5 Step Guide to Business Continuity Planning (BCP) in 2021

A business continuity plan provides a concrete plan to maintain business cohesion in challenging circumstances. Click here for the key steps that can help you formulate a formidable BCP.

A business continuity plan (BCP) is defined as a protocol of preventing and recovering from potentially large threats to the company’s business continuity. This article explains what a business continuity plan is today, its key benefits, and a step-by-step guide to creating a formidable plan.

Table of Contents

What is a business continuity plan (bcp), key benefits of having a business continuity plan, step-by-step guide to building a formidable business continuity plan (bcp) in 2021.

A business continuity plan (BCP) is a protocol of preventing and recovering from potentially large threats to the company’s business continuity. Such a plan often aims to address the need for updated business norms and operational standards in unpredictable circumstances such as natural disasters, data breach/ exposures, large scale system failures etc. The goal of such a plan is to ensure continuity of business with no or little damage to regular working environments, including job security for its employees.

It covers everything from business processes, human resources details, and more. Essentially a BCP provides a concrete plan to the organization to maintain business continuity even in challenging circumstances. 

Below are key reasons why businesses need to have a BCP today:

  • BCP’s relevance has gone up considerably after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and was also a major testing time for organizations that did have such a plan in place. The organizations which had a business continuity plan in place were better able to cope during these unprecedented circumstances better than those who did not have any such plans.
  • The recorded number of natural disasters has increased from 375 in 2016 to 409 in 2019 Opens a new window . Globally, the loss because of natural disasters was $232 billion in 2019, according to a study by Aon Opens a new window .
  • The number of cyberattacks has also increased in all geographies and all business verticals. MonsterCloud reported that cyberattacks have skyrocketed during the COVID-19 pandemic. All this means that the organizations have to be better prepared to fight disasters. The importance of BCP can hardly be exaggerated in this context. Preparing a BCP is imperative for any enterprise, big or small, today. 

The end goal of a BCP is to ensure that the essential services continue to run in the event of an incident. For instance, if there is an earthquake where your customer service representatives operate from, your BCP will be able to tell you who will handle customer calls until the original office is restored.

Also Read: What Is Disaster Recovery? Definition, Cloud and On-premise, Benefits and Best Practices

Difference between a business continuity plan (BCP) and disaster recovery plan (DCP)

A BCP is often confused with a disaster recovery (DR) plan. While a DR plan is primarily focused on restoring the IT systems and infrastructure, a BCP is much more than that. It covers all areas and departments of the organization, including HR, marketing and sales, support functions. 

The underlying thought behind BCP is that IT systems can hardly work in silos. Other departments also need to be restored to cater to the client or for meeting the business demands. 

“Many people think a disaster recovery plan (DRP) is the same as a business continuity plan, but a DRP is only a small, yet essential, a portion of a full BCP. A DRP focuses solely on restoring an organization’s IT infrastructure while minimizing data loss. On the other hand, a BCP is a comprehensive guide on how to continue the mission and business-critical operations during a time of an unplanned disruption (natural disasters, pandemics, or malware),” says Caleb Pipkin, a security expert at Logically . 

Whether a business is small, big, or medium-sized, it needs a ‘plan B’ to recover quickly in the event of a natural disaster or a crisis and can survive the disruption. BCP helps you dust yourself and get back to business quickly and easily. It means that the enterprise will be better placed to address their customers’ needs even in the wake of a disaster. 

On the other hand, the lack of a plan means that your organization will take longer to recover from an event or incident. It could also lead to loss of business or clients. Let’s look at some key benefits of BCP.

1. It is a roadmap to act in a disaster

A well-defined business continuity plan is like a roadmap during a disruption. It allows the firms to react swiftly and effectively and maintain business continuity. In turn, this leads to a faster and complete recovery of the enterprise in the shortest possible timeframe. It brings down the business downtime and outlines the steps to be taken before, during, and after a crisis and thus helps maintain its financial viability. 

2. Offers a competitive edge

Fast reaction and business continuity during a disruption allow organizations to gain a competitive edge over its business rivals. It can translate into a significant competitive advantage in the long run. Further, your clients will be more confident in your ability to perform in adverse circumstances allowing you to build a long and sustainable relationship with your business partners.

Developing competence to act and handle any unfavorable event effectively has a positive effect on the company’s reputation and market value. It goes a long way in enhancing customer confidence. 

Also Read: Top 8 Disaster Recovery Software Companies in 2021

3. Cuts down losses

Disasters have a considerable impact on all types of business, whether big or small. Business disruption can lead to financial, legal, and reputational losses. Failure to plan could be disastrous for businesses. You may lose your customers while trying to get your business on track. In the worst circumstances, you may not be able to recover at all. A well-defined business continuity strategy minimizes the damage to an organization and allows you to bring down these losses as much as possible. 

4. Enables employment continuity and protects livelihoods

One of the most significant consequences of a disaster is the loss of employment. The loss of livelihood can be curtailed to an extent if the business continues to function in the event of a disaster. It leads to greater confidence in the workforce that their jobs might not be at risk, and the management is taking steps to protect their jobs. It helps build confidence in senior management’s ability to respond to the business disruption in a planned manner. 

5. Can be life-saving

A regularly tested and updated BCP can potentially help save the lives of the employees and the customers during a disaster. For instance, if the BCP plan for fire is regularly tested, the speed with which the workforce acts can help save lives. 

6. Preserves brand value and develops resilience

Possibly the biggest asset of an organization is its brand. Being able to perform in uncertain times helps build goodwill and maintain its brand value and may even help mitigate financial and reputational loss during a disaster. 

BCP curtails the damage to the company’s brand and finances because of a disaster event. This helps bring down the cost of any incident and thus help the company be more resilient. 

Also Read: 10 Best Practices for Disaster Recovery Planning (DRP)

7. Enables adherence to compliance requirements

Having a BCP allows organizations to have additional benefits of complying with regulatory requirements. It is a legal requirement in several countries.

8. Helps in supply chain security

A precise BCP goes a long way in protecting the supply chain from damage. It ensures continuity in delivering products and services by being able to perform critical activities.

9. Enhances operational efficiency

One of BCP’s lesser-known benefits is that it helps identify areas of operational efficiency in the organization. Developing BCP calls for an in-depth evaluation of the company’s processes. This can potentially reveal the areas of improvement. Essentially, it gathers information that can benefit in enhancing the effectiveness of the processes and operations. 

Also Read: 7 Ways to Build an Effective Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity Plan  

The COVID-19 pandemic has put the spotlight on preparing for a disaster like never before. We make the job easier for you by listing out the key steps in building a formidable business continuity plan: 

How to Build a Business Continuity Plan

How to Build a Business Continuity Plan

Step 1: Risk assessment 

This phase involves asking crucial questions to evaluate the risks faced by the company. What are the likely business threats and disruptions which are most likely to occur? What is the most profitable activity of your organization? It is vital to prioritize key risks and operations, which will help mitigate the damage in the event of a disaster. 

Step 2: Business impact analysis

The second step involves a thorough and in-depth assessment of your business processes to determine the vulnerable areas and the potential losses if those processes are disrupted. This is also known as Business Impact Analysis . 

Essentially, Business impact analysis (BIA) is a process that helps the organization define the impact if critical business operations are interrupted because of a disaster, accident, or emergency. It helps in identifying the most crucial elements of the business processes. For instance, maintaining a supply chain might be more critical during a crisis than public relations.

While there is no formal standard for a BIA, it typically involves the following steps: 

  • Collating information: As a first step, a questionnaire is prepared to find out critical business processes and resources that will help in the proper assessment of the impact of a disruptive event. One-on-one sessions with key management members may be conducted further to gain insights into the organization’s processes and workings.
  • Analysis: This is followed by analyzing the collected information. A manual or computer-assisted analysis is conducted. The analysis is based on an interruption in which crucial activities or resources are not available. Typically it works on the assumption of the worst-case scenario, even when the chances of a risk likelihood are low. This approach is followed to zero in on the systems that, when disrupted or interrupted, threaten the organization’s very survival. This way, these processes are prioritized in the business continuity plan. 

