Business continuity is the ability of your business to continue operating during and after an unexpected event or a disaster. It is your capacity to resume critical operations within a predetermined time frame and protect business data. A good business continuity plan will allow your company to get back on its feet as quickly as possible after a disaster, with minimal loss.
A good business continuity plan will include the critical information an organisation needs to stay functioning through an unplanned event. It outlines how to deal with anything from a natural disaster or cyberattack to a data breach or supply chain interruption.
Every company should have a business continuity plan in place before something goes wrong. A sound business continuity plan protects your employees, customers, and shareholders from financial damage resulting from unexpected business interruptions. Without a plan, you risk losing customers when you’re unable to fulfil their orders. You also risk losing employee morale and productivity.
Having a good business continuity plan can help minimise a disruptive event’s impact on your bottom line. Here are four simple ways you can do to improve your business’s ability to continue operating in a disaster:
1. Determine which functions are crucial to your business
You need to know what you need to operate effectively. And it doesn’t end there. It’s not enough that you know it. You also need to share that information with others. The more people who know what’s needed, the better prepared your company will be in case of an emergency.
2. Identify risks
Assess potential threats that could interfere with regular operations and evaluate their likelihood of occurring. This step will help you determine where to focus your efforts when creating a plan for securing critical data and resuming business operations.
3. Develop a plan for responding to disruptive events
Create a plan for handling each risk identified in step two and determine how you’ll restore operations and protect critical data. Make sure all employees understand their roles in each scenario, and practice drills to ensure your plan works as intended.
4. Update your plan regularly
Attacks happen every day. Schemes shift every day. If you’re not fast, you’re putting yourself and your business at risk. So it’s best to reflect changes in personnel, technology, or other key areas of your business that could disrupt service if they’re affected by an emergency situation.
Having A Business Continuity Plan Is Important
In the absence of a solid business continuity plan, companies run a serious risk of being crippled when disaster strikes. If you want to protect your business from this financial threat, it’s vital that you flip the switch on your own business disaster continuity plan.
To be truly resilient and recover faster, your business continuity plan must include a solid disaster recovery component to help you restore operations rapidly.
Wyntec can help guide you through this process. We have years of experience assisting clients to achieve effective business continuity and disaster recovery plans that will reduce the impact of a disaster on their organisation. Talk to us today, and we can get you on the road to providing adequate protection for your business.
