is the budget for disaster and recovery preparation, including research, training, consultants, and tools? Be sure to detail any assumptions about financial or other resources, such as government business continuity grants.
Set Up Governance: Describe the business continuity team. Include names or titles and role designations, as well as contact information. Clearly define roles, lines of authority and succession, and accountability. Add an organization or a functional diagram. Select one of these free organizational chart templates to get started.
Write the Plan Procedures and Appendices: This is the core of your plan. There's no one correct way to create a business continuity document, but the critical content it should include are procedures, agreements, and resources.Think of your plan as lists of tasks or processes that people must perform to keep your operation running. Be specific in your directions, and use diagrams and illustrations. Remember that checklists and work instructions are simple and powerful tools to convey key information in a crisis. Learn more about procedures and work instructions . You should also note who on the team is responsible for knowing plan details.

Set Procedures for Testing Recovery and Response: Create test guidelines and schedules for testing. To review the plan, consider reaching out to people who did not write the plan. Put together the forms and checklists that attendees will use during tests.

A business continuity plan is governed by a business continuity policy. You can learn more about creating a business continuity policy and find examples by reading our guide on developing an effective business continuity policy .

How to Create a Business Continuity Plan

Creating a business continuity plan (BCP) involves gathering a team, studying risks and key tasks, and choosing recovery activities. Then write the plan as a set of lists and guidelines, which may address risks such as fires, floods, pandemics, or data breaches.

According to Alex Fullick, your best bet is to create a simple plan. “I usually break everything down into three key categories: people, places, and things. If you focus on a couple of key pieces, you will be a lot more effective. That big binder of procedures is absolutely worthless. You need a bunch of guidelines to say what you do in a given situation: where are our triggers for deciding we’re in a crisis and we have to stop doing XYZ, and just focus on ABC.”

“Post-pandemic, I think new managers will develop more policies and guidelines of all types than required, as a fear response,” cautions Michele Barry.

Because every company is different, no two approaches to business continuity planning are the same. Tony Bombacino, Co-Founder and President of Real Food Blends , describes his company’s formal and informal business continuity approaches. “The first step in any crisis is for our nerve center to connect quickly, assess the situation, and then go into action,” he explains.

“Our sales manager and our marketing manager might discuss what’s going on, and say, ‘Are we going to say anything on social media? Do we need to reach out to any of our customers? The key things, like maintaining stock levels or what if somebody gets sick? What if there's a recall?’ Those plans we have laid out. But we're not a 5,000-person multi-billion-dollar company, so our business continuity plan is often in emails and Google Docs.”

“I've done planning literally for hundreds of businesses where we've just filled out basic forms,” says Mike Semel, President and Chief Compliance Officer of Semel Consulting . “For example, noting the insurance company's phone number — you know, on the back of your utility bill, which you never look at, there's an emergency number for if the power goes out or if the gas shuts off. We've helped people gather all that information and put it down. Even if there's no other plan, just having that information at their fingertips when they need it may be enough.”

You can also approach your business continuity planning as including three types of responses:

Proactive Strategies: Proactive approaches prevent crises. For example, you may buy an emergency generator to keep power running in your factory, or install a security system to prevent or limit loss during break-ins. Or you may create a bring-your-own-device (BYOD) policy and offer training for remote workers to protect your network and data security.
Reactive Strategies: Reactive strategies are your immediate responses to a crisis. Examples of reactive methods include evacuation procedures, fire procedures, and emergency response strategies.
Recovery Strategies: Recovery strategies describe how you resume operations to produce a minimum acceptable level of service. The recovery plan includes actions to stand up temporary processes. The plan also describes the longer-term efforts, such as relocation, data restoration, temporary workaround processes, or outsourcing tasks. Recovery strategies are not limited to IT and data recovery.

Quick-Start Guide Business Continuity Plan Template

Business Continuity Quick Start Guide and template

If you don’t already have a business continuity plan in place, but need to create one in short order to respond to a disruption, use this quick-start business continuity template. This template is available in Word and Google Docs formats, and it’s simply formatted so that you can focus on brainstorming and problem-solving.

Download Quick-Start Guide Business Continuity Plan Template

Word | PDF | Google Docs | Smartsheet

For other most useful free, downloadable business continuity plan (BCP) templates please read our "Free Business Continuity Plan Templates" article.

Key Components of a Business Continuity Plan

Your company’s complete business continuity plan will have many details. Your plan may differ from other companies' plans based on industry and other factors. Each facility or business unit may also conduct an impact analysis and create disaster recovery and continuity plans . Consider adding these key components to your business plan:

Contact Information: These pages include contact information for key employees, vendors, and critical third parties. Locate this information at the beginning of the plan.
Business Impact Analysis: When you conduct business impact analysis (BIA), you evaluate the financial and other changes in a disruptive event (you can use one of these business impact templates to get started). Evaluate impact in terms of brand damage, product failure or malfunction, lost revenue, or legal and regulatory repercussions.
Risk Assessment: In this section, assess the potential risks to all aspects of the organization’s operations. Look at potential risks related to such matters as cash on hand, stock levels, and staff qualifications. Although you may face an infinite number of potential internal and external risks, focus on people, places, and things to keep from becoming overwhelmed. Then analyze the effects of any items that are completely lost or need repairs. Also, understand that risk assessment is an ongoing effort that works in tandem with training and testing. Consider adding a completed risk matrix to your plan. You can create one using a downloadable risk matrix template .
Critical Functions Analysis and List: As a faster alternative to a BIA, a critical functions analysis reveals what processes are critical to keeping your company running. Examples of critical functions include payroll and wages, accounts receivable, customer service, or production. According to Michele Barry, with a values-based approach to critical functions, you should consider who you really are as a company. Then decide what you must continue doing and what you can stop doing.
Trigger and Disaster Declaration Criteria: Here, you should detail how your executive management will know when to declare an emergency and initiate the plan.
Succession Plan: Identify alternate staff for key roles in each unit. Schedule time throughout the year to observe alternates as they make important decisions and complete recovery tasks.
Alternate Suppliers: If your goods are regulated (i.e., food, toy, and pharmaceutical manufacturing), your raw resources and parts must always be up to standard. Source suppliers before a crisis to ensure that regulatory vetting and approval do not delay supplies.
Operations Plan: Describe how your organization will resume and continue daily operations after a disruption. Include a checklist with such items as supplies, equipment, and information on where data is backed up and where you keep the plan. Note who should have copies of the plan.
Crisis Communication Strategy: Detail how the organization will communicate with employees, customers, and third-party entities in the event of a disruption. If regular communications systems are disabled, make a plan for alternate methods. Download a free crisis communication strategy template to get started on this aspect.
Incident Response Plan: Describe how your organization plans to respond to a range of likely incidents or disruptions, and define the triggers for activating the plan.
Alternate Site Relocation: The alternate site is the location that the organization moves to after a disruption occurs. In the plan, you can also note the transportation and resources required to move the business and the processes you must maintain in this facility.
Interim Procedures: These are the critical processes that must continue, either in their original or alternate forms.
Restoration of Critical Data: Critical data includes anything you must immediately recover to maintain normal business functions.
Vendor Partner Agreements: List your organization’s key vendors and how they can help you maintain or resume operations.
Work Backlog: This includes the work that piles up when systems are shut down. You must complete this work first when processes start again.
Recovery Strategy for IT Services: This section details the steps you take to restore the IT processes that are necessary to maintain the business.
Recovery Time Objectives (RTO) and Recovery Point Objectives (RPO): RTO refers to the maximum amount of time that a company can stop its processes and the length of time without access to data before productivity substantially drops. Determine RTOs for each unit, factoring in people, places, and things.
Backup Plans: What if plans, processes, or resources fail or are unavailable? Determine alternatives now, so you don't have to scramble. Decide on a backup roster for personnel who are unavailable.
Manual Workarounds: This section details how a business can operate by hand, should all failsafe measures break down.
External Audit Details: For regulated organizations, external audits may be compulsory. Your scheduled internal audits will prepare you for external audits.
Test and Exercise Plan: Identify how and when you will test the continuity plan, including details about periodic tabletop testing and more complex real-world scenario testing.
Change Management: Note how you will incorporate learnings from tests and exercises, disseminate changes, and review the plan and track changes.

Key Resources for Business Continuity

To fix problems, restore operations, or submit an insurance claim, you need readily available details of the human resources and other groups that can assist with business continuity. (Your organization's unique situation may also require specific types of resources.) Add this information to appendices at the back of your continuity plan.

Fullick suggests broadening the definition of human assets. "People are our employees, certainly. But we forget that the term ‘people’ includes executive management. Management doesn't escape pandemics or the flu or a car crash. Bad things can happen to them and around them, too."

Use the following list as a prompt for recording important information about your organization. Your unique situation may require other types of information.

Lists of key employees and their contact information. Also, think beyond C-level and response team members to staff with long-term or specialized knowledge
Disaster recovery and continuity team contact names, roles, and contact information
Emergency contact number for police and emergency services for your location
Non-emergency contact information for police and medical
Emergency and non-emergency contact numbers for facilities issues
Board member contact information
Personnel roster, including family or emergency contact names and numbers for the entire organization
Contractors for any repairs
Client contact information and SLAs
Insurance contacts for all plans
Key regulatory contacts.
Legal contacts
Vendor contact information and partner agreements and SLAs
Addresses and details for each office or facility
Primary and secondary contact and information for each facility or office, including at least one phone number and email address
Off-site recovery location
Addresses and access information for storage facilities or vehicle compounds
Funding and banking information
IT details and data recovery information, including an inventory of apps and license numbers
Insurance policy numbers and agent contact information for each plan, healthcare, property, vehicle, etc.
Inventory of tangibles, including equipment, hardware, supplies, fixtures, and fittings (if you are a supplier or manufacturer, include an inventory of raw materials and finished goods)
Lease details
Licenses, permits, other legal documents
List of special items that you use regularly, but don't order frequently
Location of backup equipment
Utility account numbers and contact information (for electric, gas, telephone, water, waste pickup, etc.)

Activities to Complete Before Writing the Business Continuity Plan

Before you write your plan, take these preliminary steps to assemble a team and gather background information.

Incident Commander: This person is responsible for all aspects of an emergency response.
Emergency Response Team: The emergency response team refers to the group of people in charge of responding to an emergency or disruption.
Information Technology Recovery Team: This group is responsible for recovering important IT services.
Alternate Site/Location Operation Team: This team is responsible for maintaining business operations at an alternate site.
Facilities Management Team: The facilities management team is responsible for managing all of the main business facilities and determining the necessary responses to maintain them in light of a disaster or disruption.
Department Upper Management: This includes key stakeholders and upper management employees who govern BCP decisions.
Conduct business impact analysis or critical function analysis. Understand how the loss of processes in each department can affect internal and external operations. See our article on business continuity planning to learn more about BIAs.
Conduct risk analysis. Determine the potential risks and threats to your organization.
Identify the scope of the plan. Define where the business continuity plan applies, whether to one office, the entire organization, or only certain aspects of the organization. Use the BIA and risk analysis to identify critical functions and key resources that you must maintain. Set goals to determine the level of detail required. Set milestones to track progress in completing the plan. "Setting scope is essential," Barry insists. "You need to define the core and noncore aspects of the business and the minimum requirements for achieving continuity."
Strategize recovery approaches: Strategize how your business should respond to a disruption, based on your risk assessment and BIA. During this process, you determine the core details of the BCP, add the key components and resources, and determine the timing for what must happen before, during, and after a disruptive event.

Common Structure of a Business Continuity Plan

Knowing the common structure should help shape the plan — and frees you from thinking about form when you should be thinking about content. Here is an example of a BCP format:

Business Name: Record the business name, which usually appears on the title page.
Date: The day the BCP is completed and signed off.
Purpose and Scope: This section describes the reason for and span of the plan.
Business Impact Analysis: Add the results of the BIA to your plan.
Risk Assessment: Consider adding the risk assessment matrix to your plan.
Policy Information: Include the business continuity policy or policy highlights.
Emergency Management and Response: You can detail emergency response measures separately from other recovery and continuity procedures.
The Plan: The core of the plan details step-by-step procedures for business recovery and continuity.
Relevant Appendices: Appendices can include such information as contact lists, org charts, copies of insurance policies, or any supporting documents relevant in a crisis.

