DECEMBER 2014
3
business
solutions
WHAT DOES
BUSINESS CONTINUITY
REALLY MEAN?
The Business Continuity Institute, which
offers worldwide education and training,
defines business continuity as “the
capability of the organization to con-
tinue delivery of products or services at
acceptable predefined levels following
a disruptive incident.”
You can also think of it this way: Busi-
ness continuity is a proactive plan to
avoid and mitigate risks associated with
a disruption of operations. Disaster
recovery is a reactive plan for responding
after an event.
Business continuity includes three key
elements:
1. Resilience–
Critical business functions
and the supporting infrastructure
are designed and engineered in
such a way that they are materially
unaffected by most disruptions, for
example through the use of redun-
dancy and spare capacity.
2. Recovery–
Arrangements are made
to recover or restore business functions
that fail for some reason.
3. Contingency–
The organization
establishes a generalized capabil-
ity and readiness to cope effectively
with whatever major incidents and
disasters occur. Contingency prep-
arations constitute a last-resort
response if resilience and recovery
arrangements should prove inad-
equate in practice.
• Assess the possible impact a natural
disaster would have on your business.
• Select a Crisis Manager and team of key
staff members responsible for creating
and executing the continuity plan.
• Document employee emergency con-
tact information.
• Create a prioritized list of essential
operations, staff, and procedures
needed to recover from a disaster and
continue business.
• Designate an alternate business loca-
tion with phone and computer access.
• Back up critical records and store them
online or at a secure off-site location
• Protect your computer hardware
and software, and plan for backup
computers at your alternate location.
• List primary and alternate suppliers
and contractors who can provide the
equipment and supplies you need to
continue business.
• Decide on methods of communica-
tion with workers, clients, vendors,
and media.
• Train workers and review your plan
annually.
Remember, even a simple business
continuity plan is better than none at
all. So start today to develop yours.
C
ould your business stay operational in the event of a disaster such as a
tornado, fire, or flood? It may not be a pleasant topic to consider but it’s a
necessary one.
Abusiness continuity plan can ensure that your business is able to recover and continue
functioning after (or even during) a major disaster. The development of such a plan
does not have to be a difficult process. Do some research online and you’ll find
guides, sample plans, and software to help you. You’ll be prompted to do tasks such
as the following:
Every Business Needs a
Continuity Plan
For help with communications issues, contact one of our business
account consultants listed on the inside cover.
