Continuity Compliance

Business Continuity

A Guide to Business Continuity Management, Planning, and Disaster Recovery Citing Sample Template, Software and Solution For Business Continuity Plans Business Continuity Is More Than Just Picking Up The Pieces The spate of devastating earthquakes in several parts of the world, the increasing incidence of flooding in the Midwest and in many corners of the globe, and the unusual weather conditions and phenomena that threaten lives, infrastructure, properties, resources, and businesses remind business owners and managers of the importance of having a certain strategy to ensure that the business can get back on its feet after going through a disaster. How do you think can corporate organizations in Japan recover various data critical to their business after being shaken by a massive earthquake and washed off by tsunami? When a fire razes your office, are your business documents and other resources safe and intact to allow continuation of operations? What did organizations in Chicago, Illinois do when the flu pandemic threatened their businesses? How should a Toyota car dealer cope with the impact of massive recall? What contingency does a bank have to ensure the continuance of its services in the event of a major terroristic act? Any unpredictable crisis can grip and put an end to companies, making the process of business continuity planning an essential practice for any business entity. The Definition of Business Continuity Planning Business continuity planning or BCP is the process of formulating a detailed blueprint of how an organization can remain in business following a disaster, such as the ones mentioned above and any incidents which threaten to interrupt the business causing losses or its closure, including happenings that affect things upon which the business relies on. Examples of these are loss of a crucial network of infrastructure; loss of source of supply, or in the event of theft or vandalism. The definitio of the program includes proactively identifying the vulnerability of a company to internal and external risks, and integrating hard and soft assets to provide effective solutions to help prevent or recover from an unfortunate event. All these are done while staying competitive and cohesive. With this nature, BCP encompasses risk management and is considered as an inexpensive insurance any company can obtain against unwanted interruptions. Although many companies have taken this planning seriously, even composing their respective business continuity statement, but not all companies have taken the steps to formulate this important plan. Differentiating Business Continuity, Disaster Recovery Do not confuse business continuity vs. disaster recovery. Disaste recovery is just the getting back on one’s feet part, and is only the reactive half of the business continuity equation. In comparison, business continuity plan embraces both this reactive approach and a proactive strategy that is formulated to identify, avoid or minimize risks, retain some level of service while resuscitating the business back to normal operations. For example, part of a company’s BCP to mitigate risks in the IT department and the various data it takes care of must be preventive measures, such as using a safe programming language (PL) to protect it from cyber attacks, or through virtualizatio. A business continuit plan is often … [Read More...]