Keep in mind that every business is different — no two BCPs look the same. Tailor your business continuity plan to your company, and make sure the document captures all the information you need to keep your business functioning. Having everything you need to know in an emergency is the most crucial part of a BCP.

Disruptive Incident Quick-Reference Card Template

Disruptive Incident Quick Reference Cad Template

Use this quick-reference card template to write the key steps that employees should take in case of an emergency. Customize this template for each business unit, department, or role. Describe what people should do immediately and in the following days and weeks to continue the business. Print PDFs and laminate them for workstations or wallets, or load the PDFs on your mobile phone.

Download Disruptive Incident Quick-Reference Card Template

Expert Disaster Preparation Checklist

Business continuity and disaster planning aren’t just about your buildings and cloud backup — it’s about people and their families. Based on a document by Mike Semel of Semel Consulting, this disaster checklist helps you prepare for the human needs of your staff and their families, including food, shelter, and other comforts.

Tips for Writing a Business Continuity Plan

With its many moving parts and considerations, a business continuity plan can seem intimidating. Follow these tips to help you write, track, and maintain a strong BCP:

Take the continuity management planning process seriously.
Interview key people in the organization who have successfully managed disruptive incidents.
Get approval from leadership early on and seek their ongoing championship of continuity preparedness.
Be flexible when it comes to who you involve, what resources you need, and how you achieve the most effective plan.
Keep the plan as simple and targeted as possible to make it easy to understand.
Limit the plan to practical disaster response actions.
Base the plan on the most up-to-date, accurate information available.
Plan for the worst-case scenario and broadly cover many types of potential disruptive situations.
Consider the minimum amount of information or resources you need to keep your business running in a disaster.
Use the data you gather in your BIA and risk analysis to make the planning process more straightforward.
Share the plan and make sure employees have a chance to review it or ask questions.
Make the document available in hard copy for easy access, or add it to a shared platform.
Continually test, review, and maintain your plan to keep it up to date.
Keep the BCP current with organizational and regulatory changes and updates.

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What is a Business Continuity Plan (BCP)? Purpose, Template & Examples

Marie Laure Troadec Legal Counsel
August 29, 2023

Key Takeaways

1. A business continuity plan is an essential risk management tool that helps organizations proactively prepare for unexpected disruptions and events, ensuring the continuity of critical operations.

2. By identifying and assessing potential risks and threats to their operations, businesses can develop appropriate response strategies to prevent or minimize disruption during challenging times.

3. Businesses should avoid certain pitfalls to successfully implement their business continuity plan. These include a lack of employee engagement, an over-reliance on technology, and a failure to test their plans.

4. By proactively addressing these areas, businesses can increase the chances of successful implementation and execution of their business continuity plans.

Ensuring business continuity is a topic high on the agenda for most businesses and one that has become increasingly paramount in light of recent events: Few things have focused attention on the need to have a contingency plan more than the COVID-19 pandemic. The potential disruption caused by a pandemic, or indeed any other unforeseen event, to a business’s operations can have significant financial, legal, and reputational ramifications that can be mitigated or even prevented if appropriate measures are put in place.

This article delves into the essential elements of a business continuity plan (BCP) and provides valuable guidance on avoiding common pitfalls to help your business implement and execute a robust plan that safeguards your operations.

What is a Business Continuity Plan?

A business continuity plan is a risk management strategy that a business implements to protect its operations in the face of an unexpected event or disruption such as a natural disaster, cyberattack, or technological failure. By anticipating and preparing for potential crises or unplanned eventualities, businesses can take preemptive measures to ensure they remain operational and maintain a sense of normalcy despite interruptions.

The business continuity planning process enables businesses to assess potential threats to their operations and identify vulnerabilities that could impact their ability to function effectively. Through the implementation of a business continuity plan, business leaders can swiftly respond to emergencies, minimizing any potential downtime and mitigating the negative effects on their operations. This proactive approach can help businesses navigate challenging situations with relative ease and resilience, ensuring minimal impact on their productivity and profits.

Main Elements of a Business Continuity Plan

A robust and effective business continuity plan will comprise the following key elements that facilitate business resilience and preparedness during uncertain times.

Business impact analysis
During this phase, a business will identify and assess potential risks and threats to their organization’s operations. A business impact analysis (BIA) assesses the potential consequences of disruptions in critical business functions. This allows businesses to prioritize resources, allocate budgets, and develop strategies to minimize downtime and facilitate recovery.
Recovery strategies
This step addresses the risks identified in the BIA by developing appropriate responses to prevent or minimize disruption. Recovery strategies outline the immediate actions required following an incident, those responsible for implementing them and coordinating the allocation of resources.
Plan development
The plan development phase involves developing the framework of the business continuity plan by establishing the relevant recovery teams, establishing communication channels, creating relocation plans, and gaining management buy-in.
Testing and maintenance
This phase involves training and testing the relevant teams and systems by conducting exercises to measure the effectiveness of the business continuity plan and identifying areas for improvement. Processes are also established for regularly reviewing and updating the business continuity plan to account for changes in technology, previous incidents, and evolving threats and risks.

Common Business Continuity Plan Pitfalls

To ensure the efficacy of their response during unexpected events or disruptions, organizations should be mindful of common mistakes encountered in the business continuity planning process.

An awareness of the following issues can help businesses avoid certain pitfalls which could hinder their efforts in this area:

1. Lack of employee engagement

The success of any business continuity plan hinges on an organization’s ability to execute it successfully as even the most comprehensive and detailed plan will fall flat if it is ineffective in real-world situations.

The successful execution of a business continuity plan goes beyond senior management. To ensure business continuity in times of trouble it is essential that those on the ground have also been briefed on contingency measures and are ready to step into action accordingly. Without adequate employee training and awareness, organizations run the risk of compromising critical business functions leading to further disruptions and losses.

By prioritizing employee engagement and involvement in the business continuity plan, organizations can strengthen and streamline their response efforts ensuring a robust and resilient response to potential disruptions, while fostering a culture of confidence and preparedness within their organization.

2. Overreliance on technology

While technological solutions play a crucial role and should be a feature of any robust business continuity plan, an overreliance on digital services and technical infrastructure can pose potential challenges for organizations.

Sole or heavy reliance on this area increases the risk of a single point of failure. This is especially pertinent at a time when cyberattacks and data breaches are prevalent creating vulnerabilities in a business’ technological systems, and thereby undermining the effectiveness of its business continuity plan. Unforeseen events such as natural disasters which can lead to infrastructure damage and power outages can also severely compromise an organization’s ability to function effectively during a crisis.

To counter these problems, organizations should incorporate a diverse range of technological and non-technological solutions into their business continuity plan, taking into account manual processes and alternatives that are not solely dependent on digital services. Data backup options should also be put in place to help businesses restore swift operations and minimize extended downtime.

3. Failure to test

Without proper testing, the effectiveness of a business continuity plan remains theoretical rather than proven in practice. Regular testing enables businesses to identify and address any gaps or limitations in their plan, avoiding the risk of critical business functions being left vulnerable in an actual crisis situation.

Through drills, real-life simulations, and tabletop exercises, organizations can learn from real-world incidents, gaining practical insight into the feasibility of their business continuity plans and identifying any areas that require improvement. Regular testing plays a crucial role in helping businesses to optimize their response strategies and ensure resilience and readiness in the face of difficult or unforeseen circumstances.

By proactively addressing and avoiding these common pitfalls, businesses can develop comprehensive business continuity plans that help to bolster their resilience, minimize disruptions, and ensure the continuity of their operations during challenging times.

BCP Template

The precise content of your BCP will depend on the nature of your business. However, below is a useful template for a typical business:

1. Introduction

Purpose: Outline the purpose of the BCP.
Scope: Specify which parts of the organization this BCP covers.
Assumptions: State any assumptions made during the BCP’s creation.

2. Business Continuity Policy

Outline the company’s policy regarding business continuity. This can include the company’s commitment to employee safety, client service, data protection, etc.

3. Roles and Responsibilities

List the key personnel responsible for executing the BCP:

Business Continuity Manager/Coordinator
Crisis Communication Team
Emergency Response Team
IT Recovery Team
Employee Assistance Team

4. Risk Assessment

Identify potential risks and threats:

Natural disasters
Technological failures
Security breaches

5. Business Impact Analysis (BIA)

Identify the potential impacts of each threat:

Financial impacts
Reputational impacts
Operational impacts
Legal/Regulatory impacts

6. Business Continuity Strategies

Outline strategies for:

Data backup and recovery
Alternate work locations
Communication protocols
Supply chain management

7. Incident Response Plan

Details the immediate actions to be taken following an incident:

Alert and notification procedures
Evacuation procedures
Safety checks

8. Recovery Plans

For each critical department/function, provide a detailed plan on how to resume operations:

IT systems recovery
Resumption of critical business functions
Communication with stakeholders

9. Training and Testing

Outline how the plan will be tested and how often, as well as any training programs for employees:

Tabletop exercises
Full-scale drills
Employee training sessions

10. Maintenance and Review

Describe how the plan will be kept current:

Regularly scheduled reviews
Updates following any changes in the business environment or operations
Feedback loop from testing

11. Communication Protocols

Specify how communication will be maintained:

Emergency contact lists
Communication methods (phone, email, etc.)
External communication (with media, stakeholders, etc.)

12. Appendices

Resource lists
Vendor contacts
Floor plans
Backup data locations

Business Continuity Plan Examples

If you are looking for some other examples of well-designed BCPs and BCP templates, check out the following:

Durham County Council’s BCP
Chisholm & Winch (UK Construction Company)
Ready (US Government Disaster Response Resource).

Developing and implementing business continuity plans

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Contact us today to learn how we can support your business continuity efforts and provide the stability and peace of mind you need in an ever-changing world.

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Understanding the Essentials of a Business Continuity Plan

In the face of unforeseen disruptions, a robust business continuity plan (BCP) is essential to preserve the trust of stakeholders. If you are able to seamlessly continue operations even in the face of sudden challenges, stakeholders are reassured of the company’s resilience and commitment to their interests.

In this blog post, we offer a comprehensive guide to business continuity planning, how it can benefit organizations and share key insights into Developing and Maintaining an Effective business continuity plan.

What is a Business Continuity Plan?

A business continuity plan (BCP) is an essential blueprint that outlines how a company will continue operating during an unplanned disruption in service. It’s more than just a reactive strategy; it’s a proactive measure to ensure that critical business functions can continue during and after a crisis. The purpose of a BCP is to provide a systematic approach to mitigate the potential impact of disruptions and maintain business operations at an acceptable predefined level.

The role of a BCP is crucial in maintaining operations during unforeseen events such as natural disasters, cyber-attacks, or any other incident that could interrupt business processes. By having a well-structured business continuity plan, organizations can:

Minimize downtime and ensure that essential functions remain operational
Protect the integrity of data and IT infrastructure
Maintain customer service and preserve stakeholder trust

Why is a Business Continuity Plan Important

Immediate Response : A BCP ensures that there is a predefined action plan, minimizing downtime and demonstrating control over the situation.

Transparent Communication : Keeping stakeholders informed during a crisis promotes transparency and maintains confidence in the company’s management.

Inclusive Planning : Involve stakeholders in the business continuity plan development process. Their insights can enhance the plan’s effectiveness and ensure their needs are addressed.

Consistency in Service : By prioritizing critical operations, a BCP helps maintain the quality and consistency of services or products, which is important for customer retention.

The absence of a business continuity plan can lead to a domino effect of negative outcomes, including a tarnished reputation and the potential loss of future business. Stakeholders remember how a company responds in a crisis, and a well-executed BCP can be the difference between a temporary setback and a long-term impact on the company’s image and relationships.

