Business Continuity Planning: A must-have, not a luxury

Business continuity planning is not an alien concept anymore. In recent times we have witnessed a
lot of events that only serve to further intensify the need for business continuity planning.
Examples include natural calamities like hurricanes, floods, wildfires, untoward events like terror
attacks or even pandemics like the recent Covid-19 outbreak. While a business continuity plan
cannot completely safeguard your business from all these events, it can certainly minimize the
damage inflicted on your business due to them. Top business consultants urge their clients to first
develop a business continuity plan as they consider it a part of the best practices for running a
business. A business continuity plan can make the difference between survival and shutdown of a
business during a crisis situation.
What is Business Continuity Planning?
Business continuity planning is the process of creating a blueprint that helps your business
respond and recover effectively from an unforeseen mishap. As discussed before, the unforeseen
event could range from natural disasters to pandemics, or even accidents that affect just your
place of business like a fire or even a cybercrime attack directed at your business in
particular--basically, any event that can paralyze your business.
A business continuity plan serves as a step-by-step guide that you can follow during an emergency
to keep your business running smoothly. True, a business continuity plan is not a sure shot
method to survive a crisis, it won’t instantly eliminate the impact of the disaster, but it gives you
the best chances of survival.
01
Business Continuity Planning:
A must-have,
Not a luxury
A Business Continuity Plan help you in
the following ways in the event of a crisisIt helps retain clients
As a business, if you have problems functioning, it will definitely affect your clients. For example, if
your servers are down or your supply-chain mechanism is affected or your delivery process breaks,
you won’t be able to fulfill your promise to your clients. Even worse, in some situations you may
not even be in a position to communicate about the crisis to your clients adding to their
frustration. A business continuity plan addresses these issues beforehand and can help reduce
client dissatisfaction.
Salvaging brand image and reputation
There are certain events that end up affecting only your business. For example, ransomware
attacks, virus attacks, data leaks, etc. Having a business continuity plan that addresses such events
can be a blessing in times of such crisis.
Minimizing revenue loss
A business continuity plan can minimize the revenue losses that occur as a result of a crisis that
interrupts your business operations.
In short, a business continuity plan helps minimize the impact of the crisis on your client
relations, your brand image and your revenue by equipping you with a plan to handle the situation
better.
What are the essentials of a Business Continuity Plan?
A list of your key contacts
One of the most important elements in your business continuity plan is a list of all your important
contacts who should be informed of the disaster. This can include all your C-level execs, HR
managers, IT Manager, client facing managers, etc.,
A comprehensive list of your IT inventory
Your business continuity plan should contain a list of all the softwares, apps and hardware that
you use in the daily operations of your business. This list should identify each of those as critical
or non-critical and mention details pertaining to each of them such as
 The name of the app/software
 Version/model number (for software/hardware)
 Vendor name and contact information for each of them
 Warranty/support availability details
 Contact information for customer support for these hardware/apps
 Frequency of usage
Backup information
Data backups are critical to your disaster recovery and so your business continuity plan should
include information about data backups. It should mention how often data is backed up, in what
formats and where. It should also mention what data backups are available--ideally, you should be
backing up ALL data already!
What’s your Plan B?
Make sure your business continuity plan lists a backup operations plan that can be rolled out in
the event of a disaster. Examples include alternative workflows such as options to work remotely
or to allow employees to bring their own devices to work (BYOD) until the time regular business
premises or systems are ready.
Floor plans and location
Your business continuity plan should also include floor plans of your offices with the exit and
entry points clearly marked up, so they can be used in the event of any emergency. It should also
mention the location of data centers, phones, key IT systems and related hardware.
Process definition
Make sure your business continuity plan defines the SOPs to be followed in the event of an
emergency.
Audit of your business continuity plan
Having a business continuity plan alone is not enough. You need to audit it at regular intervals to
ensure it is up-to-date and relevant. Often, business continuity plans aren’t used for years, and
may be obsolete or irrelevant by the time an actual emergency occurs.
