Continuity Planning: 10 steps to success

Do you know how to keep your business running successfully in a crisis?

Business Continuity planning is the process of creating a strategy which identifies and documents risks to a company and outlines processes of prevention and recovery.

It ensures that, in the event of a disruption, disaster or accident, personnel and assets are protected and able to function normally. Something many businesses and business leaders have had to adapt for particularly in the last 18 months since the Covid-19 pandemic.

It should include steps to take before, during and after an event to maintain business operations and financial viability. Business continuity planning is essential for companies of all sizes. However, unfortunately, many still aren’t getting it right. Companies continue to suffer IT outages which should be avoidable or easy to recover from.

There are several reasons for weaknesses in current business continuity plans, such as underestimating risk and failing to test and review plans. Although nobody likes to think about “what if” situations, it is critical that business leaders understand the threats, prepare for them, and act accordingly.

Continuity Planning: 10 crucial areas business leaders must understand to create a successful plan

1. Which IT systems need protecting? Email, ERP, Financial Applications, CRM etc.
2. What data needs protecting from loss/corruption? Data within databases, Standard documents etc.
3. What are the costs per hour of losing access to systems and/or data? Use a template to calculate.
4. How long can the business tolerate the loss of particular systems/data? Consider potential financial and reputational damage.
5. How much data can the business afford to lose without significant impact? None? A minutes worth? An hour or days worth?
6. How long should saved data be retained? What are the regulatory requirements in the country and particular sector?
7. How long will it take to restore services? Are the current technologies and systems in place to deliver the business’s operational needs?
8. Do you have the skills inhouse to ensure the business can recover from a disaster?
9. Do you have a documented plan that is reviewed?
10. How often to you test recoveries? It should be as often as feasible, or at minimum, annually.