Elements of a Business Continuity Plan

When exploring various business continuity plan examples, certain common elements emerge as critical for their effectiveness. These elements serve as the backbone for a robust BCP plan, ensuring that businesses can maintain operations and protect their reputation during unforeseen events. Here are some of the key components found in successful BCP examples:

Risk Assessment and Business Impact Analysis : Identifying potential threats and assessing their impact on business operations is a foundational step in any BCP plan.

Crisis Communication Plan : A clear communication strategy is essential to manage stakeholder expectations and maintain trust.

Recovery Strategies : Detailed procedures for restoring business functions and services post-disruption are indispensable.

Employee Training and Awareness : Ensuring staff are well-prepared and knowledgeable about the BCP plan is crucial for its successful implementation.

Case studies of successful BCP implementations often highlight how these elements are tailored to fit specific business models and industries. For instance, a financial institution may focus heavily on data security and regulatory compliance within their BCP, while a manufacturing business might prioritize supply chain alternatives and on-site safety protocols. Regular testing and adjustment of these plans are also a common thread, underscoring the importance of adaptability and continuous improvement in business continuity planning.

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Business Continuity vs. Disaster Recovery

It’s important to distinguish between a business continuity plan and a disaster recovery plan. While both are vital, a BCP is broader and focuses on the continuity of the entire business, whereas a disaster recovery plan is more technical and concentrates on the recovery of specific operations, such as IT services. Understanding these differences helps organizations allocate resources effectively and ensures comprehensive preparedness for any type of disruption. Understanding when to activate a business continuity plan (BCP) versus a disaster recovery plan is crucial for maintaining operational resilience.

To ensure a comprehensive crisis management strategy, consider the following integration points:

Pre-emptive Planning : Establish clear triggers for when each plan is activated. For instance, a BCP might be initiated in the face of a supply chain disruption, while disaster recovery would come into play during a data breach or server failure.

Unified Communication : Both plans should have a coordinated communication strategy to inform stakeholders and employees about the status and steps being taken.

Regular Testing : Conduct joint drills that test both the BCP and disaster recovery plans to identify any gaps or overlaps in procedures.

Continuous Improvement : Use insights from drills and actual incidents to refine both plans, ensuring they evolve with the changing business landscape and technological advancements.

By integrating both plans, organizations can navigate crises with agility and confidence, minimizing downtime and protecting their reputation. Tools like Creately, with features such as real-time collaboration and visual project management, can help create and maintain these critical plans, ensuring that all stakeholders are on the same page and ready to act when necessary.

Crisis Communication Strategies within Business Continuity Planning

A business continuity plan (BCP) is not just about responding to the crisis at hand, but also about how you communicate during the disruptions and the decisions you make. Here are some best practices to ensure your crisis communication and decision-making processes effective:

Clear Communication Channels : Establish predefined channels for internal and external communication. This ensures that messages are consistent and reach all stakeholders promptly.

Designated Spokespersons : Identify individuals who are authorized to speak on behalf of the company during a crisis. This helps maintain a unified voice and message.

Factual Updates : Provide regular, factual updates to keep stakeholders informed. Avoid speculation and commit to transparency.

Decision-Making Protocols : Implement decision-making protocols that are clear and allow for swift action. This includes having a chain of command and predefined criteria for making critical decisions.

Training and Simulations : Regularly train your crisis management team and conduct simulations to prepare for potential scenarios. This ensures that when a crisis does occur, your team is ready to act effectively.

By integrating these best practices into your BCP plan, you can maintain control during a crisis, make informed decisions, and communicate effectively with all parties involved. Remember, the goal is to protect your company’s operations, reputation, and stakeholder relationships during unexpected events.

Utilizing Business Continuity Plan Templates and Tools

When it comes to developing a robust business continuity plan (BCP), leveraging templates can offer a significant head start. These templates serve as a foundational framework that can be customized to align with the specific requirements of your business. Here’s why using BCP templates is advantageous:

Efficiency in Development : BCP templates provide a structured approach, ensuring that all critical elements are considered without starting from scratch. This saves valuable time and resources.

Consistency Across the Organization : Templates help maintain a uniform response strategy, which is crucial for coherent and coordinated action during a crisis.

Ease of Customization : While templates offer a general outline, they are designed to be adaptable. This means you can tailor them to reflect your business’s unique operational processes, risk profile, and recovery objectives.

Incorporating features like crisis response directions into your BCP template is essential. With Creately you can,

Visualize these procedures on an infinite canvas, ensuring clarity and accessibility for all team members.
Easily modify the plan as your business evolves, with the drag-and-drop functionality, making regular testing and adjustment a seamless process.
Create a central repository of information by having docs, links and attachments in the notes panel of any shape in your diagram.

Key Insights for Developing and Maintaining an Effective Business Continuity Plan

A robust business continuity plan (BCP) is not a ‘set it and forget it’ document; it requires ongoing attention and refinement. Here’s why regular testing, updates, and staff training are non-negotiables in business continuity:

Financial Protection : By regularly testing your BCP, you can identify and rectify gaps that could otherwise lead to significant financial losses during a crisis. It’s not just about having a plan, but ensuring it works effectively when you need it most.

Reputational Safeguarding : Your company’s reputation is on the line when disaster strikes. A well-rehearsed BCP means your team can respond swiftly and competently, preserving stakeholder trust and customer loyalty.

Customization for Evolving Threats : The threat landscape is constantly changing. Regular BCP reviews allow you to tailor your plan to new types of risks, ensuring your business remains resilient against the unforeseen.

Empowered Employees : Training staff on the BCP turns theory into practice. When every team member knows their role in a crisis, response times improve, and confusion is minimized.

Remember, a BCP is a living document. It thrives on the feedback loop created by regular drills and updates, ensuring that when a crisis does occur, your business is prepared not just to survive, but to continue operations with minimal disruption.

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Business Continuity Plan

What is a Business Continuity Plan (BCP)?

A Business Continuity Plan (BCP) is a detailed strategy and set of systems for ensuring an organization’s ability to prevent or rapidly recover from a significant disruption to its operations. The plan is essentially a playbook for how any type of organization—such as a private-sector company, a government agency or a school—will continue its day-to-day business during a disaster scenario or otherwise abnormal conditions.

Examples of such disruptions include a fire, a major earthquake or other a natural disaster, a disease outbreak, a cyberattack and many other scenarios that could upend “business as usual.” When such events significantly disrupt an organization’s normal routines, it turns to its business continuity plan for instructions, processes and tools it needs to continue to operate or to quickly recover from downtime.

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Why is a business continuity plan important.

Risks can be managed, but they can’t be eliminated. Business continuity planning is critical because without it, an organization faces downtime and other problems that could damage its financial health. In major disasters, a lack of a business continuity plan could cause irreparable financial harm that might ultimately force a company to permanently close.

How to create a Business Continuity Plan?

There are many frameworks for creating an effective business continuity plan. Most of them cover three overlapping phases:

Analysis : In this phase, you identify and evaluate the various functions of your business and its operations. Then, you determine how those different functions will be affected by a disaster. This phase usually entails prioritizing different areas or departments in terms of how important they are to your operation, so that your plan ultimately ensures the continuity of your most critical functions first. Business continuity professionals often conduct a Business Impact Analysis (BIA) at the outset of developing a new plan. A BIA estimates the consequences of different disaster scenarios in terms of lost revenue and other business-specific metrics.
Planning : Once an initial analysis is complete, the next phase entails all facets of developing an actual plan for continuing to operate in a disaster, or rapidly recovering from a disruption to normal operations. During the planning phase, organizations:
Develop protocols for potential needs such as a rapid relocation or shift to remote work .
Strategize temporary staffing changes or needs.
Implement IT disaster recovery tools to ensure continuity of critical systems.

A key part of this phase is to name a continuity or crisis management team, comprised of executives and stakeholders who will lead the plan’s implementation if necessary.

Training and Testing : Even the most robust BCP must be put through regular testing to ensure it will work if needed. This includes educating employees on their roles and responsibilities in these scenarios, as well as conducting trials of various elements of the plan. An example would include a short-term rollout of a remote work scenario to identify issues and opportunities for optimization.

Key features of a business continuity plan

Some features of a BCP will be industry or business-specific, but there are components that are common to almost any plan:

People : A BCP will clearly define roles and responsibilities, not just for the crisis management leadership team, but also for any units responsible for implementing different pieces of the plan in a disaster scenario. Some BCPs will also define “essential personnel”—for example, people whose job requires them to report to work even in periods of heightened risk.

Technology : Almost all modern business continuity plans will also clearly outline the role that information technology will play in ensuring critical data, applications and services remain available or are quickly restored after an interruption. These include:

Data backup and recovery tools
Cloud computing infrastructure and services
Remote work platforms

Service Delivery : A BCP should also describe which services are most critical and how they will continue to be delivered to customers, employees, partners, the public and other stakeholders.

Health & Safety : Finally, a strong business continuity program will include criteria and guidelines for ensuring the health and safety of all people involved—employees, customers, partners—as the plan is implemented and managed.

Business Continuity Plan checklist

Many organizations create a checklist as part of their business continuity planning. This is a list of all of the key steps in the BCP. It can be used in two ways:

Conception : First, it can be used as part of the initial creation of the plan. In this context, the BCP checklist would describe in detail the steps necessary to develop the plan, from analysis through testing.
Implementation : Second, a BCP checklist can be used for testing and/or actually implementing the plan. In this context, the BCP or crisis management team would use the checklist to ensure that it addresses all of the plan’s tools and processes and communicates them effectively throughout the organization.

Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Planning

Business continuity planning and disaster recovery planning are often mentioned in similar contexts, but they are not interchangeable terms. A business continuity plan is an overarching strategy for operating in disaster scenarios or recovering from a major disruption.

A disaster recovery (DR) plan refers more specifically to the IT processes and tools you can rely on to retain or restore access to mission-critical data, applications, and services in these scenarios. A DR plan would detail, for example, how you could restore access to a revenue-generating web application in the event of a flood in the data center that powers that service.

How often should a Business Continuity Plan be reviewed?

Most experts recommend that business continuity plans be reviewed regularly and updated as needed. This helps ensure that the plan will still meet the organization’s needs in the face of evolving risks and threats.

The frequency with which you review a business continuity plan depends on many factors, including the nature of the organization, its industry and its particular risks. As a general rule of thumb, such plans should be reviewed annually or at least every other year. However, there are multiple scenarios where an organization may want to consider more frequent reviews, including:

Significant changes to the business or its operations
Location in a region at greater risk for natural disasters or other potentially disruptive events
Any organization or agency that provides essential services to the public

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The Backbone of Resilient Organizations: Demystifying Business Continuity

What is business continuity.

No matter what business you’re in, unexpected disruptions can happen. Outages, natural disasters, supply chain failures, cyber incidents, equipment failures, and other physical and technical issues can all disrupt your ability to function and thrive.

To ensure your business is ready for unexpected events, you need to know what to do when things go wrong—and this is where business continuity comes in. Read on to learn more about business continuity, including disaster recovery, and what to include in your business continuity plan. Also, find out about business continuity management and business continuity solutions.

What is business continuity and why is it important?

Business continuity is an organization’s readiness to continue functioning during times of disruption. Business continuity is important because it reduces the potential impact of a disruption on customers, employees, and partners.

Having a business continuity plan (BCP)—which includes the analysis, technology, documentation, training, key team members, and procedures involved in resolving potential crisis situations—is vital for ensuring business continuity. A BCP includes goals focused on minimizing the potential impact of a crisis on a company’s financials and reputation—and maintaining industry, regional, and global compliance standards and regulations.

What’s the difference between business continuity and disaster recovery?

While business continuity and disaster recovery are often used interchangeably, they’re not the same thing.

Disaster recovery is a key part of a business continuity plan and is focused specifically on systems, data, and IT infrastructures. It includes technology, strategies, and processes for saving, restoring, and recovering data and protecting against cyber threats.

For a BCP to be successful in reducing downtime, mitigating risks, and remediating issues like data loss and corruption, disaster recovery measures are crucial. While both involve processes, people, and technology, business continuity offers a much wider scope to encompass the steps necessary for maintaining operations across every part of a business.

What should be included in a business continuity plan?