Creating a team for business continuity
Constitute a team for your business continuity project. Decide who will take ownership of the
business continuity plan in the event of an emergency. Break down the business continuity plan
into smaller elements and decide who is responsible for each of them. Also, remember to
designate a back up for each person in the team.
Mock Drills and Dry Runs
After your business continuity plan is ready you need to check if it really works. A dry run will tell
you if it is really effective and also point out to loose ends, if any, that you can fix before the actual
emergency.
Don’t forget a debrief
In case you do end up using your business continuity plan, make sure you do a debrief. It will help
you determine the effectiveness of your business continuity plan. The brief should focus on
identifying the losses you incurred from the disaster, the time taken for implementation of the
business continuity plan, the key positives of implementation of your business continuity plan and
also offer suggestions, if any for improvement.
Irrespective of the size of your business, business continuity planning is indispensable. Bigger
companies often have their own staff (IT as well as non-IT) for business continuity planning, but
for SMBs to have their own business continuity planning team can be a bit of a strain on their
resources. Consider teaming up with a MSP who is experienced in disaster recovery planning, so
you don’t cut corners now to regret later.
https://www.rowegroup.com
Business continuity planning is not an alien concept anymore. In recent times we have witnessed a
lot of events that only serve to further intensify the need for business continuity planning.
Examples include natural calamities like hurricanes, floods, wildfires, untoward events like terror
attacks or even pandemics like the recent Covid-19 outbreak. While a business continuity plan
cannot completely safeguard your business from all these events, it can certainly minimize the
damage inflicted on your business due to them. Top business consultants urge their clients to first
develop a business continuity plan as they consider it a part of the best practices for running a
business. A business continuity plan can make the difference between survival and shutdown of a
business during a crisis situation.
What is Business Continuity Planning?
Business continuity planning is the process of creating a blueprint that helps your business
respond and recover effectively from an unforeseen mishap. As discussed before, the unforeseen
event could range from natural disasters to pandemics, or even accidents that affect just your
place of business like a fire or even a cybercrime attack directed at your business in
particular--basically, any event that can paralyze your business.
A business continuity plan serves as a step-by-step guide that you can follow during an emergency
to keep your business running smoothly. True, a business continuity plan is not a sure shot
method to survive a crisis, it won’t instantly eliminate the impact of the disaster, but it gives you
the best chances of survival.
02
A Business Continuity Plan help you in
the following ways in the event of a crisisIt helps retain clients
As a business, if you have problems functioning, it will definitely affect your clients. For example, if
your servers are down or your supply-chain mechanism is affected or your delivery process breaks,
you won’t be able to fulfill your promise to your clients. Even worse, in some situations you may
not even be in a position to communicate about the crisis to your clients adding to their
frustration. A business continuity plan addresses these issues beforehand and can help reduce
client dissatisfaction.
Salvaging brand image and reputation
There are certain events that end up affecting only your business. For example, ransomware
attacks, virus attacks, data leaks, etc. Having a business continuity plan that addresses such events
can be a blessing in times of such crisis.
Minimizing revenue loss
A business continuity plan can minimize the revenue losses that occur as a result of a crisis that
interrupts your business operations.
In short, a business continuity plan helps minimize the impact of the crisis on your client
relations, your brand image and your revenue by equipping you with a plan to handle the situation
better.
What are the essentials of a Business Continuity Plan?
A list of your key contacts
One of the most important elements in your business continuity plan is a list of all your important
contacts who should be informed of the disaster. This can include all your C-level execs, HR
managers, IT Manager, client facing managers, etc.,
A comprehensive list of your IT inventory
Your business continuity plan should contain a list of all the softwares, apps and hardware that
you use in the daily operations of your business. This list should identify each of those as critical
or non-critical and mention details pertaining to each of them such as
 The name of the app/software
 Version/model number (for software/hardware)
 Vendor name and contact information for each of them
 Warranty/support availability details
 Contact information for customer support for these hardware/apps
 Frequency of usage
Backup information
Data backups are critical to your disaster recovery and so your business continuity plan should
include information about data backups. It should mention how often data is backed up, in what
formats and where. It should also mention what data backups are available--ideally, you should be
backing up ALL data already!
