A business continuity plan (BCP) is a comprehensive document that provides valuable information on how a company would operate in the event of natural or man-made disasters such as fires, typhoons, floods, pandemics, cyberattacks and other disruptive events.
A BCP keeps key business functions running during a disaster and facilitates the recovery with as little downtime as possible. It is typically comprised of the following:
- A list of the threats to the organization
- Important tasks that are needed to keep the organization operational
- Contact information of the top-tier management
- Chain of command to be followed in case of a disaster
- How and where to keep the data/records of the organization safely
- Information on the back-up of the data
- The interdisciplinary and interdepartmental workings of the organization
A global benchmark study shows that 73% of businesses are unprepared for disaster recovery. This is most unfortunate, yet true. All businesses, no matter their age and scale of their business, should have a business continuity plan. Not having one can entail serious repercussions.
Business Continuity Risks
Following are some of the risks or threats that a business is likely to encounter if there is no business continuity plan:
Injury and Death
Employees and customers’ safety and security should be the topmost concern of any organization at any time. In the absence of a well-chalked out BCP, loss of life could be the biggest tragedy. Each organization should have its own plan to move employees and customers to safety. Using technology should be encouraged to help provide timely alerts and updates in case disaster strikes.
Business Failure
A business that does not have a contingency plan to deal with emergencies may find it more challenging to recover compared with one that has a BCP. A study shows that 40 to 60% of businesses without BCPs never reopen after being hit by a disaster while 75% of the businesses cease to exist within three years of a major disaster.
Financial Loss
Whether the disaster is natural or mad made, the lack of a business continuity plan will definitely result in financial losses. For instance, businesses suffered more than US$70 million for five years from merely 7.5 hours of server downtime per year.
Tarnished Reputation
Your ability to effectively act after a disaster deeply affects your business name in the market and with the customer. A data breach can severely erode your credibility and lose major business. How you respond, and how you keep your employees and your business safe directly affects your reputation.
Lost Productivity
Such incidents undermine the productivity of the organization, causing a ripple effect that could lead to more disasters. To keep applications and data safe and readily accessible, technology plays an important role. The use of layered and clearly defined safety and security protocols that comprise the BCP can all help in recovering the businesses.
Go with the Specialist
NST has vast experience in delivering and executing BCPs for clients over the years, all to ITIL standards. We regularly drive annual tests to confirm the validity of these plans. Contact us today to learn more.