The analysis phase helps identify the minimum staff and resources required for running the organization in the event of a crisis. This also allows the organizations to assess the impact on the revenue if the business is unable to run for a day, a week, or more. There might be contractual penalties, regulatory fines, and workforce-related expenditure which need to be taken into account while finding out the impact on the business. Further, there might be specific vulnerabilities of the firm, and they need to be considered in the BIA. 

  • Preparing a report: The next step is preparing a BIA report, which is assessed by the senior management. The report is a thorough analysis of the gathered information along with findings. It also gives recommendations on the procedure that should be followed in the event of a business disruption. The BIA report also shares the impact on the revenue, supply chain, and customer delivery to the business in a specific time frame. 

The business impact analysis report may also include a checklist of all the resources, such as the names of key personnel, data backup , contact information, emergency responders, and more.

  • Presenting the report: Usually, this report goes through several amendments before being cleared by the senior management. The involvement of senior management is crucial to the success of the business continuity plan. It sends out a strong signal in the organization that it is a serious initiative. 

Also Read: Will Extreme Weather Events Affect Your Business? Lessons From the Texas Winter Storm

Step 3: BCP Testing

Several testing methods are available to test the effectiveness of the BCP. Here are a few common ones: 

  • TableTop test: As the name suggests, the identified executives go through the plan in detail to evaluate whether it will work on not. Different disaster types and the response to them are discussed at length. This type of testing is designed to make all the key personnel aware of their role in the event of a disaster. The response procedure is reviewed, and responsibilities are outlined, so everybody knows their roles.
  • Walk through: In this type of testing, the team members go through their part in the plan with a specific disaster in mind. Drills or a simulated response and disaster role-playing are part of this. This is a more thorough form of testing and likely to reveal the shortcoming in the plan. Any vulnerabilities discovered should be used to update the BCP accordingly.
  • Disaster simulation testing: In this type of testing, an environment that simulates an actual disaster is created. This is the closest to the actual event and gives the best case scenario about the plan’s workability. It will help the team find gaps that might be overlooked in the other types of tests. Document the results of your testing so you can compare the improvement from the previous tests. It will help you in strengthening your business continuity plan. 

Frequency of testing – Typically, organizations test BCP at least twice a year. At the same time, it depends on the size of your organization and the business vertical you operate in.

Step 4: Maintenance

A business continuity plan should not be treated as a one-time exercise. It needs to be maintained , so the organization’s structural and people changes are updated regularly. The key personnel might move on from the firm, and this would need to be updated in the Business Impact Analysis and BCP. The process for regular updating of the documentation should be followed to ensure that the organization is not caught on the wrong foot in case of a business disruption. 

Also Read: Offsite Data Replication: A Great Way To Meet Recovery Time Objectives

Step 5: Communication

Sometimes executives tend to ignore communication while preparing a BCP. It is a crucial aspect, and your BCP should clearly define who will maintain the communication channels with the employees, regulators, business partners, and partners during the crisis. The contact information of the key people should be readily accessible for the BCP to work without any trouble.

In the end, the organizations should accept that despite preparing a formidable business continuity plan, several factors beyond your control may still affect its success or failure. The key executives might not be available in the event of a crisis; both the primary and the alternate data recovery sites might have been affected by the event; the communications network might be damaged, and so on. Such factors are common during a natural disaster and may lead to the limited success of the business continuity plan. 

The success of a business depends on it acting swiftly and efficiently when confronted with an unanticipated crisis. Any failure to do so results in a financial and reputational loss, which takes up a long time to recover. It can be avoided if the organization quickly gathers itself during a disaster. A business continuity plan is then of paramount importance for a business of any size. At the same time, it is crucial to ensure that the BCP is not a one-time exercise. It needs to be continuously evaluated, tested, amended, and maintained so it doesn’t let you down when you need it the most. 

Did you enjoy reading this article? Comment below or let us know on  LinkedIn Opens a new window ,  Twitter Opens a new window , or  Facebook Opens a new window . We’d love to hear from you!

Share This Article:

Take me to Community

Recommended Reads

Roundcube Vulnerabilities Exploited by Russian Hackers to Attack More Than 80 Organizations

Roundcube Vulnerabilities Exploited by Russian Hackers to Attack More Than 80 Organizations

No More Business As Usual: Vulnerability Management Focused On Managing Risk

No More Business As Usual: Vulnerability Management Focused On Managing Risk

How Leaders Can Protect Supply Chains Against Cyber Risks

How Leaders Can Protect Supply Chains Against Cyber Risks

The Vulnerabilities of Traditional Patch Management

The Vulnerabilities of Traditional Patch Management

Fry the Phish this Valentine’s Day: How to Thwart Online Scammers Using AI

Fry the Phish this Valentine’s Day: How to Thwart Online Scammers Using AI

Looking for a Bug Bounty Program: 13 Signs of a Successful One

Looking for a Bug Bounty Program: 13 Signs of a Successful One

  • Search Search Please fill out this field.
  • Business Continuity Plan Basics
  • Understanding BCPs
  • Benefits of BCPs
  • How to Create a BCP
  • BCP & Impact Analysis
  • BCP vs. Disaster Recovery Plan

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Business Continuity Plan FAQs

The Bottom Line

What is a business continuity plan (bcp), and how does it work.

requirements for business continuity plan

Investopedia / Ryan Oakley

What Is a Business Continuity Plan (BCP)? 

A business continuity plan (BCP) is a system of prevention and recovery from potential threats to a company. The plan ensures that personnel and assets are protected and are able to function quickly in the event of a disaster.

Key Takeaways

  • Business continuity plans (BCPs) are prevention and recovery systems for potential threats, such as natural disasters or cyber-attacks.
  • BCP is designed to protect personnel and assets and make sure they can function quickly when disaster strikes.
  • BCPs should be tested to ensure there are no weaknesses, which can be identified and corrected.

Understanding Business Continuity Plans (BCPs)

BCP involves defining any and all risks that can affect the company's operations, making it an important part of the organization's risk management strategy. Risks may include natural disasters—fire, flood, or weather-related events—and cyber-attacks . Once the risks are identified, the plan should also include:

  • Determining how those risks will affect operations
  • Implementing safeguards and procedures to mitigate the risks
  • Testing procedures to ensure they work
  • Reviewing the process to make sure that it is up to date

BCPs are an important part of any business. Threats and disruptions mean a loss of revenue and higher costs, which leads to a drop in profitability. And businesses can't rely on insurance alone because it doesn't cover all the costs and the customers who move to the competition. It is generally conceived in advance and involves input from key stakeholders and personnel.

Business impact analysis, recovery, organization, and training are all steps corporations need to follow when creating a Business Continuity Plan.

Benefits of a Business Continuity Plan

Businesses are prone to a host of disasters that vary in degree from minor to catastrophic. Business continuity planning is typically meant to help a company continue operating in the event of major disasters such as fires. BCPs are different from a disaster recovery plan, which focuses on the recovery of a company's information technology system after a crisis.

Consider a finance company based in a major city. It may put a BCP in place by taking steps including backing up its computer and client files offsite. If something were to happen to the company's corporate office, its satellite offices would still have access to important information.

An important point to note is that BCP may not be as effective if a large portion of the population is affected, as in the case of a disease outbreak. Nonetheless, BCPs can improve risk management—preventing disruptions from spreading. They can also help mitigate downtime of networks or technology, saving the company money.

How To Create a Business Continuity Plan

There are several steps many companies must follow to develop a solid BCP. They include:

  • Business Impact Analysis : Here, the business will identify functions and related resources that are time-sensitive. (More on this below.)
  • Recovery : In this portion, the business must identify and implement steps to recover critical business functions.
  • Organization : A continuity team must be created. This team will devise a plan to manage the disruption.
  • Training : The continuity team must be trained and tested. Members of the team should also complete exercises that go over the plan and strategies.

Companies may also find it useful to come up with a checklist that includes key details such as emergency contact information, a list of resources the continuity team may need, where backup data and other required information are housed or stored, and other important personnel.

Along with testing the continuity team, the company should also test the BCP itself. It should be tested several times to ensure it can be applied to many different risk scenarios . This will help identify any weaknesses in the plan which can then be corrected.