What’s your Plan B?
Make sure your business continuity plan lists a backup operations plan that can be rolled out in
the event of a disaster. Examples include alternative workflows such as options to work remotely
or to allow employees to bring their own devices to work (BYOD) until the time regular business
premises or systems are ready.
Floor plans and location
Your business continuity plan should also include floor plans of your offices with the exit and
entry points clearly marked up, so they can be used in the event of any emergency. It should also
mention the location of data centers, phones, key IT systems and related hardware.
Process definition
Make sure your business continuity plan defines the SOPs to be followed in the event of an
emergency.
Audit of your business continuity plan
Having a business continuity plan alone is not enough. You need to audit it at regular intervals to
ensure it is up-to-date and relevant. Often, business continuity plans aren’t used for years, and
may be obsolete or irrelevant by the time an actual emergency occurs.
Creating a team for business continuity
Constitute a team for your business continuity project. Decide who will take ownership of the
business continuity plan in the event of an emergency. Break down the business continuity plan
into smaller elements and decide who is responsible for each of them. Also, remember to
designate a back up for each person in the team.
Mock Drills and Dry Runs
After your business continuity plan is ready you need to check if it really works. A dry run will tell
you if it is really effective and also point out to loose ends, if any, that you can fix before the actual
emergency.
Don’t forget a debrief
In case you do end up using your business continuity plan, make sure you do a debrief. It will help
you determine the effectiveness of your business continuity plan. The brief should focus on
identifying the losses you incurred from the disaster, the time taken for implementation of the
business continuity plan, the key positives of implementation of your business continuity plan and
also offer suggestions, if any for improvement.
Irrespective of the size of your business, business continuity planning is indispensable. Bigger
companies often have their own staff (IT as well as non-IT) for business continuity planning, but
for SMBs to have their own business continuity planning team can be a bit of a strain on their
resources. Consider teaming up with a MSP who is experienced in disaster recovery planning, so
you don’t cut corners now to regret later.
Business continuity planning is not an alien concept anymore. In recent times we have witnessed a
lot of events that only serve to further intensify the need for business continuity planning.
Examples include natural calamities like hurricanes, floods, wildfires, untoward events like terror
attacks or even pandemics like the recent Covid-19 outbreak. While a business continuity plan
cannot completely safeguard your business from all these events, it can certainly minimize the
damage inflicted on your business due to them. Top business consultants urge their clients to first
develop a business continuity plan as they consider it a part of the best practices for running a
business. A business continuity plan can make the difference between survival and shutdown of a
business during a crisis situation.
What is Business Continuity Planning?
Business continuity planning is the process of creating a blueprint that helps your business
respond and recover effectively from an unforeseen mishap. As discussed before, the unforeseen
event could range from natural disasters to pandemics, or even accidents that affect just your
place of business like a fire or even a cybercrime attack directed at your business in
particular--basically, any event that can paralyze your business.
A business continuity plan serves as a step-by-step guide that you can follow during an emergency
to keep your business running smoothly. True, a business continuity plan is not a sure shot
method to survive a crisis, it won’t instantly eliminate the impact of the disaster, but it gives you
the best chances of survival.
A Business Continuity Plan help you in
the following ways in the event of a crisisIt helps retain clients
As a business, if you have problems functioning, it will definitely affect your clients. For example, if
your servers are down or your supply-chain mechanism is affected or your delivery process breaks,
you won’t be able to fulfill your promise to your clients. Even worse, in some situations you may
not even be in a position to communicate about the crisis to your clients adding to their
frustration. A business continuity plan addresses these issues beforehand and can help reduce
client dissatisfaction.
Salvaging brand image and reputation
There are certain events that end up affecting only your business. For example, ransomware
attacks, virus attacks, data leaks, etc. Having a business continuity plan that addresses such events
can be a blessing in times of such crisis.
