Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for business

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Why Business Continuity Planning (BCP)? Why Disaster Recovery Planning (DRP)? Why Business Resilience Program?

• 43% of US companies never reopen after a disaster and 29% more close within 3 years. 

• 93% of companies that suffer a significant data loss are out of business within 5 years. 

• 20% of small to medium size businesses suffer a major disaster every 5 years. 

• 78% of organizations that lacked contingency plans and suffered catastrophic loss were gone within 2 years…most had insurance, and many had business interruption coverage!

What is the difference between Business Continuity, Disaster Recovery, Continuity of Operations and Business Resilience?

Business Continuity (BC) Planning focuses on the restoration of business functions. It involves a more comprehensive approach to ensuring resiliency.

Disaster Recovery (DR) Planning focuses on the restoration of infrastructure that supports the business functions. A disaster recovery plan is not viable until it is fully tested.

BC/DR are sometimes tied together. It refers to how an entity will keep functioning after a disruptive event until its normal facilities or functions are restored.

Continuity of Operations (COOP) similar to BC, however, it refers to an internal effort within individual components of government to assure that capability exists to continue essential component fnctions across a wide reane of potential emergencies.

Business Resilience demonstrates the ability of an organization to rapidly adjust and transform the business or business function in response to any anticipated and unanticipated change in order to prevent and mitigate hazards, capture opportunities, create competitive position, and improve shareholder value.

How does a Business Resilience Program relate to Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Planning?

The primary objective of disaster recovery planning is protecting IT infrastructure and services from unexpected events and disasters. Business continuity planning extends the boundaries of disaster recovery planning to include the protection of business operations and processes. The objective of a business resilience program is larger than both business continuity planning and disaster recoveryplanning. A business resilience program covers both unanticipated changes as well as anticipated changes.

What does a BCP do for me?

• It aids in identifying the effects of an interruption on the business or business functions through formal Business Impact Analysis.• It addresses actions to be taken before, during and after a disruption of business functions. 

• It spells out in detail the what, who, how and when of a recovery plan. 

• It reduces liability and disruption to normal business operations while assisting with the decision making process. 

• It assists with a broad range of events from natural disasters to loss of staff.

What is the importance of a Business Impact Analysis (BIA)?

Business Impact Analysis - A tool for helping you understand the effect of an interruption on the viability and operations of its critical business functions. It also identifies mission critical functions.

What are some guidelines for identifying mission critical functions?

• Support primary mission statement. 

• Support other agencies mission critical function. 

• Must be recovered quickly.

• Have a high dollar value. 

• Have a high customer or client impact. 

• Have political ramifications or implications. 

• Have legal requirements or liabilities.

What is a disaster recovery plan and why do I need one?

A disaster recovery plan involves analyzing an organization’s risks and articulating a strategy and plan for addressing those risks. Without such an analysis, it is impossible to determine the extent to what is required to protect the organization. A formal disaster recovery plan records the actions that are needed, the required timeframes for their completion, the people responsible for taking action, and the resources that may be required in order to perform the specified tasks, should disaster or declared event strike.

What are the requirements of a Business Resilience Program?

There are four basic requirements for a Business Resilience Program. The program needs to be comprehensive, methodical, adaptable, and proactive:

Comprehensive – the program is be based on a comprehensive scope that includes strategy, business processes, supply chain, rules and regulations, opportunities, relationships, economic conditions, and resources such as people, systems, applications, and information.

Methodical – the program uses structured, systematic and analytical approaches for achieving its objective.

Adaptable – the program is able to quickly adapt to the forces of change. 

Proactive – the program is able to anticipate future business changes, impacts, and discontinuities.

What lessons have we learned working with our partners/clients?

• Business Continuity Planning is a business issue.

• It is not a question if disaster will strike…but when! 

• Most organizations are not prepared for a major disruption. 

• 2 out of 3 companies have been forced to permanently close due to major disruptions. 

• The world is a different place now. 

• Advanced planning reduces the impact of a disruption. 

We utilize best practice templates.

• BC/DR planning $aves!