In order for a business continuity plan to be successful, all employees—even those who aren't on the continuity team—must be aware of the plan.

Business Continuity Impact Analysis

An important part of developing a BCP is a business continuity impact analysis. It identifies the effects of disruption of business functions and processes. It also uses the information to make decisions about recovery priorities and strategies.

FEMA provides an operational and financial impact worksheet to help run a business continuity analysis. The worksheet should be completed by business function and process managers who are well acquainted with the business. These worksheets will summarize the following:

  • The impacts—both financial and operational—that stem from the loss of individual business functions and process
  • Identifying when the loss of a function or process would result in the identified business impacts

Completing the analysis can help companies identify and prioritize the processes that have the most impact on the business's financial and operational functions. The point at which they must be recovered is generally known as the “recovery time objective.”

Business Continuity Plan vs. Disaster Recovery Plan

BCPs and disaster recovery plans are similar in nature, the latter focuses on technology and information technology (IT) infrastructure. BCPs are more encompassing—focusing on the entire organization, such as customer service and supply chain. 

BCPs focus on reducing overall costs or losses, while disaster recovery plans look only at technology downtimes and related costs. Disaster recovery plans tend to involve only IT personnel—which create and manage the policy. However, BCPs tend to have more personnel trained on the potential processes. 

Why Is Business Continuity Plan (BCP) Important?

Businesses are prone to a host of disasters that vary in degree from minor to catastrophic and business continuity plans (BCPs) are an important part of any business. BCP is typically meant to help a company continue operating in the event of threats and disruptions. This could result in a loss of revenue and higher costs, which leads to a drop in profitability. And businesses can't rely on insurance alone because it doesn't cover all the costs and the customers who move to the competition.

What Should a Business Continuity Plan (BCP) Include?

Business continuity plans involve identifying any and all risks that can affect the company's operations. The plan should also determine how those risks will affect operations and implement safeguards and procedures to mitigate the risks. There should also be testing procedures to ensure these safeguards and procedures work. Finally, there should be a review process to make sure that the plan is up to date.

What Is Business Continuity Impact Analysis?

An important part of developing a BCP is a business continuity impact analysis which identifies the effects of disruption of business functions and processes. It also uses the information to make decisions about recovery priorities and strategies.

FEMA provides an operational and financial impact worksheet to help run a business continuity analysis.

These worksheets summarize the impacts—both financial and operational—that stem from the loss of individual business functions and processes. They also identify when the loss of a function or process would result in the identified business impacts.

Business continuity plans (BCPs) are created to help speed up the recovery of an organization filling a threat or disaster. The plan puts in place mechanisms and functions to allow personnel and assets to minimize company downtime. BCPs cover all organizational risks should a disaster happen, such as flood or fire.  

Federal Emergency Management Agency. " Business Process Analysis and Business Impact Analysis User Guide ." Pages 15 - 17.

Ready. “ IT Disaster Recovery Plan .”

Federal Emergency Management Agency. " Business Process Analysis and Business Impact Analysis User Guide ." Pages 15-17.

requirements for business continuity plan

  • Terms of Service
  • Editorial Policy
  • Privacy Policy
  • Your Privacy Choices

What Is A Business Continuity Plan? [+ Template & Examples]

Swetha Amaresan

Published: December 30, 2022

When a business crisis occurs, the last thing you want to do is panic.

executives discussing business continuity plan

The second-to-last thing you want to do is be unprepared. Crises typically arise without warning. While you shouldn't start every day expecting the worst, you should be relatively prepared for anything to happen.

A business crisis can cost your company a lot of money and ruin your reputation if you don't have a business continuity plan in place. Customers aren't very forgiving, especially when a crisis is influenced by accidents within the company or other preventable mistakes. If you want your company to be able to maintain its business continuity in the face of a crisis, then you'll need to come up with this type of plan to uphold its essential functions.

Free Download: Crisis Management Plan & Communication Templates

In this post, we'll explain what a business continuity plan is, give examples of scenarios that would require a business continuity plan, and provide a template that you can use to create a well-rounded program for your business.

Table of Contents:

What is a business continuity plan?

  • Business Continuity Types
  • Business Continuity vs Disaster Recovery

Business Continuity Plan Template

How to write a business continuity plan.

  • Business Continuity Examples

A business continuity plan outlines directions and procedures that your company will follow when faced with a crisis. These plans include business procedures, names of assets and partners, human resource functions, and other helpful information that can help maintain your brand's relationships with relevant stakeholders. The goal of a business continuity plan is to handle anything from minor disruptions to full-blown threats.

For example, one crisis that your business may have to respond to is a severe snowstorm. Your team may be wondering, "If a snowstorm disrupted our supply chain, how would we resume business?" Planning contingencies ahead of time for situations like these can help your business stay afloat when you're faced with an unavoidable crisis.

When you think about business continuity in terms of the essential functions your business requires to operate, you can begin to mitigate and plan for specific risks within those functions.

requirements for business continuity plan

Crisis Communication and Management Kit

Manage, plan for, and communicate during your corporate crises with these crisis management plan templates.

  • Free Crisis Management Plan Template
  • 12 Crisis Communication Templates
  • Post-Crisis Performance Grading Template
  • Additional Crisis Best Management Practices

You're all set!

Click this link to access this resource at any time.

Business Continuity Planning

Business continuity planning is the process of creating a plan to address a crisis. When writing out a business continuity plan, it's important to consider the variety of crises that could potentially affect the company and prepare a resolution for each.

Business Continuity Plan

Don't forget to share this post!

Related articles.

20 Crisis Management Quotes Every PR Team Should Live By

20 Crisis Management Quotes Every PR Team Should Live By

Social Media Crisis Management: Your Complete Guide [Free Template]

Social Media Crisis Management: Your Complete Guide [Free Template]

De-Escalation Techniques: 19 Best Ways to De-Escalate [Top Tips + Data]

De-Escalation Techniques: 19 Best Ways to De-Escalate [Top Tips + Data]

Situational Crisis Communication Theory and How It Helps a Business

Situational Crisis Communication Theory and How It Helps a Business

What Southwest’s Travel Disruption Taught Us About Customer Service

What Southwest’s Travel Disruption Taught Us About Customer Service

Showcasing Your Crisis Management Skills on Your Resume

Showcasing Your Crisis Management Skills on Your Resume

What Is Contingency Planning? [+ Examples]

What Is Contingency Planning? [+ Examples]

What Is Reputational Risk? [+ Real Life Examples]

What Is Reputational Risk? [+ Real Life Examples]

10 Crisis Communication Plan Examples (and How to Write Your Own)

10 Crisis Communication Plan Examples (and How to Write Your Own)

Top Tips for Working in a Call Center (According to Customer Service Reps)

Top Tips for Working in a Call Center (According to Customer Service Reps)

Manage, plan for, and communicate during a corporate crisis.

Service Hub provides everything you need to delight and retain customers while supporting the success of your whole front office

How to Write a Business Continuity Plan Step-by-Step: Our Experts Provide Tips

By Andy Marker | October 21, 2020 (updated August 17, 2021)

  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on LinkedIn

Link copied

In order to adequately prepare for a crisis, your company needs a business continuity plan. We’ve culled detailed step-by-step instructions, as well as expert tips for writing a business continuity plan and free downloadable tools.  

Included on this page, find the steps to writing a business continuity plan and a discussion of the key components in a plan . You’ll also find a business continuity plan quick-start template  and a disruptive incident quick-reference card template for print or mobile, and an expert disaster preparation checklist .

Step by Step: How to Write a Business Continuity Plan

A business continuity plan refers to the steps a company takes to help it continue operations during a crisis. In order to write a business continuity plan, you gather information about key people, tools, and processes, then write the plan as procedures and lists of resources. 

To make formatting easy, download a free business continuity plan template . To learn more about the role of a business continuity plan, read our comprehensive guide to business continuity planning . 