Minimizing revenue loss
A business continuity plan can minimize the revenue losses that occur as a result of a crisis that
interrupts your business operations.
In short, a business continuity plan helps minimize the impact of the crisis on your client
relations, your brand image and your revenue by equipping you with a plan to handle the situation
better.
What are the essentials of a Business Continuity Plan?
A list of your key contacts
One of the most important elements in your business continuity plan is a list of all your important
contacts who should be informed of the disaster. This can include all your C-level execs, HR
managers, IT Manager, client facing managers, etc.,
A comprehensive list of your IT inventory
Your business continuity plan should contain a list of all the softwares, apps and hardware that
you use in the daily operations of your business. This list should identify each of those as critical
or non-critical and mention details pertaining to each of them such as
 The name of the app/software
 Version/model number (for software/hardware)
 Vendor name and contact information for each of them
 Warranty/support availability details
 Contact information for customer support for these hardware/apps
 Frequency of usage
03
Backup information
Data backups are critical to your disaster recovery and so your business continuity plan should
include information about data backups. It should mention how often data is backed up, in what
formats and where. It should also mention what data backups are available--ideally, you should be
backing up ALL data already!
What’s your Plan B?
Make sure your business continuity plan lists a backup operations plan that can be rolled out in
the event of a disaster. Examples include alternative workflows such as options to work remotely
or to allow employees to bring their own devices to work (BYOD) until the time regular business
premises or systems are ready.
Floor plans and location
Your business continuity plan should also include floor plans of your offices with the exit and
entry points clearly marked up, so they can be used in the event of any emergency. It should also
mention the location of data centers, phones, key IT systems and related hardware.
Process definition
Make sure your business continuity plan defines the SOPs to be followed in the event of an
emergency.
Audit of your business continuity plan
Having a business continuity plan alone is not enough. You need to audit it at regular intervals to
ensure it is up-to-date and relevant. Often, business continuity plans aren’t used for years, and
may be obsolete or irrelevant by the time an actual emergency occurs.
Creating a team for business continuity
Constitute a team for your business continuity project. Decide who will take ownership of the
business continuity plan in the event of an emergency. Break down the business continuity plan
into smaller elements and decide who is responsible for each of them. Also, remember to
designate a back up for each person in the team.
Mock Drills and Dry Runs
After your business continuity plan is ready you need to check if it really works. A dry run will tell
you if it is really effective and also point out to loose ends, if any, that you can fix before the actual
emergency.
Don’t forget a debrief
In case you do end up using your business continuity plan, make sure you do a debrief. It will help
you determine the effectiveness of your business continuity plan. The brief should focus on
identifying the losses you incurred from the disaster, the time taken for implementation of the
business continuity plan, the key positives of implementation of your business continuity plan and
also offer suggestions, if any for improvement.
Irrespective of the size of your business, business continuity planning is indispensable. Bigger
companies often have their own staff (IT as well as non-IT) for business continuity planning, but
for SMBs to have their own business continuity planning team can be a bit of a strain on their
resources. Consider teaming up with a MSP who is experienced in disaster recovery planning, so
you don’t cut corners now to regret later.
Business continuity planning is not an alien concept anymore. In recent times we have witnessed a
lot of events that only serve to further intensify the need for business continuity planning.
Examples include natural calamities like hurricanes, floods, wildfires, untoward events like terror
attacks or even pandemics like the recent Covid-19 outbreak. While a business continuity plan
cannot completely safeguard your business from all these events, it can certainly minimize the
damage inflicted on your business due to them. Top business consultants urge their clients to first
develop a business continuity plan as they consider it a part of the best practices for running a
business. A business continuity plan can make the difference between survival and shutdown of a
business during a crisis situation.
What is Business Continuity Planning?
Business continuity planning is the process of creating a blueprint that helps your business
respond and recover effectively from an unforeseen mishap. As discussed before, the unforeseen
event could range from natural disasters to pandemics, or even accidents that affect just your
place of business like a fire or even a cybercrime attack directed at your business in
particular--basically, any event that can paralyze your business.