There are three components of a business continuity plan to consider:

Resilience—developing business functions and infrastructures to be prepared for an unexpected situation.
Recovery—setting up backup and recovery solutions for your applications, systems, and networks; determining what systems should be prioritized in the event of a disaster; and choosing a third-party vendor for additional help and resources if necessary.
Contingency—creating steps for what to do if a disruption occurs. This includes setting up a chain of command with key people and defining their responsibilities when it comes to communication, technology, third-party contracting, and coordinating temporary spaces. Keep these in mind at every step in the planning process to help ensure your BCP covers the full scope of your business.

With these three key components in mind, take the following steps to start building your business continuity plan:

Run a business impact analysis (BIA), which examines your current business functions, processes, and technology. An analysis will uncover potential vulnerabilities, risks, and threats you might encounter. Doing so helps identify areas of improvement and what to prioritize. After an analysis, you may consider making additional technology investments as well.
Outline and assign responsibilities for who will delegate, act, and support in the event of a crisis. These individuals will execute any necessary steps, be points of contact, gather resources, and guide efforts to minimize downtime for affected business functions.
Determine alternative forms of communication in case your standard means of communication are impacted by an outage or downtime.
Prepare backup equipment in case of damage or outages to prevent business-critical functions from stopping.
Understand and follow business continuity standards, which are legal and regulatory requirements determined for an industry. These are helpful when determining what steps you need to take in scenarios such as a breach or data loss. Creating a plan isn’t the last step—to make business continuity an important part of your organization, you also need business continuity management.

What is business continuity management?

Business continuity management includes the processes you put in place to set up and maintain your business continuity plan. It should include the following:

Creating policies that define the scope, objectives, and principles of business continuity. These should always keep the customer in mind to ensure you’ve documented what business-critical functions may impact customers and who is involved in customer service communication in the event of an outage or disruption.
Assembling business continuity teams throughout your organization who can communicate and enforce policies and procedures that are put in place. These employees will take part in ongoing reviews and tests to make sure everything and everyone is properly prepared for an incident.
Supporting a culture of business continuity by educating your entire organization about risks, policies, and documentation available. Offering ongoing training is an important way to increase awareness and gather data to see if there are any gaps or areas in need of improvement.
Maintaining up-to-date compliance standards and best practices to make sure your processes, workflows, and employees all work within the correct industry standards as they relate to data. If a business doesn’t keep up and an unexpected disruption occurs, there’s the risk of increased financial damages, legal costs, and fines.

Keeping track of all the continuously developing parts of a business continuity plan can be daunting for a growing organization. To reduce the time and effort involved, many businesses invest in business continuity solutions.

What kind of business continuity solutions should I consider?

The business continuity solutions you choose should be based on your organization’s needs. Depending on the industry you’re in, the size of your company, and your business-critical functions, you’ll find a range of software and resources available. These options include:

Cloud-based storage solutions, which provide a secure, remote location to back up and run workflows and applications, as well as store data. If there’s a breach or error causing data loss, you can access what you need from the cloud.
Backup and recovery tools for making copies of the data, applications, and systems within your IT infrastructure. If anything is deleted, corrupted, or shut down during a disruption, you can restore them and minimize downtime. These solutions offer different options for running backups, including automatically on a schedule, instantly, or as needed.
Virtualization tools that replicate environments and workspaces. If there’s an outage or device issues, employees can still access their applications and run processes as normal, reducing downtime that may affect services.
Contracts with third-party providers, such as disaster-recovery-as-a-service (DRaaS) and backup-as-a-service. Based on your agreement, a provider can run data backups, host your IT infrastructure, and offer support in the event of a disaster. These services are typically offered with a subscription or a pay-as-you-use model and include support from IT and cybersecurity experts.
Unified communication tools to support collaboration across your entire organization. With one platform for connecting frontline workers, customer service agents, and other key members of your continuity teams, it’s easier to keep everyone up to date on disruptions and manage shifts and schedules to make sure the right people are available.

Business continuity should be a priority for any growing business looking to ensure the safety and security of their employees, technology, and data. To support the planning process, there are several solutions available to make business continuity planning easier. Though you can’t predict or prevent every disruption, with the right tools, a solid plan, and an educated team, business continuity can save you time, money, and resources across your organization.

Learn more • Developing your business continuity plan • Business continuity and disaster recovery

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Business Continuity Plan

Enterprise Glossary - Key Definitions
What is Business Continuity? | Glossary

What is a business continuity plan?

A business continuity plan is a framework that details what will happen in the event of a disruption to business operations. It is part of an emergency management policy that connects the emergency response phase to the recovery phase.

Start with an evaluation

Creating a business continuity plan requires a thorough evaluation of the impacts disruption may have to every aspect of the business, from people to processes to supply chains. It provides a way to respond to and mitigate potential emergencies. Threats to continuous operations include such events as natural disasters, supply chain failures, cyber-attacks, the loss of a key employee, and, especially, pandemics.

Business Continuity Solutions

Deal with the unexpected

Fundamentally, a good business continuity plan helps an organization face the unexpected. In most scenarios, solutions involve maintaining system redundancy, failover, and workplace recovery, and IT infrastructure is central to them all. From offsite backup to cloud partner platforms to remote access, every aspect must be carefully evaluated and strengthened.

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Test, maintain, and update

And not only should an organization have a business continuity plan in place, but it needs to test, maintain, and update the plan. Such maintenance requires time and dedicated resources, which are necessary expenses when it means staying in business. Analysts say that continuity planning is an active and recurrent process rather than a one-time project that’s forgotten once completed. Without that effort, the plan may actually end up being the weakest link in recovery efforts.

Modern Organizations Must Plan for Disruptions

To remain successful, resilient companies prepare to handle disruptive events and keep operations running with business continuity planning. With a formal business continuity plan, organizations ensure that they can continue to function under any circumstances. Being prepared in advance can mean the difference between being able to restart operations and coming to a standstill.

How business continuity plans adapt and change

Business continuity traditionally addressed operational recovery, requiring a formal potential risk assessment and a proactive buildout of solutions for each instance. But since COVID-19 struck, corporations have realized that they need a more elastic approach to preparing for future events.

Instead of simply ensuring that networks continue running and that people can access them when emergencies happen, the pandemic required setting up a stable network with the capacity for significantly higher numbers of people to log in remotely. And firms needed not only the underlying infrastructure to support everything, but also effective communication and collaboration tools.

In addition, a higher frequency of cyberattacks and ransomware threats has challenged IT departments to use the absolute highest level of cybersecurity across every access point on the network. That’s no small feat as more people work remotely and as cyberattacks continue to evolve. To meet this challenge, IT departments must also take into account the learning curve employees experience throughout cybersecurity’s evolution.

In the end, all these steps keep an organization flexible and agile. Rather than merely observing and reacting to disruptions, a mature business continuity plan ensures that technology, processes, people, and operations are all aligned so the organization can quickly adjust to emerging crises and adapt as the situation changes.

Why is a business continuity plan important?

The real question is what does a firm risk by going without a business continuity plan? Short answer: a lot and sometimes everything. Many have discovered after disastrous events that a failure to plan can mean the failure of the entire business itself. Going without can lead to a “game over” scenario. Lost revenue, lost customers, lost profit—the list is dismal. But while most firms recognize the need for a business continuity plan, they often don’t consider what else is on the line. Without a business continuity plan, firms not only face the risk of being offline and losing precious revenue, they also risk the loss of corporate reputation and market leadership. It takes years just to make people aware of any given organization. The prospect of losing a hard-won reputation and a position on the leading edge of an industry is almost unthinkable, and its cost incalculable. The prudent step to take is one best started yesterday. And while not all risk can be completely averted, a solid business continuity plan can ensure that the lights stay on and customers continue to be served.

How does technology help ensure business continuity?

Organizations are investing in digital changes for more than just business continuity. They are putting money into solutions that accelerate their growth, respond more quickly to demand, and communicate more effectively with their customers. Read below for a few ways digital solutions have helped with business continuity and transformation.

Healthcare: Mission critical connectivity and rapid response times are crucial in healthcare and emergency settings. With as-a-service models, hospitals and first responders are ensuring fast, continuous access for critical applications through “rapid-response” healthcare. Other solutions being used include cloud-native platforms that allow remote physicians secure access to patient record systems while meeting privacy, security, and other regulatory compliance requirements.

Small Business: As small businesses often face challenges to staying afloat, cost and efficiency remain paramount. Many have found simple, secure server virtualization solutions. Virtual desktop infrastructure solutions allow small business to navigate the demands of a secure and productive remote workforce. The best solutions deliver secure, efficient access to applications and data and support a wide range of user requirements.

Call Centers and Schools: As call centers support remote working and many schools continue to offer virtual education and distance learning, high-performance reliability to securely access records and resources is critical. Both are finding solutions that allow for anywhere education and maintain call center responsiveness with IAP-VPN or Remote Access Points (RAPs).

The ultimate outcome of business continuity assessment and follow-up is a shift to a new normal driving innovation and breakthrough, and sometimes even leading to new business models.

Business continuity secured with HPE solutions

Hewlett Packard Enterprise helps support operations and business productivity and planning and execution services to speed business results. Take advantage of HPE’s decades-long experience with infrastructure and explore their solutions below:

With HPE servers and software, you can monitor your local workplace and remote workplaces at the same time. Pre-configured HPE ProLiant ML and DL servers and software are easy to deploy. HPE Integrated Lights Out (iLO) server management software enables local and remote monitoring and management. And HPE SMB Setup Software, part of intelligent provisioning, provides a simple, guided process for installation that takes less time and reduces the chance of errors.

As-a-service models offer the flexibility of cloud with the control, security, and reliability found in on-premises data centers. By paying for IT resources and capacity as you use them and when you need them, you can reduce or even eliminate IT capital expenses and operations costs. In addition, with as-a-service models, IT resources can be expanded quickly based on business needs, and IT operations are simplified. HPE offers a market-leading IT-as-a-service offering that brings the cloud experience to your on-premises infrastructure with HPE GreenLake .

Small businesses can find several options to deploy virtualized desk interfaces and implement centralized storage and security, data protection, 24x7 availability, and optional archiving and disaster recovery storage. At HPE, our server virtualization solutions are built on HPE ProLiant servers with scalable and optimized processors.

Protect against attacks and quickly recover from downtime with built-in security features from HPE ProLiant Gen10 that reduce security risks and disruptions. Add peace of mind with backup and archiving storage options and protect data at rest with HPE Secure Encryption .

With solutions like these, you can be prepared for the threat of a shutdown with secure and reliable access to data with infrastructure and software that take into account the complexity and diversity of the infrastructure and variability of demand. HPE solutions allow you to assess evolving developments and find technology that can help with operational process sufficiency.

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How to create an effective business continuity plan

A business continuity plan outlines procedures and instructions an organization must follow in the face of disaster, whether fire, flood, or cyberattack. here’s how to create a plan that gives your business the best chance of surviving such an event..

Professional Meeting: Senior Businesswoman and Colleague in Discussion

The tumultuous events of the past several years have impacted practically every business. And with the number of extreme weather events, cyberattacks, and geopolitical conflicts continuing to rise, business leaders are bracing for the possibility of increasingly more frequent impactful incidents their organizations will need to respond to.

According to PwC’s 2023 Global Crisis and Resilience Survey , 96% of 1,812 business leaders said their organizations had experienced disruption in the past two years and 76% said their most serious disruption had a medium to high impact on operations.

It’s little wonder then that 89% of executives list resilience as one of their most important strategic priorities.

Yet at the same time, only 70% of respondents said they were confident in their organization’s ability to respond to disruptions, with PwC noting that its research shows that too many organizations “are lacking the foundational elements of resilience they need to be successful.”

A solid business continuity plan is one of those foundational elements.

“Every business should have the mindset that they will face a disaster, and every business needs a plan to address the different potential scenarios,” says Goh Ser Yoong, head of compliance at Advance.AI and a member of the Emerging Trends Working Group at the professional governance association ISACA.

A business continuity plan gives the organization the best shot at successfully navigating a disaster by providing ready-made directions on who should do what tasks in what order to keep the business viable.