  • Write a Mission Statement for the Plan: Describe the objectives of the plan. When does it need to be completed? What is the budget for disaster and recovery preparation, including research, training, consultants, and tools? Be sure to detail any assumptions about financial or other resources, such as government business continuity grants.
  • Set Up Governance: Describe the business continuity team. Include names or titles and role designations, as well as contact information. Clearly define roles, lines of authority and succession, and accountability. Add an organization or a functional diagram. Select one of these free organizational chart templates to get started.
  • Write the Plan Procedures and Appendices: This is the core of your plan. There's no one correct way to create a business continuity document, but the critical content it should include are procedures, agreements, and resources.Think of your plan as lists of tasks or processes that people must perform to keep your operation running. Be specific in your directions, and use diagrams and illustrations. Remember that checklists and work instructions are simple and powerful tools to convey key information in a crisis. Learn more about procedures and work instructions . You should also note who on the team is responsible for knowing plan details.

Michele Barry

  • Set Procedures for Testing Recovery and Response: Create test guidelines and schedules for testing. To review the plan, consider reaching out to people who did not write the plan. Put together the forms and checklists that attendees will use during tests.

Alex Fullick

A business continuity plan is governed by a business continuity policy. You can learn more about creating a business continuity policy and find examples by reading our guide on developing an effective business continuity policy .

How to Create a Business Continuity Plan

Creating a business continuity plan (BCP) involves gathering a team, studying risks and key tasks, and choosing recovery activities. Then write the plan as a set of lists and guidelines, which may address risks such as fires, floods, pandemics, or data breaches.

According to Alex Fullick, your best bet is to create a simple plan. “I usually break everything down into three key categories: people, places, and things. If you focus on a couple of key pieces, you will be a lot more effective. That big binder of procedures is absolutely worthless. You need a bunch of guidelines to say what you do in a given situation: where are our triggers for deciding we’re in a crisis and we have to stop doing XYZ, and just focus on ABC.” 

“Post-pandemic, I think new managers will develop more policies and guidelines of all types than required, as a fear response,” cautions Michele Barry. 

Because every company is different, no two approaches to business continuity planning are the same. Tony Bombacino, Co-Founder and President of Real Food Blends , describes his company’s formal and informal business continuity approaches. “The first step in any crisis is for our nerve center to connect quickly, assess the situation, and then go into action,” he explains. 

Tony Bombacino

“Our sales manager and our marketing manager might discuss what’s going on, and say, ‘Are we going to say anything on social media? Do we need to reach out to any of our customers? The key things, like maintaining stock levels or what if somebody gets sick? What if there's a recall?’ Those plans we have laid out. But we're not a 5,000-person multi-billion-dollar company, so our business continuity plan is often in emails and Google Docs.” 

Mike Semel

“I've done planning literally for hundreds of businesses where we've just filled out basic forms,” says Mike Semel, President and Chief Compliance Officer of Semel Consulting . “For example, noting the insurance company's phone number — you know, on the back of your utility bill, which you never look at, there's an emergency number for if the power goes out or if the gas shuts off. We've helped people gather all that information and put it down. Even if there's no other plan, just having that information at their fingertips when they need it may be enough.”

You can also approach your business continuity planning as including three types of responses:

  • Proactive Strategies: Proactive approaches prevent crises. For example, you may buy an emergency generator to keep power running in your factory, or install a security system to prevent or limit loss during break-ins. Or you may create a bring-your-own-device (BYOD) policy and offer training for remote workers to protect your network and data security.
  • Reactive Strategies: Reactive strategies are your immediate responses to a crisis. Examples of reactive methods include evacuation procedures, fire procedures, and emergency response strategies.
  • Recovery Strategies: Recovery strategies describe how you resume operations to produce a minimum acceptable level of service. The recovery plan includes actions to stand up temporary processes. The plan also describes the longer-term efforts, such as relocation, data restoration, temporary workaround processes, or outsourcing tasks. Recovery strategies are not limited to IT and data recovery.

Quick-Start Guide Business Continuity Plan Template

Business Continuity Quick Start Guide and template

If you don’t already have a business continuity plan in place, but need to create one in short order to respond to a disruption, use this quick-start business continuity template. This template is available in Word and Google Docs formats, and it’s simply formatted so that you can focus on brainstorming and problem-solving. 

Download Quick-Start Guide Business Continuity Plan Template

Word | PDF | Google Docs | Smartsheet

For other most useful free, downloadable business continuity plan (BCP) templates please read our "Free Business Continuity Plan Templates" article.

Key Components of a Business Continuity Plan

Your company’s complete business continuity plan will have many details. Your plan may differ from other companies' plans based on industry and other factors. Each facility or business unit may also conduct an impact analysis and create disaster recovery and continuity plans . Consider adding these key components to your business plan:

  • Contact Information: These pages include contact information for key employees, vendors, and critical third parties. Locate this information at the beginning of the plan. 
  • Business Impact Analysis: When you conduct business impact analysis (BIA), you evaluate the financial and other changes in a disruptive event (you can use one of these business impact templates to get started). Evaluate impact in terms of brand damage, product failure or malfunction, lost revenue, or legal and regulatory repercussions.
  • Risk Assessment: In this section, assess the potential risks to all aspects of the organization’s operations. Look at potential risks related to such matters as cash on hand, stock levels, and staff qualifications. Although you may face an infinite number of potential internal and external risks, focus on people, places, and things to keep from becoming overwhelmed. Then analyze the effects of any items that are completely lost or need repairs. Also, understand that risk assessment is an ongoing effort that works in tandem with training and testing. Consider adding a completed risk matrix to your plan. You can create one using a downloadable risk matrix template . 
  • Critical Functions Analysis and List: As a faster alternative to a BIA, a critical functions analysis reveals what processes are critical to keeping your company running. Examples of critical functions include payroll and wages, accounts receivable, customer service, or production. According to Michele Barry, with a values-based approach to critical functions, you should consider who you really are as a company. Then decide what you must continue doing and what you can stop doing. 
  • Trigger and Disaster Declaration Criteria: Here, you should detail how your executive management will know when to declare an emergency and initiate the plan.
  • Succession Plan: Identify alternate staff for key roles in each unit. Schedule time throughout the year to observe alternates as they make important decisions and complete recovery tasks.
  • Alternate Suppliers: If your goods are regulated (i.e., food, toy, and pharmaceutical manufacturing), your raw resources and parts must always be up to standard. Source suppliers before a crisis to ensure that regulatory vetting and approval do not delay supplies. 
  • Operations Plan: Describe how your organization will resume and continue daily operations after a disruption. Include a checklist with such items as supplies, equipment, and information on where data is backed up and where you keep the plan. Note who should have copies of the plan. 
  • Crisis Communication Strategy: Detail how the organization will communicate with employees, customers, and third-party entities in the event of a disruption. If regular communications systems are disabled, make a plan for alternate methods. Download a free crisis communication strategy template to get started on this aspect. 
  • Incident Response Plan: Describe how your organization plans to respond to a range of likely incidents or disruptions, and define the triggers for activating the plan. 
  • Alternate Site Relocation: The alternate site is the location that the organization moves to after a disruption occurs. In the plan, you can also note the transportation and resources required to move the business and the processes you must maintain in this facility.
  • Interim Procedures: These are the critical processes that must continue, either in their original or alternate forms.
  • Restoration of Critical Data: Critical data includes anything you must immediately recover to maintain normal business functions.
  • Vendor Partner Agreements: List your organization’s key vendors and how they can help you maintain or resume operations.
  • Work Backlog: This includes the work that piles up when systems are shut down. You must complete this work first when processes start again.
  • Recovery Strategy for IT Services: This section details the steps you take to restore the IT processes that are necessary to maintain the business.
  • Recovery Time Objectives (RTO) and Recovery Point Objectives (RPO): RTO refers to the maximum amount of time that a company can stop its processes and the length of time without access to data before productivity substantially drops. Determine RTOs for each unit, factoring in people, places, and things. 
  • Backup Plans: What if plans, processes, or resources fail or are unavailable? Determine alternatives now, so you don't have to scramble. Decide on a backup roster for personnel who are unavailable.
  • Manual Workarounds: This section details how a business can operate by hand, should all failsafe measures break down.
  • External Audit Details: For regulated organizations, external audits may be compulsory. Your scheduled internal audits will prepare you for external audits.
  • Test and Exercise Plan: Identify how and when you will test the continuity plan, including details about periodic tabletop testing and more complex real-world scenario testing.
  • Change Management: Note how you will incorporate learnings from tests and exercises, disseminate changes, and review the plan and track changes.

