Most businesses are committed to readiness and preparedness when disaster strikes but have no recovery plan in place, as per a recent survey by the Disaster Recovery Preparedness (DRP) council. As a result, the council’s findings stressed how those with no such plan (and backup solution) are potentially at significant risks when it comes to the reliability of their data environments. However, others are not failing in terms of disaster and continuity readiness, having established effective programs especially after a disruptive incident.
A business continuity plan (BCP) is an apt approach to minimize downtime. An initial assessment can proactively address vulnerabilities and manage risks to ensure continuation of operations (i.e., any combination of recovery and/or restoration strategies) in the event of an IT services disruption (like after a natural or human-induced disaster, or else as a result of system failures or network outages).
These days, many organizations still lack internal awareness about the need for Business Continuity Planning (BCP) and having a disaster recovery plan (DRP) for IT-related infrastructure recovery. IT practitioners stress the importance of continuity and recovery in the event of any loss, damage or failure of facilities’ equipment, when subjected to a disaster that affects part or all of a business's resources.
As explained in a recent post by Continuity Central (a continuity news and information source) on its website discussing Disaster Recovery / Business Continuity Programs, the strategy should consider existing and future risks. Enabling an effective response entails executive management “to have an open, collaborative conversation about ‘risk vs. cost’ as it relates to solutions to mitigate risk.”
It should not take a business continuity management practitioner to convince executives to allocate funds and resources to build a robust business continuity program; yet, it does take some drive to motivate the organization and empower the key people to address business continuity throughout the organization. Senior leadership commitment is essential to address current and future needs of business continuity, disaster recovery and crisis management, in a consistent and effective manner.
Building a business continuity program, including backup and disaster recovery (BDR), and establishing a well-thought-out procedure requires assessing organizational threats. Approved response strategies from management that consist of countermeasures when a tragedy strikes, can help the business to survive under adverse conditions.
In sum, embedding/implementing a “culture of continuity” program within a business environment can help a company meet its continuity goals and take proactive steps to prepare for events that require a widespread and coordinated response. It can help minimize the likelihood of costly downtime and improve responsiveness and recoverability of operation activities as well as ensure protection of data when an event makes the continuation of normal functions impossible.
Edited by Rory J. Thompson