Without such as a plan, the organization will take longer than necessary to recover from an event or incident — or may never recover at all.

What is a business continuity plan?

A business continuity plan (BCP) is a strategic playbook created to help an organization maintain or quickly resume business functions in the face of disruption, whether that disruption is caused by a natural disaster, civic unrest, cyberattack, or any other threat to business operations.

A business continuity plan outlines the procedures and instructions that the organization must follow during such an event to minimize downtime, covering business processes, assets, human resources, business partners, and more.

A business continuity plan is not the same as a disaster recovery plan , which focuses on restoring IT infrastructure and operations after a crisis. Still, a disaster recovery plan is part of the overall strategy to ensure business continuity, and the business continuity plan should inform the action items detailed in an organization’s disaster recovery plan. The two are tightly coupled, which is why they often are considered together and abbreviated as BCDR.

Why business continuity planning matters

Whether you operate a small business or a large corporation, it’s vital to retain and increase your customer base. There’s no better test of your capability to do so than right after an adverse event.

Because restoring IT is critical for most companies, numerous disaster recovery solutions are available. You can rely on IT to implement those solutions. But what about the rest of your business functions? Your company’s future depends on your people and processes. Being able to handle any incident effectively can have a positive effect on your company’s reputation and market value, and it can increase customer confidence.

Moreover, there are increasing consumer and regulatory expectations for both enterprise security and continuity today. Consequently, organizations must prioritize continuity planning to prevent not only business losses, but financial, legal, reputational, and regulatory consequences.

For example, the risk of having an organization’s “license to operate” withdrawn by a regulator or having conditions applied (retrospectively or prospectively) can adversely affect market value and consumer confidence.

Building (and updating) a business continuity plan

Whether building the organization’s first business continuity plan or updating an existing one, the process involves multiple essential steps.

Assess business processes for criticality and vulnerability: Business continuity planning “starts with understanding what’s most important to the business,” says Joe Nocera, principle in the cyber risk and regulatory practice at PwC, a professional services firm.

So the first step in building your business continuity plan is assessing your business processes to determine which are the most critical; which are the most vulnerable and to what type of events; and what are the potential losses if those processes go down for a day, a few days, or a week.

“This step essentially determines what you are trying to protect and what you are trying to keep up for systems,” says Todd Renner, senior managing director in the cybersecurity practice at FTI Consulting.

This assessment is more demanding than ever before because of the complexity of today’s hybrid workplace, the modern IT environment, and the reliance on business partners and third-party providers to perform or support critical processes.

Given that complexity, Goh says a thorough assessment requires an inventory of not only key processes but also the supporting components — including the IT systems, networks, people, and outside vendors — as well as the risks to those components.

This is essentially a business impact analysis.

Determine your organization’s RTO and RPO: The next step in building a business continuity plan is determining the organization’s recovery time objective (RTO), which is the target amount of time between point of failure and the resumption of operations, and the recovery point objective (RPO), which is the maximum amount of data loss an organization can withstand.

Each organization has its own RTO and RPO based on the nature of its business, industry, regulatory requirements, and other operational factors. Moreover, different parts of a business can have different RTOs and RPOs, which executives need to establish, Nocera says.

“When you meet with individual aspects of the business, everyone says everything [they do] is important; no one wants to say their part of the business is less critical, but in reality you have to have those challenging conversations and determinations about what is actually critical to the business and to business continuity,” he adds.

Detail the steps, roles, and responsibilities for continuity: Once that is done, business leaders should use the RTO and the RPO, along with the business impact analysis, to determine the specific tasks that need to happen, by whom, and in what order to ensure business continuity.

“It’s taking the key components of your analysis and designing a plan that outlines roles and responsibilities, about who does what. It gets into the nitty-gritty on how you’re going to keep the company up and running,” Renner explains.

One common business continuity planning tool is a checklist that includes supplies and equipment, the location of data backups and backup sites, where the plan is available and who should have it, and contact information for emergency responders, key personnel, and backup site providers.

Although the list of possible scenarios that could impact business operations can seem extensive, Goh says business leaders don’t have to compile an exhaustive list of potential incidents. Rather, they should compile a list that includes likely incidents as well as representative ones so that they can create responses that have a higher likelihood of ensuring continuity even when faced with an unimagined disaster.

“So even if it’s an unexpected event, they can pull those building blocks from the plan and apply them to the unique crisis they’re facing,” Nocera says.

The importance of testing the business continuity plan

Devising a business continuity plan is not enough to ensure preparedness; testing and practicing are other critical components.

Renner says testing and practicing offer a few important benefits.

First, they show whether or how well a plan will work.

Testing and practicing help prepare all stakeholders for an actual incident, helping them build the muscle memory needed to respond as quickly and as confidently as possible during a crisis.

They also help identify gaps in the devised plan. As Renner says: “Every tabletop exercise that I’ve ever done has been an eye-opener for everyone involved.”

Additionally, they help identify where there may be misalignment of objectives. For example, executives may have deprioritized the importance of restoring certain IT systems only to realize during a drill that those are essential for supporting critical processes.

Types and timing of tests

Many organizations test a business continuity plan two to four times a year. Experts say the frequency of tests, as well as reviews and updates, depends on the organization itself — its industry, its speed of innovation and transformation, the amount of turnover of key personnel, the number of business processes, and so on.

Common tests include tabletop exercises , structured walk-throughs, and simulations. Test teams are usually composed of the recovery coordinator and members from each functional unit.

A tabletop exercise usually occurs in a conference room with the team poring over the plan, looking for gaps and ensuring that all business units are represented therein.

In a structured walk-through, each team member walks through his or her components of the plan in detail to identify weaknesses. Often, the team works through the test with a specific disaster in mind. Some organizations incorporate drills and disaster role-playing into the structured walk-through. Any weaknesses should be corrected and an updated plan distributed to all pertinent staff.

Some experts also advise a full emergency evacuation drill at least once a year.

Meanwhile, disaster simulation testing — which can be quite involved — should still be performed annually. For this test, create an environment that simulates an actual disaster, with all the equipment, supplies and personnel (including business partners and vendors) who would be needed. The purpose of a simulation is to determine whether the organization and its staff can carry out critical business functions during an actual event.

During each phase of business continuity plan testing, include some new employees on the test team. “Fresh eyes” might detect gaps or lapses of information that experienced team members could overlook.

Reviewing and updating the business continuity plan should likewise happen on an ongoing basis.

“It should be a living document. It shouldn’t be shelved. It shouldn’t be just a check-the-box exercise,” Renner says.

Otherwise, plans go stale and are of no use when needed.

Bring key personnel together at least annually to review the plan and discuss any areas that must be modified.

Prior to the review, solicit feedback from staff to incorporate into the plan. Ask all departments or business units to review the plan, including branch locations or other remote units.

Furthermore, a strong business continuity function calls for reviewing the organization’s response in the event of an actual event. This allows executives and their teams to identify what the organization did well and where it needs to improve.

How to ensure business continuity plan support, awareness

One way to ensure your plan is not successful is to adopt a casual attitude toward its importance. Every business continuity plan must be supported from the top down. That means senior management must be represented when creating and updating the plan; no one can delegate that responsibility to subordinates. In addition, the plan is likely to remain fresh and viable if senior management makes it a priority by dedicating time for adequate review and testing.

Management is also key to promoting user awareness. If employees don’t know about the plan, how will they be able to react appropriately when every minute counts?

Although plan distribution and training can be conducted by business unit managers or HR staff, have someone from the top kick off training and punctuate its significance. It’ll have a greater impact on all employees, giving the plan more credibility and urgency.

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What does a business continuity plan include? 5 key elements

The COVID-19 crisis has forced businesses to tackle a multitude of challenges over the past few months, but one of the most important involves the business continuity (BC) plan. Many companies learned too late that their plans were inadequate, lacking interoperability with other critical plans for crisis management, disaster recovery, and pandemic readiness.

Many business contnuity plans are either too high-level to offer any real actionable detail or consist of content that is out of date. In other instances, plans place too much emphasis on short-term disturbances and forsake long-lasting disruptions. Many also gloss over pre-event preparations and work acceleration strategies.

The pandemic has reset expectations. While CIOs have a vested interest in the effectiveness of BC plans – after all, they ensure essential activities can withstand a variety of disruptions to keep the business running as IT reinstates services after an incident – resilience should be a company-wide priority.

[ Also read: Digital transformation: Why data leaders must play offense during COVID-19 . ]

1. Build your business continuity plan foundation

As you reimagine your entire business resilience program, here’s what your BC plans should include. Effective BC plans start with the following five essential framework elements:

Objectives: What will the plan cover, and how does it fit into a larger organizational response to disruption?
Activation procedure: What sets the BC plan in motion? Who is involved, and what resources — i.e., backups, workplace recovery facilities, etc. — are available?
Priorities: How will you communicate with staff, vendors, customers, and others? What are the most business-critical applications and systems that you need to focus on reviving?
Assumptions and limitations: You can’t foresee every disruption, but you can detail limitations in your plan to allow for effective decision-making. Identify limitations in the extent, duration, and impact of your plan.
Standing down procedures: Determine your criteria for saying an incident is closed and how to extract lessons learned from the experience. This section can also include an appendix of relevant resources, from templates like action logs to meeting agendas.

Within this framework, there’s a lot of room to customize for your size, maturity, compliance requirements, and other factors. While every organization’s BC plan approach will be unique, it’s important to consider the following aspects when designing your plan.

2. Develop response strategies if key resources are unavailable

Effective BC plans must include well-defined strategies and actions for responding in the event that key resources become unavailable. These could include:

Third-party services
IT services

You need to have planned business responses for each of these disruption scenarios, and they must be at the individual resource level. Generic statements that convey the “what’s” without the “how’s” aren’t helpful. For example, if your inventory management system is unavailable, how will you continue your receiving activity? Be specific in your plans.

IT must be aware of the part it plays in enabling disruption response strategies. For example, remote working is one possible business response for workplace unavailability. In that event, IT might be tasked with upgrading your company’s virtual meeting service and expanding the IT help desk staff.

[ Read also: LogMeIn CIO: This is IT's time to shine on business continuity and Moving from COVID-19 crisis leadership to strategic leadership . ]

However, in a workforce unavailability scenario, your solution might be to transition work to personnel in another geography. In this case, IT’s response might be to adjust network configuration in anticipation of increased volumes from a network node.

BC planning is also essential within IT, which relies on people, workplaces, equipment, third-party services, supporting systems, and data. Put comprehensive BC plans in place for key IT activities where ongoing service levels are of paramount importance. This includes:

Network operations centers
Information security operations centers
IT help desks
Disaster recovery teams

3. Work out timing for each response strategy

Timing is critical.

Determine the anticipated time to implement each of your defined response strategies, as well as how long each strategy can remain effective.

For some strategy options, the goal should be quick implementation times. For others, focus on ensuring the response strategies will be effective for sustained timeframes – ideally three to six months or longer.

Let's look at two more important elements:

A Deming Cycle Approach to Business Continuity Strategy

Building your business continuity strategy on a Design-Test-Reflect-Iterate cycle lays a solid, adaptable foundation to manage dynamic risks.

Blog-CTA-Sidebar-Graphic-BusinessContinuity-Checklist

How to Build Your Business Continuity Strategy

It’s not a question of if but when a business will encounter disruption. Challenges are inevitable, whether natural disasters, cybersecurity breaches, or other unforeseen emergencies. How your company responds will determine its trajectory.

Forty-three percent of small businesses affected by a natural disaster never reopen. But a business continuity strategy can prevent your business from living the statistics. We’ve talked to financial, aerospace, and telecom industry leaders to understand their business continuity strategies. Read on to learn about crafting an adaptable, systemic approach to navigating expected and unforeseen challenges.

Download Our Business Continuity Checklist

A cyclical approach to business continuity.

Business is not static, and neither are the threats to operations. Organizations need dynamic frameworks to navigate uncertainty in an environment characterized by constant change and evolving risks. That’s why many companies turn to the Deming Cycle, also known as PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act).