Key Resources for Business Continuity

To fix problems, restore operations, or submit an insurance claim, you need readily available details of the human resources and other groups that can assist with business continuity. (Your organization's unique situation may also require specific types of resources.) Add this information to appendices at the back of your continuity plan.

Fullick suggests broadening the definition of human assets. "People are our employees, certainly. But we forget that the term ‘people’ includes executive management. Management doesn't escape pandemics or the flu or a car crash. Bad things can happen to them and around them, too." 

Use the following list as a prompt for recording important information about your organization. Your unique situation may require other types of information.

  • Lists of key employees and their contact information. Also, think beyond C-level and response team members to staff with long-term or specialized knowledge
  • Disaster recovery and continuity team contact names, roles, and contact information
  • Emergency contact number for police and emergency services for your location
  • Non-emergency contact information for police and medical
  • Emergency and non-emergency contact numbers for facilities issues
  • Board member contact information
  • Personnel roster, including family or emergency contact names and numbers for the entire organization
  • Contractors for any repairs
  • Client contact information and SLAs
  • Insurance contacts for all plans
  • Key regulatory contacts.
  • Legal contacts
  • Vendor contact information and partner agreements and SLAs
  • Addresses and details for each office or facility
  • Primary and secondary contact and information for each facility or office, including at least one phone number and email address
  • Off-site recovery location
  • Addresses and access information for storage facilities or vehicle compounds
  • Funding and banking information
  • IT details and data recovery information, including an inventory of apps and license numbers  
  • Insurance policy numbers and agent contact information for each plan, healthcare, property, vehicle, etc.
  • Inventory of tangibles, including equipment, hardware, supplies, fixtures, and fittings (if you are a supplier or manufacturer, include an inventory of raw materials and finished goods)
  • Lease details
  • Licenses, permits, other legal documents
  • List of special items that you use regularly, but don't order frequently
  • Location of backup equipment
  • Utility account numbers and contact information (for electric, gas, telephone, water, waste pickup, etc.)

Activities to Complete Before Writing the Business Continuity Plan

Before you write your plan, take these preliminary steps to assemble a team and gather background information. 

  • Incident Commander: This person is responsible for all aspects of an emergency response.
  • Emergency Response Team: The emergency response team refers to the group of people in charge of responding to an emergency or disruption.
  • Information Technology Recovery Team: This group is responsible for recovering important IT services.
  • Alternate Site/Location Operation Team: This team is responsible for maintaining business operations at an alternate site.
  • Facilities Management Team: The facilities management team is responsible for managing all of the main business facilities and determining the necessary responses to maintain them in light of a disaster or disruption.
  • Department Upper Management: This includes key stakeholders and upper management employees who govern BCP decisions.
  • Conduct business impact analysis or critical function analysis. Understand how the loss of processes in each department can affect internal and external operations. See our article on business continuity planning to learn more about BIAs.
  • Conduct risk analysis. Determine the potential risks and threats to your organization.
  • Identify the scope of the plan. Define where the business continuity plan applies, whether to one office, the entire organization, or only certain aspects of the organization. Use the BIA and risk analysis to identify critical functions and key resources that you must maintain. Set goals to determine the level of detail required. Set milestones to track progress in completing the plan. "Setting scope is essential," Barry insists. "You need to define the core and noncore aspects of the business and the minimum requirements for achieving continuity."
  • Strategize recovery approaches: Strategize how your business should respond to a disruption, based on your risk assessment and BIA. During this process, you determine the core details of the BCP, add the key components and resources, and determine the timing for what must happen before, during, and after a disruptive event.

Common Structure of a Business Continuity Plan

Knowing the common structure should help shape the plan — and frees you from thinking about form when you should be thinking about content. Here is an example of a BCP format:

  • Business Name: Record the business name, which usually appears on the title page.
  • Date: The day the BCP is completed and signed off. 
  • Purpose and Scope: This section describes the reason for and span of the plan.
  • Business Impact Analysis: Add the results of the BIA to your plan.  
  • Risk Assessment: Consider adding the risk assessment matrix to your plan.
  • Policy Information: Include the business continuity policy or policy highlights.
  • Emergency Management and Response: You can detail emergency response measures separately from other recovery and continuity procedures.
  • The Plan: The core of the plan details step-by-step procedures for business recovery and continuity.
  • Relevant Appendices: Appendices can include such information as contact lists, org charts, copies of insurance policies, or any supporting documents relevant in a crisis.

Keep in mind that every business is different — no two BCPs look the same. Tailor your business continuity plan to your company, and make sure the document captures all the information you need to keep your business functioning. Having everything you need to know in an emergency is the most crucial part of a BCP.

Disruptive Incident Quick-Reference Card Template

Disruptive Incident Quick Reference Cad Template

Use this quick-reference card template to write the key steps that employees should take in case of an emergency. Customize this template for each business unit, department, or role. Describe what people should do immediately and in the following days and weeks to continue the business. Print PDFs and laminate them for workstations or wallets, or load the PDFs on your mobile phone. 

Download Disruptive Incident Quick-Reference Card Template 

Expert Disaster Preparation Checklist

Business continuity and disaster planning aren’t just about your buildings and cloud backup — it’s about people and their families. Based on a document by Mike Semel of Semel Consulting, this disaster checklist helps you prepare for the human needs of your staff and their families, including food, shelter, and other comforts.

Tips for Writing a Business Continuity Plan

With its many moving parts and considerations, a business continuity plan can seem intimidating. Follow these tips to help you write, track, and maintain a strong BCP:

  • Take the continuity management planning  process seriously.
  • Interview key people in the organization who have successfully managed disruptive incidents.
  • Get approval from leadership early on and seek their ongoing championship of continuity preparedness.
  • Be flexible when it comes to who you involve, what resources you need, and how you achieve the most effective plan.
  • Keep the plan as simple and targeted as possible to make it easy to understand.
  • Limit the plan to practical disaster response actions.
  • Base the plan on the most up-to-date, accurate information available.
  • Plan for the worst-case scenario and broadly cover many types of potential disruptive situations. 
  • Consider the minimum amount of information or resources you need to keep your business running in a disaster. 
  • Use the data you gather in your BIA and risk analysis to make the planning process more straightforward.
  • Share the plan and make sure employees have a chance to review it or ask questions. 
  • Make the document available in hard copy for easy access, or add it to a shared platform. 
  • Continually test, review, and maintain your plan to keep it up to date. 
  • Keep the BCP current with organizational and regulatory changes and updates.

Empower Your Teams to Build Business Continuity with Smartsheet

Empower your people to go above and beyond with a flexible platform designed to match the needs of your team — and adapt as those needs change. 

The Smartsheet platform makes it easy to plan, capture, manage, and report on work from anywhere, helping your team be more effective and get more done. Report on key metrics and get real-time visibility into work as it happens with roll-up reports, dashboards, and automated workflows built to keep your team connected and informed. 

When teams have clarity into the work getting done, there’s no telling how much more they can accomplish in the same amount of time.  Try Smartsheet for free, today.

Discover why over 90% of Fortune 100 companies trust Smartsheet to get work done.