A business continuity plan serves as a step-by-step guide that you can follow during an emergency
to keep your business running smoothly. True, a business continuity plan is not a sure shot
method to survive a crisis, it won’t instantly eliminate the impact of the disaster, but it gives you
the best chances of survival.
A Business Continuity Plan help you in
the following ways in the event of a crisisIt helps retain clients
As a business, if you have problems functioning, it will definitely affect your clients. For example, if
your servers are down or your supply-chain mechanism is affected or your delivery process breaks,
you won’t be able to fulfill your promise to your clients. Even worse, in some situations you may
not even be in a position to communicate about the crisis to your clients adding to their
frustration. A business continuity plan addresses these issues beforehand and can help reduce
client dissatisfaction.
Salvaging brand image and reputation
There are certain events that end up affecting only your business. For example, ransomware
attacks, virus attacks, data leaks, etc. Having a business continuity plan that addresses such events
can be a blessing in times of such crisis.
Minimizing revenue loss
A business continuity plan can minimize the revenue losses that occur as a result of a crisis that
interrupts your business operations.
In short, a business continuity plan helps minimize the impact of the crisis on your client
relations, your brand image and your revenue by equipping you with a plan to handle the situation
better.
What are the essentials of a Business Continuity Plan?
A list of your key contacts
One of the most important elements in your business continuity plan is a list of all your important
contacts who should be informed of the disaster. This can include all your C-level execs, HR
managers, IT Manager, client facing managers, etc.,
A comprehensive list of your IT inventory
Your business continuity plan should contain a list of all the softwares, apps and hardware that
you use in the daily operations of your business. This list should identify each of those as critical
or non-critical and mention details pertaining to each of them such as
 The name of the app/software
 Version/model number (for software/hardware)
 Vendor name and contact information for each of them
 Warranty/support availability details
 Contact information for customer support for these hardware/apps
 Frequency of usage
Backup information
Data backups are critical to your disaster recovery and so your business continuity plan should
include information about data backups. It should mention how often data is backed up, in what
formats and where. It should also mention what data backups are available--ideally, you should be
backing up ALL data already!
What’s your Plan B?
Make sure your business continuity plan lists a backup operations plan that can be rolled out in
the event of a disaster. Examples include alternative workflows such as options to work remotely
or to allow employees to bring their own devices to work (BYOD) until the time regular business
premises or systems are ready.
Floor plans and location
Your business continuity plan should also include floor plans of your offices with the exit and
entry points clearly marked up, so they can be used in the event of any emergency. It should also
mention the location of data centers, phones, key IT systems and related hardware.
Process definition
Make sure your business continuity plan defines the SOPs to be followed in the event of an
emergency.
Audit of your business continuity plan
Having a business continuity plan alone is not enough. You need to audit it at regular intervals to
ensure it is up-to-date and relevant. Often, business continuity plans aren’t used for years, and
may be obsolete or irrelevant by the time an actual emergency occurs.
Creating a team for business continuity
Constitute a team for your business continuity project. Decide who will take ownership of the
business continuity plan in the event of an emergency. Break down the business continuity plan
into smaller elements and decide who is responsible for each of them. Also, remember to
designate a back up for each person in the team.
Mock Drills and Dry Runs
After your business continuity plan is ready you need to check if it really works. A dry run will tell
you if it is really effective and also point out to loose ends, if any, that you can fix before the actual
emergency.
Don’t forget a debrief
In case you do end up using your business continuity plan, make sure you do a debrief. It will help
you determine the effectiveness of your business continuity plan. The brief should focus on
identifying the losses you incurred from the disaster, the time taken for implementation of the
business continuity plan, the key positives of implementation of your business continuity plan and
also offer suggestions, if any for improvement.
Irrespective of the size of your business, business continuity planning is indispensable. Bigger
companies often have their own staff (IT as well as non-IT) for business continuity planning, but
for SMBs to have their own business continuity planning team can be a bit of a strain on their
resources. Consider teaming up with a MSP who is experienced in disaster recovery planning, so
you don’t cut corners now to regret later.