A diagram of the Deming Cycle's four steps: Plan, Do, Check, Act

Plan: Develop a robust continuity strategy
Do: Execute the preparedness measures
Check: Assess effectiveness through testing
Act: Adjust based on feedback for continual improvement

A business continuity strategy ensures your organization can maintain operational resilience during and after a crisis. With a systematic approach, you can manage various disruptions effectively. But first, you need to understand the potential threats to your business and how those threats would disrupt operational continuity.

This assessment process is critical for your initial planning and as an ongoing pulse check to ensure your business continuity strategy is effective—considering how your organization’s vulnerabilities and risks are changing.

A cyclical diagram of our business continuity strategy in four steps: design, test, reflect, and iterate

Design: Develop the initial framework
Test: Implement controls to assess functionality and performance
Reflect: Evaluate outcomes and identify critical optimizations
Iterate: Adapt the strategy for improved business continuity management

Better business continuity planning with SAC Wireless

On The Employee Safety Podcast , we spoke with Larry Pomykalski, Director of National Programs & Business Continuity at SAC Wireless. Larry underscores the need to cast a wide net when planning for interruptions. The plan should be broad enough to encompass a broad range of scenarios while maintaining business processes. By continuously evaluating and adjusting plans based on feedback and changing circumstances, it’s possible to minimize business disruption and speed recovery.

Larry notes that while it’s impossible to foresee every disruption, having a variety of plans enables organizations to modify strategies quickly to suit the current situation. By identifying critical business functions and establishing recovery time objectives, businesses can prioritize risks as they develop effective mitigation strategies tailored to their specific needs.

“Remain open-minded; be imaginative about what you can and can’t see impacting your organization.[…] That’s the first step in tracking potential threats,” Larry advises.

1. Design a working business continuity management strategy

Identify stakeholders and plan leaders.

A business continuity management (BCM) team is responsible for implementing your plan, so choosing the right people is vital to success. It’s typically an interdisciplinary team made up of individuals from various departments and roles within the organization, including:

Business Continuity Manager: This individual leads the continuity program’s development, implementation, and maintenance.
Risk Management Specialist: They identify, assess, and prioritize risks to the organization’s operations.
IT Director/Manager: This leader ensures critical IT systems and infrastructure resilience.
Operations Manager: Their role involves coordinating continuity efforts across departments and ensuring operational readiness.
Human Resources Manager: They are responsible for developing employee safety, communication, and workforce continuity plans.
Facilities Manager: This leader addresses physical security and facility-related risks.
Supply Chain Manager: They are responsible for assessing supply chain risks and developing strategies for continuity.
Legal and Compliance Officer: Their responsibilities include continuity plan compliance with regulatory requirements and contractual obligations.
Communications Coordinator: Their main task is to develop communication protocols and channels for internal and external stakeholders during emergencies.
Team Leaders: These individuals act as boots on the ground, providing direction and guidance to workers on the floor, in the field, or wherever they’re located.

By assembling a diverse and capable team with representation from these key areas, organizations can effectively address all aspects of business continuity planning and enhance their resilience to disruptions.

Assess potential risks and impacts

Only by knowing your risk profile inside and out can you manage and mitigate the risks to business continuity. The more you know, the more proactive you can be.

Assessments come in different forms. A threat or risk assessment considers the potential causes of disruptions, such as natural disasters, cyberattacks, power outages, supply chain interruptions, public demonstrations, public health risks, and many more. On the other hand, a business impact analysis focuses on the impacts that arise from these emergencies and disruptions, such as downtime, travel delays, compromised data, increased costs, facilities damage, delayed or lost income, regulatory fines, reputational damage, and more.

Begin with both types of assessment to understand the vulnerabilities and risks that could threaten business continuity.

Navigate resiliency challenges with regular assessments

Regular vulnerability assessments are crucial to maintaining business continuity, especially in the face of evolving challenges, such as a geographically dispersed workforce and climate-related disruptions. Jeff Dow, Manager of Protection and Resiliency at a major financial organization, highlighted the importance of staying vigilant during a recent interview on The Employee Safety Podcast .

Jeff’s team recognized that transitioning to a hybrid work model, with employees across 49 states, introduced new risks and vulnerabilities. They conducted thorough risk assessments to identify potential threats related to remote work, like extreme weather events.

They concentrated on three assessment methods to adapt their plans supporting business continuity:

Set your recovery time objective (RTO)

When setting a recovery time objective (RTO), you must consider your organization’s specific needs and priorities. Start by evaluating the criticality of each business process or system, considering factors such as customer expectations, regulatory requirements, and financial implications. Determine the maximum tolerable downtime for each function, keeping in mind that mission-critical systems may require a shorter RTO than less essential processes.

Once you’ve defined the RTOs for your key business functions, develop comprehensive strategies to achieve them. This may involve implementing redundant systems, establishing backup procedures, and investing in technologies that minimize downtime. Review and update your RTOs to ensure they remain relevant and aligned with your evolving business needs.

Remember to conduct tests and simulations regularly to validate the achievability of your RTOs and identify areas for improvement in your recovery strategies. Setting realistic and achievable recovery time objectives can enhance your organization’s preparedness for disruptions and minimize their impact on your operations and stakeholders.

Develop plans to prevent, mitigate, respond to, and recover from business disruptions

You might as well consider every version of your business continuity plan (BCP) a rough draft. Until it has been tested, you can’t be sure it’s comprehensive or effective enough to safeguard your business operations. Here are some necessary elements to consider for your dynamic strategy:

The tools and the team to monitor threats and determine their potential impacts on your organization
An emergency communication plan and a software system to keep everyone connected during expected and unexpected crises
Backup plans, equipment, locations, power, and any other redundancies that will keep operations running

Read more about the business continuity planning process on our blog.

2. Test your plan during actual and simulated emergencies

Train employees.

In the previous step, you determined which stakeholders need to be involved in the planning and preparedness efforts, risk mitigation, response procedures, disaster recovery, and any other elements of your business continuity strategy. This next phase involves preparing these people for their responsibilities. Here are suggested trainings tailored to each stakeholder’s role within the business continuity framework:

Business Continuity Manager: Training should cover developing and maintaining the continuity program, including risk assessment methodologies, plan development, testing protocols, and coordination with departmental stakeholders.
Risk Management Specialist: Offer detailed training on risk assessment techniques such as scenario analysis, impact assessment, and probability assessment.
IT Director/Manager: Conduct technical training on data backup and recovery procedures, system redundancy configurations, cybersecurity best practices, and incident response protocols.
Operations Manager: Provide training on crisis management principles, including incident response procedures, business impact analysis, and resource allocation strategies.
Human Resources Manager: Offer comprehensive training on crisis communication strategies, employee safety protocols, and workforce continuity planning. Include modules on remote work arrangements, employee assistance programs, and psychological support during crises.
Facilities Manager: Review building security systems, access control protocols, emergency response drills, and facility maintenance procedures.
Supply Chain Manager: Provide training on supply chain risk management techniques, including supplier assessment methodologies, inventory management strategies, and alternative sourcing options.
Legal and Compliance Officer: Cover topics such as data protection laws, industry standards, contractual obligations for continuity services, and legal implications of business disruptions.
Communications Coordinator: Provide comprehensive training on crisis communication strategies, including message development, media relations, stakeholder engagement techniques, and communication channel management.

By providing detailed and targeted training to each stakeholder, you ensure they have the necessary knowledge and skills to contribute to the organization’s business continuity efforts effectively. Of course, a significant part of that training is testing the skills they’ve learned.

Conduct drills and other exercises

Emergency drills , full-scale simulations, and tabletop exercises can test your preparedness, response, and recovery plans. These exercises allow you to identify weaknesses and gaps in your plans in a controlled environment, enabling you to address them proactively before a real crisis occurs. By simulating various scenarios, you can evaluate the effectiveness of your communication protocols, decision-making processes, and resource allocation strategies.

Involving key stakeholders in these exercises fosters collaboration, enhances coordination, and increases familiarity with their roles and responsibilities during emergencies. Regularly conducting drills and exercises ensures your team remains well-prepared and agile in responding to unexpected events, strengthening your organization’s resilience and ability to navigate challenges effectively.

After-action reviews following exercises, not just actual emergencies, are essential for continuous improvement and learning. These reviews provide an opportunity to evaluate the effectiveness of your response and recovery plans in a structured manner before putting them to the test with your business on the line. By examining what went well and what could be improved, you can identify lessons learned and best practices to incorporate into future planning efforts.

On top of that, conducting after-action reviews fosters a culture of accountability and transparency within your organization, encouraging open communication and constructive feedback among team members. This process allows you to iterate on your strategies and capabilities, ensuring you are better prepared to handle real emergencies when they arise.

Activate the plan as any actual threats or disruptions arise

Hopefully, you’ve been able to prioritize training and exercises before a significant crisis hits. Doing so ensures that your team is well-prepared to execute the plan with confidence and efficiency when it matters most.

However, even if you haven’t had the opportunity to conduct extensive training beforehand, your preparation through drills and simulations will still significantly enhance your response capabilities. Remember to remain agile and adaptable during emergencies, leveraging the knowledge and experience gained from training to make informed decisions and effectively manage the situation.

3. Reflect on the plan’s effectiveness and its need to evolve

Perform after-action reviews.

After-action reviews (AARs) enhance business resilience by providing a structured post-crisis evaluation and improvement framework. These reviews thoroughly examine the response to a crisis or disruption, aiming to identify strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities for enhancement. They allow you to test your business continuity plan and management systems in real-time to address any gaps. Typically conducted shortly after the event, AARs gather input from key stakeholders involved in the response effort, including frontline responders, managers, and support staff.

Conducting an AAR begins with a comprehensive review of the incident, including the timeline of events, actions taken, and outcomes achieved. This retrospective analysis allows participants to understand what transpired during the crisis and how the organization responded. Facilitators guide discussions by prompting participants to reflect on their experiences, share observations, and identify successes and improvement areas.

Central to the AAR process is emphasizing open and honest communication, creating a safe space for participants to voice their perspectives and insights without fear of retribution. This collaborative approach fosters a culture of continuous learning and improvement within the organization. By soliciting feedback from all levels of the organization, AARs capture diverse perspectives, enriching the insights gained from the review process.

Determine gaps and necessary contingency plans

The ultimate goal of conducting AARs is to distill lessons learned from the crisis response and translate them into actionable improvements to the organization’s business continuity plan and risk management strategy. This may involve updating procedures, refining communication protocols, or investing additional resources to address identified gaps. By leveraging the insights gleaned from AARs, organizations can strengthen their preparedness for future crises, enhancing their resilience and ability to navigate adversity effectively.

Boeing’s all-hazards approach to business continuity

An effective business continuity plan relies heavily on the team’s ability to collaborate seamlessly, even across physical and geographic boundaries. On The Employee Safety Podcast , we spoke with Keith Berthiume, Enterprise Emergency Preparedness Program Manager at Boeing, to understand why Boeing is an excellent example of an agile, collaborative approach.

Keith underscores the significance of assembling diverse teams to evaluate impacts, recognize critical needs and functions, and coordinate responses promptly. This real-time collaboration has proven instrumental for Boeing, enabling the company to swiftly adapt and respond to evolving situations, such as the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Boeing’s success highlights the importance of effective communication and coordination within the organization and with external stakeholders, including service providers and off-site teams. Businesses can enhance their resilience and readiness to navigate complex, unforeseen disruptions by fostering collaboration across boundaries.

“Having senior leaders all together on a team is a significant force multiplier because the executives at the highest level of the company are able to ensure implementation of integrated and coordinated response, seamless coordination, and a unified direction from the leadership team,” Keith told us.

4. Iterate on your strategy in light of dynamic risks

Adapt to company changes.

The after-action reviews are what keep the cycle turning. While the advance threat and impact assessments help you align with and prioritize what you know, post-event reviews are about opening up to what you don’t know—or what you didn’t know with the most recent iteration of your plan.

You may only know about certain vulnerabilities once you are in an actual or simulated emergency. So, looking back and acting on those learnings is foundational to business continuity.