  • Developing Your MVP
  • Incident Management
  • Needs Assessment Process
  • Product Development From Ideation to Launch
  • Visualizing Competitive Landscape
  • Communication Plan
  • Graphic Organizer Creator
  • Fault Tree Software
  • Bowman's Strategy Clock Template
  • Decision Matrix Template
  • Communities of Practice
  • Goal Setting for 2024
  • Meeting Templates
  • Meetings Participation
  • Microsoft Teams Brainstorming
  • Retrospective Guide
  • Skip Level Meetings
  • Visual Documentation Guide
  • Weekly Meetings
  • Affinity Diagrams
  • Business Plan Presentation
  • Post-Mortem Meetings
  • Team Building Activities
  • WBS Templates
  • Online Whiteboard Tool
  • Communications Plan Template
  • Idea Board Online
  • Meeting Minutes Template
  • Genograms in Social Work Practice
  • How to Conduct a Genogram Interview
  • How to Make a Genogram
  • Genogram Questions
  • Genograms in Client Counseling
  • Understanding Ecomaps
  • Visual Research Data Analysis Methods
  • House of Quality Template
  • Customer Problem Statement Template
  • Competitive Analysis Template
  • Creating Operations Manual
  • Knowledge Base
  • Folder Structure Diagram
  • Online Checklist Maker
  • Lean Canvas Template
  • Instructional Design Examples
  • Genogram Maker
  • Work From Home Guide
  • Strategic Planning
  • Employee Engagement Action Plan
  • Huddle Board
  • One-on-One Meeting Template
  • Story Map Graphic Organizers
  • Introduction to Your Workspace
  • Managing Workspaces and Folders
  • Adding Text
  • Collaborative Content Management
  • Creating and Editing Tables
  • Adding Notes
  • Introduction to Diagramming
  • Using Shapes
  • Using Freehand Tool
  • Adding Images to the Canvas
  • Accessing the Contextual Toolbar
  • Using Connectors
  • Working with Tables
  • Working with Templates
  • Working with Frames
  • Using Notes
  • Access Controls
  • Exporting a Workspace
  • Real-Time Collaboration
  • Notifications
  • Meet Creately VIZ
  • Unleashing the Power of Collaborative Brainstorming
  • Uncovering the potential of Retros for all teams
  • Collaborative Apps in Microsoft Teams
  • Hiring a Great Fit for Your Team
  • Project Management Made Easy
  • Cross-Corporate Information Radiators
  • Creately 4.0 - Product Walkthrough
  • What's New

Understanding the Essentials of a Business Continuity Plan

hero-img

In the face of unforeseen disruptions, a robust business continuity plan (BCP) is essential to preserve the trust of stakeholders. If you are able to seamlessly continue operations even in the face of sudden challenges, stakeholders are reassured of the company’s resilience and commitment to their interests.

In this blog post, we offer a comprehensive guide to business continuity planning, how it can benefit organizations and share key insights into Developing and Maintaining an Effective business continuity plan.

What is a Business Continuity Plan?

A business continuity plan (BCP) is an essential blueprint that outlines how a company will continue operating during an unplanned disruption in service. It’s more than just a reactive strategy; it’s a proactive measure to ensure that critical business functions can continue during and after a crisis. The purpose of a BCP is to provide a systematic approach to mitigate the potential impact of disruptions and maintain business operations at an acceptable predefined level.

The role of a BCP is crucial in maintaining operations during unforeseen events such as natural disasters, cyber-attacks, or any other incident that could interrupt business processes. By having a well-structured business continuity plan, organizations can:

  • Minimize downtime and ensure that essential functions remain operational
  • Protect the integrity of data and IT infrastructure
  • Maintain customer service and preserve stakeholder trust

Why is a Business Continuity Plan Important

Immediate Response : A BCP ensures that there is a predefined action plan, minimizing downtime and demonstrating control over the situation.

Transparent Communication : Keeping stakeholders informed during a crisis promotes transparency and maintains confidence in the company’s management.

Inclusive Planning : Involve stakeholders in the business continuity plan development process. Their insights can enhance the plan’s effectiveness and ensure their needs are addressed.

Consistency in Service : By prioritizing critical operations, a BCP helps maintain the quality and consistency of services or products, which is important for customer retention.

The absence of a business continuity plan can lead to a domino effect of negative outcomes, including a tarnished reputation and the potential loss of future business. Stakeholders remember how a company responds in a crisis, and a well-executed BCP can be the difference between a temporary setback and a long-term impact on the company’s image and relationships.

Elements of a Business Continuity Plan

When exploring various business continuity plan examples, certain common elements emerge as critical for their effectiveness. These elements serve as the backbone for a robust BCP plan, ensuring that businesses can maintain operations and protect their reputation during unforeseen events. Here are some of the key components found in successful BCP examples:

Risk Assessment and Business Impact Analysis : Identifying potential threats and assessing their impact on business operations is a foundational step in any BCP plan.

Crisis Communication Plan : A clear communication strategy is essential to manage stakeholder expectations and maintain trust.

Recovery Strategies : Detailed procedures for restoring business functions and services post-disruption are indispensable.

Employee Training and Awareness : Ensuring staff are well-prepared and knowledgeable about the BCP plan is crucial for its successful implementation.

Case studies of successful BCP implementations often highlight how these elements are tailored to fit specific business models and industries. For instance, a financial institution may focus heavily on data security and regulatory compliance within their BCP, while a manufacturing business might prioritize supply chain alternatives and on-site safety protocols. Regular testing and adjustment of these plans are also a common thread, underscoring the importance of adaptability and continuous improvement in business continuity planning.

Business Continuity Plan Toolkit

exit full-screen

Business Continuity vs. Disaster Recovery

It’s important to distinguish between a business continuity plan and a disaster recovery plan. While both are vital, a BCP is broader and focuses on the continuity of the entire business, whereas a disaster recovery plan is more technical and concentrates on the recovery of specific operations, such as IT services. Understanding these differences helps organizations allocate resources effectively and ensures comprehensive preparedness for any type of disruption. Understanding when to activate a business continuity plan (BCP) versus a disaster recovery plan is crucial for maintaining operational resilience.

To ensure a comprehensive crisis management strategy, consider the following integration points:

Pre-emptive Planning : Establish clear triggers for when each plan is activated. For instance, a BCP might be initiated in the face of a supply chain disruption, while disaster recovery would come into play during a data breach or server failure.

Unified Communication : Both plans should have a coordinated communication strategy to inform stakeholders and employees about the status and steps being taken.

Regular Testing : Conduct joint drills that test both the BCP and disaster recovery plans to identify any gaps or overlaps in procedures.

Continuous Improvement : Use insights from drills and actual incidents to refine both plans, ensuring they evolve with the changing business landscape and technological advancements.

By integrating both plans, organizations can navigate crises with agility and confidence, minimizing downtime and protecting their reputation. Tools like Creately, with features such as real-time collaboration and visual project management, can help create and maintain these critical plans, ensuring that all stakeholders are on the same page and ready to act when necessary.

Crisis Communication Strategies within Business Continuity Planning

A business continuity plan (BCP) is not just about responding to the crisis at hand, but also about how you communicate during the disruptions and the decisions you make. Here are some best practices to ensure your crisis communication and decision-making processes effective:

Clear Communication Channels : Establish predefined channels for internal and external communication. This ensures that messages are consistent and reach all stakeholders promptly.

Designated Spokespersons : Identify individuals who are authorized to speak on behalf of the company during a crisis. This helps maintain a unified voice and message.

Factual Updates : Provide regular, factual updates to keep stakeholders informed. Avoid speculation and commit to transparency.

Decision-Making Protocols : Implement decision-making protocols that are clear and allow for swift action. This includes having a chain of command and predefined criteria for making critical decisions.

Training and Simulations : Regularly train your crisis management team and conduct simulations to prepare for potential scenarios. This ensures that when a crisis does occur, your team is ready to act effectively.

By integrating these best practices into your BCP plan, you can maintain control during a crisis, make informed decisions, and communicate effectively with all parties involved. Remember, the goal is to protect your company’s operations, reputation, and stakeholder relationships during unexpected events.

Utilizing Business Continuity Plan Templates and Tools

When it comes to developing a robust business continuity plan (BCP), leveraging templates can offer a significant head start. These templates serve as a foundational framework that can be customized to align with the specific requirements of your business. Here’s why using BCP templates is advantageous:

Efficiency in Development : BCP templates provide a structured approach, ensuring that all critical elements are considered without starting from scratch. This saves valuable time and resources.

Consistency Across the Organization : Templates help maintain a uniform response strategy, which is crucial for coherent and coordinated action during a crisis.

Ease of Customization : While templates offer a general outline, they are designed to be adaptable. This means you can tailor them to reflect your business’s unique operational processes, risk profile, and recovery objectives.

