Business continuity

Business continuity is planning for the worst case scenario, taking steps to prevent it happening and developing strategies and plans to help you recover should they occur.

Pro-actively planning how you can get your organisation up and running again after an incident means that you are much more likely to continue providing employment, meet customer need and ultimately, survive the incident. An incident may be something as commonplace as a power outage or something much more significant that lasts for a longer period of time

It may seem excessive to prepare and maintain a plan for the unexpected, but consider what would happen if today you lost your electricity supply or access to your premises for an extended period.

There are several Business Continuity methodologies, however key principles are:-

  • Understanding your organisation and identifying your critical functions.
  • Identifying the resources required to perform your critical functions.
  • Performing a Business Impact Analysis to identify interdependencies and vulnerabilities.
  • Developing specific and generic plans to address any vulnerability.
  • Rehearsing and Maintaining plans to ensure they remain fit for purpose.      

Advice to Local Businesses and Voluntary Organisations

For more information on how to implement Business Continuity Management in your business or organisation, see the following websites;