Adapt to changing risk

Twenty years ago, businesses rarely considered the effect that a prolonged pandemic could have on their ability to operate. Continuity plans were based more on immediate threats like natural disasters or economic downturns.

However, the landscape has shifted dramatically, emphasizing the need for organizations to adapt and expand their risk management strategies to encompass emerging threats such as pandemics. The global impact of COVID-19 has underscored the importance of proactive planning and preparedness for unforeseen events that can disrupt operations on a massive scale. As businesses navigate the complexities of this evolving risk landscape, it becomes increasingly crucial to prioritize resilience and agility in their continuity planning efforts.

In response to the lessons learned from COVID-19 and other emerging risks, business leaders can take proactive steps to stay ahead of future challenges. To adapt to changing risks, you should:

Conduct regular risk assessments to identify vulnerabilities.
Diversify supply chains to mitigate disruptions.
Prioritize employee well-being and flexible work arrangements.
Implement cross-training programs to ensure redundancy in critical roles.
Maintain adequate financial reserves to weather economic uncertainties.
Strengthen cybersecurity measures for remote work environments by implementing multi-factor authentication, encryption, and regular security training.

Organizations can also make use of various technologies for proactive threat monitoring. Threat intelligence platforms can help them discover cyber risks, while real-time alert tools can keep them ahead of natural disasters or other widespread disruptions.

Strategic Planning to Keep the Wheel Turning

Business continuity planning is not a nice-to-have but a necessity in today’s unpredictable world. Whether it’s a natural disaster, cybersecurity breach, or other unforeseen emergency, the ability to respond effectively can make or break a business. As industry leaders and best practices highlight, adopting a structured approach like the PDCA cycle is essential for building resilience and adaptability.

Learning from business continuity strategy examples, companies can prioritize collaboration, real-time communication, and flexibility in their response efforts. Download our business continuity checklist for a template to help guide you on solid business continuity planning.

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What Is Business Continuity and Why Is It Important?

Posted by Alfie McDonald on September 6th 2022

Did you know 1 in 5 businesses suffer a disruption each year? Worse, 80% of businesses affected by disasters are forced to close within a month.

If you want to protect your business from damage, implementing policies and procedures for managing and responding to incidents is crucial. So, where do you start? We’ll show you. Get acquainted with business continuity testing and how to implement an effective plan in your company, below.

What is business continuity?

Business continuity planning means implementing procedures so your organisation can continue to operate as close to normal as possible during and after a disaster. These disasters could range from floods or fires to cyber-attacks and network errors.

The purpose of a business continuity plan is to document procedures for responding to incidents. This includes how you’ll manage and contain incidents, and continue operations while services are disrupted. For instance, if a cyber-attack disrupts your network and forces operations offline, you must consider how you’ll continue providing your services.

It’s also important to remember that a business continuity plan shouldn’t be confused with disaster recovery. Although related, disaster recovery is IT-specific and focuses on your systems, unlike business continuity which considers all areas of your company. Regardless, you should plan for both as part of your wider business objectives.

What does business continuity testing include?

A business continuity strategy can be divided into two areas—planning and management.

Business continuity management

You should consider a business continuity plan as a work in progress. Although it’s essential to have a set plan, you must regularly review, test, and update it.

Implementing a business continuity plan is as much about communicating responsibilities, running practice drills, and evaluating procedures, as it is about action plans in crisis. As such, you should arrange for ongoing business continuity management, reviewing and updating policies following a real or practice incident, and when new threats emerge.

What does business continuity testing guard against?

When assessing business continuity risk, you should think about all possible disasters. Doing so ensures you’re prepared, whether a simple network error, data breach, or fire. Some common disasters include:

Natural disasters – Incidents like fire and floods can damage your business. In some cases, they may lead to total loss of your premises and contents.
Global pandemics – If your business isn’t equipped for remote working, global pandemics can halt operations or even cause you to close completely.
Network disruptions – Server downtime or interruptions can force employees offline, unable to access essential data, email inboxes, and other IT software critical for your business.
Cyber-attacks – Malicious attacks can disrupt your IT systems and lead to more drastic consequences like data breaches and theft.
Human error – Sometimes, disasters are caused by human error, such as downloading malicious software, deleting essential data, or even causing a fire.

Why is business continuity management critical?

Would you know what to do if a hacker accessed your network? What about if your business premises were set on fire? How would you respond? That’s why having a business continuity plan is essential. Should anything go wrong, you’ll already have an action plan for the ‘what if’ incidents, reducing unplanned downtime and subsequent financial and business risks.

Asides from mitigating disruptions business continuity plans have many other benefits:

Save money – With plans, less money is spent recovering assets and information. Plus, alternative working arrangements mean you can continue business operations during incidents and avoid further financial risks.
Save time – Less time is needed to decide on the action to take during a disaster, since everything is pre-determined. In addition, you can immediately activate your business continuity plans, ensuring incidents are managed quickly and effectively.
Identify vulnerabilities – Business continuity plans allow you to identify potential risks and vulnerabilities, so you can take action before incidents occur. For instance, organising cloud backup of data, rather than storing it in an unsecured location.
Maintain reputation – Preparing your organisation’s continuity plans helps you maintain your reputation in the event of a disaster, ensuring you can continue to provide customers with the service they expect.
Enhance security – Planning for disruptions also means preventing them by encouraging businesses to step up their security practices. For instance, using additional cybersecurity measures to prevent data leaks.
Increase efficiencies – A well-communicated business continuity plan can increase operational efficiencies throughout your workforce, encouraging employees to practice high security and be vigilant threats.

Start your business continuity planning

At BCN, we can guide your business through continuity planning from start to finish. Our industry-accredited team will work with you to assess potential threats and impacts, with a fully personalised, effective business continuity plan. Our three-step approach includes:

Manage and evolve:Our team conducts ongoing success and metric tracking, guiding continuous improvements of your plan. Including day-to-day offsite backup checks, that our team responds to from the NOC as part of BCN Group’s proactive ticket process.

An illustration of person sitting at computer trying to deflect cyber attack

Published: 21 December 2023 Contributors: Mesh Flinders, Ian Smalley

Business continuity disaster recovery (BCDR) refers to a process that helps organizations return to normal business operations if a disaster happens. While business continuity and disaster recovery are closely related, they describe two subtly different approaches to crisis management that businesses can take.

As data loss prevention and downtime become more expensive, many organizations are upping their investment in emergency management. In 2023, companies worldwide were set to spend USD 219 billion on cybersecurity, a 12% increase from the previous year according to a recent report by the International Data Corporation (link resides outside ibm.com).

What is a disaster recovery plan?

A disaster recovery plan (DRP) is a contingency plan for how an enterprise will recover from an unexpected event. DRPs help businesses manage different disaster scenarios, such as massive outages, natural disasters, ransomware and malware attacks, and many others.

What is a business continuity plan?

Like DRPs, business continuity plans (BCPs) play a critical role in disaster recovery and help organizations return to normal business functions when a disaster happens. Where a DRP focuses specifically on IT systems, business continuity management focuses more broadly on various aspects of preparedness.

Connect and integrate your systems to prepare your infrastructure for AI.

Most organizations divide BCDR planning into two separate processes: business continuity and disaster recovery. This approach is effective because while the two processes share many steps, there are also key differences in how organizations build, implement and test the plans.

The main difference is that BCPs are proactive, aiming to maintain operations before, during and right after a disaster. On the other hand, DRPs are reactive, focusing on how to respond and recover from an incident. This distinction should guide the creation of your BCDR strategy, with BCPs focusing on critical processes and roles, and DRPs on recovery actions post-incident.

Both processes depend heavily on two critical components: recovery time objective and recovery point objective.

Recovery time objective (RTO)

RTO refers to the amount of time it takes to restore business processes after an unplanned incident. Establishing a reasonable RTO is one of the first things businesses need do when they’re creating their DRP.

Recovery point objective (RPO)

Your business’ RPO is the amount of data it can afford to lose in a disaster and still recover. Since data protection is a core capability of many modern enterprises, some constantly copy data to a remote data center to ensure continuity in case of a massive breach. Others set an RPO of a few minutes—or even hours—for them to recover business data from a backup system, so they know they are able to recover from whatever they've lost during that time.

1. Conduct business impact analysis

To build an effective BCP, you first need to understand the various risks your organization faces. Business impact analysis (BIA) is vital in risk management and business resilience. BIA is the process of identifying and evaluating the potential impact of a disaster on normal operations. Strong BIA includes an overview of all potential existing threats and vulnerabilities—internal and external—and detailed plans for mitigation. The BIA must also identify the likelihood of an event occurring so the organization can prioritize accordingly.

2. Design responses

When your BIA is complete, the next step in building your BCP is planning effective responses to each of the threats you’ve identified. Different threats naturally require different disaster recovery strategies, so each of your responses should have a detailed plan for how the organization will spot a specific threat and address it.

3. Identify key roles and responsibilities

This step dictates how key members of your team responds when facing a crisis or disruptive event. It documents expectations for each team member and also the resources required for them to fulfill their roles. This part of the process is good to consider how individuals communicate when an incident occurs. Some threats shut down key networks—such as cellular or internet connectivity—so it’s important to have reliable fallback methods of communication.

4. Test and update your plan

To be actionable, you need to constantly practice and refine your BCDR plan. Constant testing and training of employees lead to a seamless deployment when an actual disaster strikes. Rehearse realistic scenarios like cyberattacks, fires, floods, human error, massive outages and other relevant threats so team members can build confidence in their roles and responsibilities.

Like BCPs, DRPs require BIA—the outlining of roles and responsibilities and constant testing and refinement. But because DRPs are more reactive in nature, there is more of a focus on risk analysis and data backup and recovery . Steps 2 and 3 of DRP development, analyzing risks and creating an asset inventory are not part of the BCP development process at all.

Here's a widely used five-step process for creating a DRP:

1. Conduct business impact analysis

Like in your BCP process, start by assessing each threat your company might face and what its ramifications might be. Consider how potential threats might impact daily operations, regular communication channels and worker safety. Other considerations for a strong BIA include loss of revenue, cost of downtime, cost of reputational repair (public relations), loss of customers and investors (short and long term) and any incurred penalties from compliance violations.

2. Analyze risks

DRPs typically require more careful risk assessment than BCPs since their role is to focus on recovery efforts from a potential disaster. During the risk analysis portion of planning, consider a risk’s likelihood and potential impact on your business.

3. Create an asset inventory

To create an effective DRP, you must know exactly what your enterprise owns, its purpose or function and its condition. Doing regular asset inventory helps identify hardware, software, IT infrastructure and anything else your organization might own that is crucial to your business operations. When you’ve identified your assets, you can group them into three categories: critical, important and unimportant.

Critical: Only label assets as critical if your enterprise requires them for normal business operations.
Important: Give this label to assets that you use at least once a day and that would have an impact on business operations (but not shut them down entirely) if they are disrupted.
Unimportant: These are assets your business uses infrequently that are not essential for normal business operations.

4. Establish roles and responsibilities

Just like in your BCP development, you need to clearly outline responsibilities and ensure that team members have what they need to perform their required duties. Without this crucial step, no one knows how to act during a disaster. Here are some roles and responsibilities to consider when building your DRP:

Incident reporter: Someone who maintains contact information for relevant parties and communicates with business leaders and stakeholders when disruptive events occur.
DRP supervisor: The DRP supervisor ensures that team members perform their assigned tasks during an incident.
Asset manager: Someone whose job it is to secure and protect critical assets when a disaster strikes.
Third-party liaison: The person who coordinates with any third-party vendors or service providers you’ve hired as part of your DRP and updates stakeholders accordingly on how the DRP is going.

5. Test and refine

Like your BCP, your DRP requires constant practice and refinement to be effective. Practice it regularly and update it according to any meaningful changes that are necessary. For example, if your company acquires a new asset after you've formed your DRP, you’ll need to incorporate it into your plan to ensure it's protected going forward.