Incorporating features like crisis response directions into your BCP template is essential. With Creately you can,

  • Visualize these procedures on an infinite canvas, ensuring clarity and accessibility for all team members.
  • Easily modify the plan as your business evolves, with the drag-and-drop functionality, making regular testing and adjustment a seamless process.
  • Create a central repository of information by having docs, links and attachments in the notes panel of any shape in your diagram.

Key Insights for Developing and Maintaining an Effective Business Continuity Plan

A robust business continuity plan (BCP) is not a ‘set it and forget it’ document; it requires ongoing attention and refinement. Here’s why regular testing, updates, and staff training are non-negotiables in business continuity:

Financial Protection : By regularly testing your BCP, you can identify and rectify gaps that could otherwise lead to significant financial losses during a crisis. It’s not just about having a plan, but ensuring it works effectively when you need it most.

Reputational Safeguarding : Your company’s reputation is on the line when disaster strikes. A well-rehearsed BCP means your team can respond swiftly and competently, preserving stakeholder trust and customer loyalty.

Customization for Evolving Threats : The threat landscape is constantly changing. Regular BCP reviews allow you to tailor your plan to new types of risks, ensuring your business remains resilient against the unforeseen.

Empowered Employees : Training staff on the BCP turns theory into practice. When every team member knows their role in a crisis, response times improve, and confusion is minimized.

Remember, a BCP is a living document. It thrives on the feedback loop created by regular drills and updates, ensuring that when a crisis does occur, your business is prepared not just to survive, but to continue operations with minimal disruption.

Join over thousands of organizations that use Creately to brainstorm, plan, analyze, and execute their projects successfully.

More Related Articles

AI SWOT Analysis: How to Leverage Artificial Intelligence for Business Insights

Hansani has a background in journalism and marketing communications. She loves reading and writing about tech innovations. She enjoys writing poetry, travelling and photography.

  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Generative AI
  • Business Operations
  • Cloud Computing
  • Data Center
  • Data Management
  • Emerging Technology
  • Enterprise Applications
  • IT Leadership
  • Digital Transformation
  • IT Strategy
  • IT Management
  • Diversity and Inclusion
  • IT Operations
  • Project Management
  • Software Development
  • Vendors and Providers
  • United States
  • Middle East
  • Italia (Italy)
  • Netherlands
  • United Kingdom
  • New Zealand
  • Data Analytics & AI
  • Newsletters
  • Foundry Careers
  • Terms of Service
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Copyright Notice
  • Member Preferences
  • About AdChoices
  • Your California Privacy Rights

Our Network

  • Computerworld
  • Network World

How to create an effective business continuity plan

A business continuity plan outlines procedures and instructions an organization must follow in the face of disaster, whether fire, flood, or cyberattack. Here’s how to create a plan that gives your business the best chance of surviving such an event.

Professional Meeting: Senior Businesswoman and Colleague in Discussion

The tumultuous events of the past several years have impacted practically every business. And with the number of extreme weather events, cyberattacks, and geopolitical conflicts continuing to rise, business leaders are bracing for the possibility of increasingly more frequent impactful incidents their organizations will need to respond to.

According to PwC’s 2023 Global Crisis and Resilience Survey , 96% of 1,812 business leaders said their organizations had experienced disruption in the past two years and 76% said their most serious disruption had a medium to high impact on operations.

It’s little wonder then that 89% of executives list resilience as one of their most important strategic priorities.

Yet at the same time, only 70% of respondents said they were confident in their organization’s ability to respond to disruptions, with PwC noting that its research shows that too many organizations “are lacking the foundational elements of resilience they need to be successful.”

A solid business continuity plan is one of those foundational elements.

“Every business should have the mindset that they will face a disaster, and every business needs a plan to address the different potential scenarios,” says Goh Ser Yoong, head of compliance at Advance.AI and a member of the Emerging Trends Working Group at the professional governance association ISACA.

A business continuity plan gives the organization the best shot at successfully navigating a disaster by providing ready-made directions on who should do what tasks in what order to keep the business viable.

Without such as a plan, the organization will take longer than necessary to recover from an event or incident — or may never recover at all.

What is a business continuity plan?

A business continuity plan (BCP) is a strategic playbook created to help an organization maintain or quickly resume business functions in the face of disruption, whether that disruption is caused by a natural disaster, civic unrest, cyberattack, or any other threat to business operations.

A business continuity plan outlines the procedures and instructions that the organization must follow during such an event to minimize downtime, covering business processes, assets, human resources, business partners, and more.

A business continuity plan is not the same as a disaster recovery plan , which focuses on restoring IT infrastructure and operations after a crisis. Still, a disaster recovery plan is part of the overall strategy to ensure business continuity, and the business continuity plan should inform the action items detailed in an organization’s disaster recovery plan. The two are tightly coupled, which is why they often are considered together and abbreviated as BCDR.

Why business continuity planning matters

Whether you operate a small business or a large corporation, it’s vital to retain and increase your customer base. There’s no better test of your capability to do so than right after an adverse event.

Because restoring IT is critical for most companies, numerous disaster recovery solutions are available. You can rely on IT to implement those solutions. But what about the rest of your business functions? Your company’s future depends on your people and processes. Being able to handle any incident effectively can have a positive effect on your company’s reputation and market value, and it can increase customer confidence.

Moreover, there are increasing consumer and regulatory expectations for both enterprise security and continuity today. Consequently, organizations must prioritize continuity planning to prevent not only business losses, but financial, legal, reputational, and regulatory consequences.

For example, the risk of having an organization’s “license to operate” withdrawn by a regulator or having conditions applied (retrospectively or prospectively) can adversely affect market value and consumer confidence.

Building (and updating) a business continuity plan

Whether building the organization’s first business continuity plan or updating an existing one, the process involves multiple essential steps.

Assess business processes for criticality and vulnerability: Business continuity planning “starts with understanding what’s most important to the business,” says Joe Nocera, principle in the cyber risk and regulatory practice at PwC, a professional services firm.

So the first step in building your business continuity plan is assessing your business processes to determine which are the most critical; which are the most vulnerable and to what type of events; and what are the potential losses if those processes go down for a day, a few days, or a week.

“This step essentially determines what you are trying to protect and what you are trying to keep up for systems,” says Todd Renner, senior managing director in the cybersecurity practice at FTI Consulting.

This assessment is more demanding than ever before because of the complexity of today’s hybrid workplace, the modern IT environment, and the reliance on business partners and third-party providers to perform or support critical processes.

Given that complexity, Goh says a thorough assessment requires an inventory of not only key processes but also the supporting components — including the IT systems, networks, people, and outside vendors — as well as the risks to those components.

This is essentially a business impact analysis.

Determine your organization’s RTO and RPO: The next step in building a business continuity plan is determining the organization’s recovery time objective (RTO), which is the target amount of time between point of failure and the resumption of operations, and the recovery point objective (RPO), which is the maximum amount of data loss an organization can withstand.

Each organization has its own RTO and RPO based on the nature of its business, industry, regulatory requirements, and other operational factors. Moreover, different parts of a business can have different RTOs and RPOs, which executives need to establish, Nocera says.

“When you meet with individual aspects of the business, everyone says everything [they do] is important; no one wants to say their part of the business is less critical, but in reality you have to have those challenging conversations and determinations about what is actually critical to the business and to business continuity,” he adds.

Detail the steps, roles, and responsibilities for continuity: Once that is done, business leaders should use the RTO and the RPO, along with the business impact analysis, to determine the specific tasks that need to happen, by whom, and in what order to ensure business continuity.

“It’s taking the key components of your analysis and designing a plan that outlines roles and responsibilities, about who does what. It gets into the nitty-gritty on how you’re going to keep the company up and running,” Renner explains.

One common business continuity planning tool is a checklist that includes supplies and equipment, the location of data backups and backup sites, where the plan is available and who should have it, and contact information for emergency responders, key personnel, and backup site providers.

Although the list of possible scenarios that could impact business operations can seem extensive, Goh says business leaders don’t have to compile an exhaustive list of potential incidents. Rather, they should compile a list that includes likely incidents as well as representative ones so that they can create responses that have a higher likelihood of ensuring continuity even when faced with an unimagined disaster.

“So even if it’s an unexpected event, they can pull those building blocks from the plan and apply them to the unique crisis they’re facing,” Nocera says.

