Is your organization prepared to stay in business if a disaster occurs?
What are examples of disasters?
- Fire
- Flood
- Widespread illness
- Equipment breakdown
- Social unrest
- Human error
- Power outage
- Cyberattack
You should consider any catastrophic events disrupting your company operations a threat. Fortunately, a business continuity plan can help your organization ensure important business services can continue during and after a disaster event.
What can happen if you do not prepare for a disaster?
- Service and communication breakdowns
- Lost earnings
- Paying costs insurance does not cover
- Major team members leaving
What business departments do you need to keep running during a disaster event?
- Sales and order taking
- Customer support
- Billing
- Employee operations
What key components does your business need to continue operating the business?
- Location
- Staffing
- Equipment, primarily phone systems, shared network drives, and applications
How should your organization develop a Business Continuity Plan?
Your IT provider can help your organization develop a business continuity plan. This document will include:
- Business Impact Analysis: Forecasts the outcomes of business operations disruption. You will list each negative consequence, such as data loss and broken communications. After that, you will determine the cost of these events in dollars and cents.
- Disaster recovery plan: IT strategies to implement after a disaster
- Business resumption plan: Plans for sustaining business services at your location.
- Business recovery plan: Identify, document, and execute a strategy to recover vital business functions and procedures for each department
- Contingency plan: Planning workaround procedures for specific systems failures or disruption of operations. This can include an alternate workspace or a replacement laptop.
SwiftTech Solutions can assist your organization in preparing a business continuity plan. For more information about our disaster recovery services, please contact us by calling 877-794-3811 or emailing info@swifttechsolutions.com.
SOURCES
Reeder, J. Building and Maintaining a Business Continuity Program. Retrieved from: http://www.mcafee.com/us/resources/white-papers/foundstone/wp-business-continuity.pdf
Symantec. Disaster Recovery Planning Guide. Retrieved from: https://www.symantec.com/content/en/us/enterprise/white_papers/b-disaster-recovery-planning-guide-WP-21319723.pdf
Rouse, M. Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery (BCDR). (2009, July). http://searchstorage.techtarget.com/definition/Business-Continuity-and-Disaster-Recovery-BCDR
Potts, J. Disaster Recovery Is Not Business Continuity. (2013, January 4). Retrieved from: http://www.datacenterknowledge.com/archives/2013/01/04/disaster-recovery-is-not-business-continuity/
Lindros, K. and Tittel, E. How to Create an Effective Business Continuity Plan. (2013, November 14). Retrieved from: http://www.cio.com/article/2381021/best-practices/how-to-create-an-effective-business-continuity-plan.html
Ready.gov. Business Continuity Plan. Retrieved from: https://www.ready.gov/business/implementation/continuity
Rouse, M. Business Continuance (Business Continuity). (2006, January). Retrieved from: http://searchstorage.techtarget.com/definition/business-continuance
Margiottiello, M. and Chao, H. Contingency Planning: Addressing Critical Business Processes That Support Implementation of HIPAA Transactions. (2003, February 12). Retrieved from: https://www.cms.gov/research-statistics-data-and-systems/computer-data-and-systems/mmis/downloads/contingency.pdf