In terms of BCDR planning, every business is going to have its own unique set of needs. Here are a few examples of plans that are effective for companies of differing sizes and industries:

Crisis management plan

A crisis management plan, also known as an incident management plan, is a detailed plan for managing a specific incident. It provides detailed instructions on how your organization responds to a specific crisis, such as a power outage, cyberattack or natural disaster.

Communications plan

A communications plan outlines how your organization handles public relations (PR) in the event of a disaster. Business leaders typically coordinate with communications specialists to formulate communications plans that complement any crisis management activities needed to keep business operations going during an unplanned incident.

Data center recovery plan

A data center recovery plan focuses on the security of a data center facility and its ability to get back up and running after an unplanned incident. Some common threats to data storage include overstretched personnel that can result in human error, cyberattacks, power outages and difficulty following compliance requirements.

Network recovery plan

Network recovery plans help organizations recover from an interruption of network services, including internet access, cellular data, local area networks and wide area networks. Due to the critical role networked services play in business operations, network recovery plans must clearly outline the steps, roles and responsibilities needed to quickly and effectively restore services after a network compromise.

Virtualized recovery plan

A virtualized recovery plan relies on virtual machine (VM) instances that can be ready to operate within a couple of minutes of an interruption. Virtual machines are representations, or emulations, of physical computers that provide critical application recovery through high availability, or the ability of a system to operate continuously without failing.

BCDR planning helps organizations better understand the threats they face and better prepare to face them. Enterprises that don’t undertake BCDR planning face various risks, including data loss, downtime, financial penalties and reputational damage. Effective BCDR planning helps ensure business continuity and the prompt restoration of services after a business disruption. Here are some of the benefits companies with strong BCDR planning enjoy:

When an unplanned incident disrupts business as usual, it can cost hundreds of millions of dollars. Additionally, high-profile cyberattacks frequently attract unwanted attention in the press and can result in loss of confidence in both customers and investors. BCDR plans increase an organization’s ability get back up and running swiftly and smoothly after an unplanned incident.

According to IBM’s recent Cost of Data Breach Report , the average cost of a data breach in 2023 was USD 4.45 million, a 15% increase over the previous three years. Enterprises with strong BCDR can reduce those costs by helping maintain business continuity throughout an incident and speeding recovery afterward. Another opportunity for cost-savings with strong BCDR is in cyber insurance. Many insurers won’t insure organizations that haven't established a strong BCDR plan.

Data breaches incur hefty fines when private customer information is compromised. Businesses that operate in heavily regulated sectors like healthcare and personal finance face especially costly penalties. Since these penalties are often tied to the duration and severity of a breach, maintaining business continuity and shortening response and recovery lifecycles is critical to keeping financial penalties low.

Even a minor outage can put you at a competitive disadvantage. Protect your data with a cloud disaster recovery plan.

Employ a highly durable, scalable and security-rich destination for backing up your data.

Expand capacity and consolidate data center infrastructure onto an automated and centrally managed software-defined data center with IBM Cloud for VMware Solutions.

Many factors come into play when deciding whether to invest in and manage your on-premises disaster recovery (DR) solutions or use disaster recovery as a service (DRaaS) providers.

Backup and restore refers to technologies and practices for making periodic copies of data and applications to a separate, secondary device and then using those copies to recover the data and applications.

There are critical similarities and differences between disaster recovery and backup. These solutions can both help you solve your business' most important problems.

IBM has plans and processes in place globally that help sustain its business by assessing potential disasters. This paper provides an overview of the business continuity measures used by IBM to help prevent or reduce the impact of potential threats.

Zerto helps clients access robust disaster recovery and data protection capabilities while using the agility and flexibility of IBM Cloud for VMware solutions shared in a single-click deployment.

IBM's business continuity and resiliency engagement is designed to help you enable resumption of your business operations quickly and maintain the quality of your existing services in the event of an outage.

IBM Cloud Backup is a full-featured, agent-based backup and recovery system managed through a web interface. Back up data between IBM Cloud servers in one or more IBM Cloud global data centers.

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What Is A Business Continuity Plan?
How to Write a Business Continuity Plan?

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COMMENTS

What Is a Business Continuity Plan (BCP), and How Does It Work?
Business Continuity Planning - BCP: The business continuity planning (BCP) is the creation of a strategy through the recognition of threats and risks facing a company, with an eye to ensure that ...
What is business continuity and why is it important?
Business continuity plans should be adaptable. One method of instituting a business continuity plan is to perform a risk assessment of an organization's processes and then build a response plan for each instance of a risk. This can help the organization identify potential risks to the business and prepare for unexpected challenges, ensuring it's adaptable in the event of a disaster.
What Is A Business Continuity Plan? [+ Template & Examples]
1. Operational. Operational continuity means that the systems and processes your business relies on are able to continue functioning without disruption. As these processes are critical to business operations, it's important to have a plan in place in case disruption occurs so you can minimize the loss of revenue. 2.
What is a Business Continuity Plan (BCP)?
Business continuity planning is a proactive business process that lets a company understand potential threats, vulnerabilities and weaknesses to its organization in times of crisis. The creation of a business continuity program ensures company leaders can react quickly and efficiently to business interruption.
All about Business Continuity Planning
A business continuity plan includes guidelines and procedures to guide a business through disruption. The efforts to create a plan are the same for large or small organizations. A simple plan is better than no plan. The basic steps for writing a business continuity plan are as follows: Create a governance team.
What Is Business Continuity?
A business continuity strategy is a summary of the mitigation, crisis, and recovery plans to be implemented after a disruption to resume normal operations. "Business continuity strategy" is often used interchangeably with "business continuity plan." Both consider the broader goals, legal and regulatory requirements, personnel, and even the ...
Business continuity planning
Business continuity planning life cycle. Business continuity may be defined as "the capability of an organization to continue the delivery of products or services at pre-defined acceptable levels following a disruptive incident", and business continuity planning (or business continuity and resiliency planning) is the process of creating systems of prevention and recovery to deal with potential ...
How to Write a Business Continuity Plan
Here is an example of a BCP format: Business Name: Record the business name, which usually appears on the title page. Date: The day the BCP is completed and signed off. Purpose and Scope: This section describes the reason for and span of the plan. Business Impact Analysis: Add the results of the BIA to your plan.
What is a Business Continuity Plan? [+ Template & Examples]
A business continuity plan is a risk management strategy that a business implements to protect its operations in the face of an unexpected event or disruption such as a natural disaster, cyberattack, or technological failure. By anticipating and preparing for potential crises or unplanned eventualities, businesses can take preemptive measures ...
Understanding the Essentials of a Business Continuity Plan
A business continuity plan (BCP) is an essential blueprint that outlines how a company will continue operating during an unplanned disruption in service. It's more than just a reactive strategy; it's a proactive measure to ensure that critical business functions can continue during and after a crisis. The purpose of a BCP is to provide a ...
What is a Business Continuity Plan (BCP)?
A Business Continuity Plan (BCP) is a detailed strategy and set of systems for ensuring an organization's ability to prevent or rapidly recover from a significant disruption to its operations.The plan is essentially a playbook for how any type of organization—such as a private-sector company, a government agency or a school—will continue its day-to-day business during a disaster scenario ...
Business Continuity Plan: Example & How to Write
Step 3: Establish the business continuity plan objectives. Step 4: Evaluate the potential impact of disruptions to the business and its workers. Step 5: List actions to protect the business. Step 6: Organize contact lists. Step 7: Maintain, review, and continuously update the business continuity plan.
How to Create a Resilient Business Continuity Plan
Step 4: When every second counts — define tolerable delays for vital functions. Keeping all your critical functions running during a disruptive event isn't always feasible. That's why you must define the maximum allowable downtime for these functions in your business continuity planning.
What is Business Continuity?
Business continuity is an organization's readiness to continue functioning during times of disruption. Business continuity is important because it reduces the potential impact of a disruption on customers, employees, and partners. Having a business continuity plan (BCP)—which includes the analysis, technology, documentation, training, key ...
What Is a Business Continuity Plan?
A business continuity plan (BCP) is a document that sets guidelines for how an organization should continue its operations in the event of a disruption, such as fires, floods, other natural disasters, or cybersecurity incidents. A BCP aims to help organizations resume operations without significant downtime.
What is Business Continuity?
Creating a business continuity plan requires a thorough evaluation of the impacts disruption may have to every aspect of the business, from people to processes to supply chains. It provides a way to respond to and mitigate potential emergencies. Threats to continuous operations include such events as natural disasters, supply chain failures ...
Business continuity plan (BCP) in 8 steps, with templates
Step 1: Establish an emergency preparedness team. Assign a team the responsibility for emergency preparedness. Select a few managers or an existing committee to take charge of the project. It's advisable to assign one person to lead the planning process.
How to create an effective business continuity plan
A business continuity plan (BCP) is a strategic playbook created to help an organization maintain or quickly resume business functions in the face of disruption, whether that disruption is caused ...
What does a business continuity plan include? 5 key elements
While every organization's BC plan approach will be unique, it's important to consider the following aspects when designing your plan. 2. Develop response strategies if key resources are unavailable. Effective BC plans must include well-defined strategies and actions for responding in the event that key resources become unavailable.
Business Continuity Plan: What Is It and Why Do You Need One?
A business continuity plan (BCP) is a document that outlines how a company will continue to function in the event of a disaster or other emergency. The BCP will identify critical systems and processes that need to be kept up and running, as well as strategies for restoring operations after a disruption. It's important to note that a BCP is ...
Business Continuity Strategy Guide [+Free Checklist]
We follow a slight alternative to the Plan-Do-Check-Act approach: the Design-Test-Reflect-Iterate Cycle. Design: Develop the initial framework. Test: Implement controls to assess functionality and performance. Reflect: Evaluate outcomes and identify critical optimizations. Iterate: Adapt the strategy for improved business continuity management.
What Is Business Continuity and Why Is It Important?
Business continuity planning means implementing procedures so your organisation can continue to operate as close to normal as possible during and after a disaster. These disasters could range from floods or fires to cyber-attacks and network errors. The purpose of a business continuity plan is to document procedures for responding to incidents.
Business continuity vs. disaster recovery: Which plan is right ...
Business continuity plan (BCP): A BCP is a detailed plan that outlines the steps an organization will take to return to normal business functions in the event of a disaster. Where other types of plans might focus on one specific aspect of recovery and interruption prevention (such as a natural disaster or cyberattack), BCPs take a broad ...
What Is Business Continuity Disaster Recovery (BCDR)?
Business impact analysis (BIA) is vital in risk management and business resilience. BIA is the process of identifying and evaluating the potential impact of a disaster on normal operations. Strong BIA includes an overview of all potential existing threats and vulnerabilities—internal and external—and detailed plans for mitigation.

Frequently Asked Questions

The Bottom Line

What Is a Business Continuity Plan (BCP)?

Key Takeaways

Understanding Business Continuity Plans (BCPs)

Benefits of a Business Continuity Plan

How To Create a Business Continuity Plan

Business Continuity Impact Analysis

Business Continuity Plan vs. Disaster Recovery Plan

Why Is Business Continuity Plan (BCP) Important?

What Should a Business Continuity Plan (BCP) Include?

What Is Business Continuity Impact Analysis?

What Is A Business Continuity Plan? [+ Template & Examples]

What is a business continuity plan?

Business Continuity Plan Template

Crisis Communication and Management Kit

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Business Continuity Planning

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What Is Contingency Planning? [+ Examples]

What Is Business Continuity?

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Is business continuity the same as business resilience or disaster recovery?

What is a business continuity strategy?

What does a business continuity plan mitigate?

Business continuity planning activities

Identifying critical business areas and functions

Analyzing risks, threats, and potential impacts

Outlining and assigning responsibilities

Defining and documenting alternatives

Assessing the need for critical backups

Testing, training, and communication

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What is a Business Continuity Plan (BCP)? Purpose, Template & Examples

What is a Business Continuity Plan?

Main Elements of a Business Continuity Plan

Common Business Continuity Plan Pitfalls

1. Lack of employee engagement

2. Overreliance on technology

3. Failure to test

BCP Template

Business Continuity Plan Examples

Developing and implementing business continuity plans

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