Business Continuity Planning describes a process to resume business after a disruption or disaster. The Business Continuity plan is different in scope from the Disaster Recovery plan which deals with recovering Information Technology (IT) systems after a disaster. The Disaster Recovery plan is normally a subset of the Business Continuity plan. Business Continuity planning is concerned with all aspects of the organization that will be negatively impacted by a disruption or disaster and has a clear mandate.
In the event of a disaster which interferes with the organization’s ability to conduct business, the Business Continuity plan is to be used by the responsible individuals to coordinate the business recovery of their respective departments. The plan is designed to contain, or provide reference to, all of the information that might be needed at the time of a business recovery. The Business Continuity plan is not intended to cover the operations of the organizations separately structured Emergency Response Team but supports it until operations are fully resumed.
A business continuity plan enables critical services or products to be continually delivered to clients. Instead of focusing on resuming a business after critical operations have ceased, or recovering after a disaster, a business continuity plan endeavors to ensure that critical operations continue to be available. A brief overview of what the plan includes:
- Objectives
- Scope
- Continuity Strategy
- Recovery Teams
- Recovery Procedures
- Processes and Procedures
Although no one wants any kind of disruption or disaster, main goals of a business continuity plan are to improve responsiveness by staff in different situations, ease confusion by providing written procedures and participation in drills and help ensure logical decisions are made during a crisis. Developing the Business Continuity plan takes time and consultation. Spindrift Consulting has the expertise and experience to guide your organization through this process and ensure you have more than peace of mind under less than optimum conditions.
The following illustration accurately depicts the responsibility areas which differentiate the Business Continuity plan from the Disaster Recovery Plan:
