When a company’s operations are unplanned, a chain reaction occurs, causing financial losses and other negative effects. One of the biggest impacts is significant revenue losses due to the interruption in the supply of products and services to consumers. This has led many managers to seriously consider an operational continuity plan for their business.
But do you know what strategy is? In this post, we’ll explain its importance for your company and how to effectively build a strategic plan.
What is a business continuity plan?
Operational continuity refers to a company’s ability to keep its equipment and systems operating normally even in the face of a critical event, such as a disaster. The plan outlines the process for resuming operations following such a disruption. The intention is to act preventively, rather than reactively, reducing the negative impacts generated.
Today, many companies offer products and services that require a continuous delivery flow, such as cloud IT resource providers . This has led to reassessment of business resumption plans, which were previously reactive, and their approach has shifted to a more preventative approach, now known as a business continuity plan.
How does a business continuity plan work?
A high level of security can only be achieved with specific corporate planning. Regarding the physical aspect, the company must determine the need for redundant data centers (sets of servers) located in different regions to securely host identical copies of its data and operating systems. The use of power generators is also vital to keep the structure operational.
For the virtual part, you should consider using broadband from different providers to avoid losing internet access if one provider has a problem. You should also create a monitoring and control system to manage the infrastructure.
Therefore, to benefit from uninterrupted distribution, the organization needs to determine the level of resilience of its systems, their recovery capacity, and develop a plan with procedures to withstand internal and external events. This means being able to recover from a catastrophic event without losing vital labor and management resources, while maintaining business operational performance.
Importance of business continuity plan
No company is totally free from disaster threats. Natural phenomena, like deluges from torrential rains or damage to roofs by gusty winds, can unexpectedly hit companies. There are likewise accident risks that, because of human miscalculations, can result in fires and collapses.
And it goes on. Workers themselves, in frustration, can take revenge and commit crimes, undermining the company. Externally, cybercriminals can infiltrate the company’s servers and systems and cause tremendous harm.
After that, problems with the internal and external power system may cause temporary disruptions in power supply, truckers’ strikes or traffic accidents may prevent the delivery of goods, and a number of these incidents may have a significant negative influence on productivity.
However, with a business continuity plan, the company has the knowledge and tools needed to manage these emergencies and keep making money until the main structure starts up normally again.
Benefits of business continuity plan
Without a question, there are several benefits to putting a business continuity strategy into action. We’ll emphasize the benefits of implementing this process in an organization to make it easier for you to spot these. Keep an eye out!
Preserves the company’s image
It’s virtually impossible for a company to avoid an incident, even if it adopts the best IT practices and solutions . This demonstrates the importance of adopting mechanisms to recover data and access systems in challenging situations.
The shorter the time to regain control of a negative situation caused by a cyber attack , the smaller the impact on the institutional image.
This point demonstrates how an organization needs to be prepared to face adverse situations that cause service unavailability. Therefore, it’s recommended to have a strong communication strategy to inform customers about any issues they may face.
Identifies critical processes
What vulnerabilities need to be addressed to prevent and mitigate cyberattacks ? With a business continuity plan in place, it becomes easier to identify critical processes and identify ways to execute them more quickly and accurately.
Ignoring risks is definitely a mistake that should be avoided as much as possible. Therefore, rethinking information security procedures is vital for the continuous improvement of data protection mechanisms .
Minimizes potential problems
In the case of unexpected shutdowns, using the best procedures to regain control of services is essential to minimize financial and image damage.
This aspect alone is enough to demonstrate the strategic value of having an operational continuity plan. Logically, this initiative should contribute to the implementation of measures that help mitigate the negative impact of IT incidents.
Helps in market competition
Not spending several hours or even days with services unavailable is, without a doubt, a factor that helps a company demonstrate a high degree of competitiveness.
By developing procedures to mitigate the damage associated with downtime, a company demonstrates not only operational efficiency but also a commitment to a good customer experience.
All of this creates a favorable scenario for strengthening and expanding market presence, attracting investors, and establishing partnerships to continuously improve services. In other words, the benefits of a business continuity plan also extend to the economic and commercial sectors.
What areas of the business should be involved in planning?
Ideally, all departments should be involved in developing the business continuity plan. This contribution includes providing data on each department’s activities and an assessment of each area’s involvement in critical organizational processes.
Information should also be provided on how departments use technology resources to perform routine tasks. Other crucial elements in this process include highlighting where the most relevant data is stored and the maximum downtime tolerance for service disruptions, as well as conducting risk assessments for each department.
In short, obtaining comprehensive and up-to-date information helps address digital threats and maintain service continuity, even in atypical situations.
Creating a plan for business continuity
Developing an effective business continuity plan involves 05 main steps. They are:
1. Conduct an impact analysis of the shutdown of operations
The first step in developing a Disaster Recovery Plan (DRP) is to analyze how the company is affected by unplanned outages and what can be done to neutralize the risks and minimize the negative impact. Therefore, conduct an in-depth analysis to identify weaknesses, such as the most critical and sensitive business functions and processes, as well as internal and external threats.
With this information in hand, it will be easier to work on a plan that focuses more on solving the main problems.
2. Create redundant distribution systems
Many types of outages involve a power outage. Therefore, the company must have its own power sources to meet this need, even temporarily, until the public grid returns to normal.
The use of uninterruptible power supplies, for example, should help keep computer equipment powered for a short period, but they should be part of a joint structure with a power generator in case the power outage is long-lasting.
Whether it runs on fossil fuels (diesel) or renewable energy (solar energy), the important thing is to have a structure capable of maintaining the business’s core operations. The same should be true for the internet, with broadband plans from different providers guaranteed to guarantee network access even if one of the companies experiences service issues.
If you want to go further and also prevent catastrophes, you’ll need to set up a backup physical structure with servers, equipment, and furniture installed in another region to support your business during an emergency.
3. Form a responsible team
You’ll need to work as a team to manage crises and reactivate processes when they occur. In this case, you should appoint professionals who will be responsible for immediate recovery efforts. The team should consist primarily of information security specialists, who should delegate specific roles to each company employee.
4. Document and disseminate the plan
Every business continuity plan needs to be meticulously thought out, recorded, and formally shared with all employees. Meetings, bulletin boards, direct conversations, and corporate email can all be used for this kind of communication.
A copy that includes comprehensive processes and who is in charge of each step should ideally be given to everyone. Everyone benefits from direction and attention when they know what to do and when, which helps them avoid tense, hurried, and frantic situations.
5. Test the plan and train the team
You can train your team and test your plan simultaneously. To do this, simulate various types of events, from the simplest, like a power outage, to the most complex, like a fire, to determine if your actions are effective. This is a good opportunity to identify flaws and correct them before a real-life incident.
Furthermore, the simulation based on the planning will allow everyone to understand the strategy well and know exactly what to do in each situation.