The importance of testing the business continuity plan

Devising a business continuity plan is not enough to ensure preparedness; testing and practicing are other critical components.

Renner says testing and practicing offer a few important benefits.

First, they show whether or how well a plan will work.

Testing and practicing help prepare all stakeholders for an actual incident, helping them build the muscle memory needed to respond as quickly and as confidently as possible during a crisis.

They also help identify gaps in the devised plan. As Renner says: “Every tabletop exercise that I’ve ever done has been an eye-opener for everyone involved.”

Additionally, they help identify where there may be misalignment of objectives. For example, executives may have deprioritized the importance of restoring certain IT systems only to realize during a drill that those are essential for supporting critical processes.

Types and timing of tests

Many organizations test a business continuity plan two to four times a year. Experts say the frequency of tests, as well as reviews and updates, depends on the organization itself — its industry, its speed of innovation and transformation, the amount of turnover of key personnel, the number of business processes, and so on.

Common tests include tabletop exercises , structured walk-throughs, and simulations. Test teams are usually composed of the recovery coordinator and members from each functional unit.

A tabletop exercise usually occurs in a conference room with the team poring over the plan, looking for gaps and ensuring that all business units are represented therein.

In a structured walk-through, each team member walks through his or her components of the plan in detail to identify weaknesses. Often, the team works through the test with a specific disaster in mind. Some organizations incorporate drills and disaster role-playing into the structured walk-through. Any weaknesses should be corrected and an updated plan distributed to all pertinent staff.

Some experts also advise a full emergency evacuation drill at least once a year.

Meanwhile, disaster simulation testing — which can be quite involved — should still be performed annually. For this test, create an environment that simulates an actual disaster, with all the equipment, supplies and personnel (including business partners and vendors) who would be needed. The purpose of a simulation is to determine whether the organization and its staff can carry out critical business functions during an actual event.

During each phase of business continuity plan testing, include some new employees on the test team. “Fresh eyes” might detect gaps or lapses of information that experienced team members could overlook.

Reviewing and updating the business continuity plan should likewise happen on an ongoing basis.

“It should be a living document. It shouldn’t be shelved. It shouldn’t be just a check-the-box exercise,” Renner says.

Otherwise, plans go stale and are of no use when needed.

Bring key personnel together at least annually to review the plan and discuss any areas that must be modified.

Prior to the review, solicit feedback from staff to incorporate into the plan. Ask all departments or business units to review the plan, including branch locations or other remote units.

Furthermore, a strong business continuity function calls for reviewing the organization’s response in the event of an actual event. This allows executives and their teams to identify what the organization did well and where it needs to improve.

How to ensure business continuity plan support, awareness

One way to ensure your plan is not successful is to adopt a casual attitude toward its importance. Every business continuity plan must be supported from the top down. That means senior management must be represented when creating and updating the plan; no one can delegate that responsibility to subordinates. In addition, the plan is likely to remain fresh and viable if senior management makes it a priority by dedicating time for adequate review and testing.

Management is also key to promoting user awareness. If employees don’t know about the plan, how will they be able to react appropriately when every minute counts?

Although plan distribution and training can be conducted by business unit managers or HR staff, have someone from the top kick off training and punctuate its significance. It’ll have a greater impact on all employees, giving the plan more credibility and urgency.

Related content

The potential for generative ai in government and public services, preparing the foundations for generative ai, making ot-it integration a reality with new data architectures and generative ai, creating value with generative ai in manufacturing, from our editors straight to your inbox, show me more, patient data is at greater risk than ever. ai can help.

Image

Microsoft Copilot will transform the healthcare profession. Here’s how

Image

4 hidden risks of your enterprise cloud strategy

Image

CIO Leadership Live ASEAN with Dr. Ralph Ostertag, Director of Digital and Technology for Asia Pacific, the Heineken Company

Image

CIO Leadership Live UK with Graham OSullivan, CIO, OneFamily

Image

CIO Leadership Live Canada with Lekan Olawoye, Founder, BPTN

Image

CIO Leadership Live UK with Graham O'Sullivan, CIO, OneFamily

Image

Sponsored Links

  • Experience the comprehensive solution that provides end-to-end visibility across applications, infrastructure, and network layers. Plus improve your IT operations and enhance overall business performance. Sign up for a Free Trial and explore the benefits
  • Want to justify your IT investments faster? IDC reports on how to measure business impact.
  • Read this IDC spotlight to learn what commonly prevents value realization – and how to solve it

Advisory boards aren’t only for executives. Join the LogRocket Content Advisory Board today →

LogRocket blog logo

  • Product Management
  • Solve User-Reported Issues
  • Find Issues Faster
  • Optimize Conversion and Adoption

How to craft an effective business continuity plan

requirements for business continuity plan

Let me take you back in time to the United Kingdom in the 1970s. Punk music was gaining popularity, and the Sex Pistols entered the punk rock scene with the force of a shooting star, capturing fans’ attention.

How To Craft An Effective Business Continuity Plan

But as quickly as they arrived, they quickly left the scene. When they broke up in 1978 after a period of internal conflicts, legal troubles, and their frontman’s imprisonment, fans were left both shocked and surprised.

Just like the Sex Pistols, plenty of companies experience rapid growth and success, only to face unexpected challenges and internal conflicts that result in their downfall.

In this article, we’ll draw inspiration from the Sex Pistols’ turbulent journey to explore the concept of business continuity planning (BCP). We’ll look at what a BCP is, why you need one and delve into the strategies and contingency measures that can help you maintain your rhythm and continuity, even when faced with the inevitable storms that can disrupt your operations.

What is a business continuity plan?

A business continuity plan describes how you’ll continue your business when disaster hits. It is a structured strategy outlining how your organization will maintain essential functions when disaster strikes, to ensure minimal downtime and guarantee that operations continue.

Why do you need a BCP in place?

The BCP is crucial and revolves around ensuring your resilience and ability to continue operating in the face of unexpected disruptions, such as natural disasters, cyberattacks, or other emergencies.

Let’s look at it a bit closer, and understand some of the key reasons to have a BCP better:

Minimize downtime

Protect revenue and reputation, compliance and legal requirements, resource allocation, maintain customer service, employee safety.

A BCP helps you minimize downtime. It does this by providing a structured approach to quickly recover and resume your critical business functions.

Example: You’re a retail company with an extensive online presence. If your website experiences a cyberattack that takes it offline, a well-prepared BCP outlines the steps to take to mitigate the attack, get your website back up in no time, and allow you to continue serving your customers.

No one likes disruptions as they result in revenue loss and can damage your reputation. A BCP helps you protect against financial losses and keep customer trust.

Example: You’re the owner of a restaurant chain with multiple locations and one of your branches has a food safety crisis. A BCP can guide you in managing the crisis, ensuring food safety compliance, and communicating effectively with customers to maintain trust in the brand and other locations.

Some industries, like the financial, and pharma industries, have regulatory requirements that mandate businesses to have BCPs in place. Failure to do so has legal and financial consequences.

Example: You’re the owner of a FinTech company. You are required by regulators to have robust BCPs to ensure customer data security and financial system stability.

When a crisis hits you need the right resources to get you back up and running. A BCP helps allocate resources effectively during a crisis, ensuring that personnel, equipment, and materials are used efficiently to address the most critical needs.

requirements for business continuity plan

Over 200k developers and product managers use LogRocket to create better digital experiences

requirements for business continuity plan

Example: You’re a manufacturing company hit by a sudden supply chain disruption because the Suez Canal is blocked again. You use your BCP to allocate available resources to meet customer demands and minimize production delays.

When all hell breaks loose you want to make sure customer experience takes a minimum blow. A BCP outlines measures to maintain customer service and communication, so customers receive timely updates and support.

Example: You run an airline and there is a labor strike. Your BCP tells you how to manage customer inquiries, rebook affected passengers, and maintain a level of service.

Let’s not forget about the well-being of your employees. During a crisis, this is a top priority. A BCP includes procedures for evacuations, remote work arrangements, and employee support.

Example: There is a fire at your workplace. The BCP outlines evacuation routes, assembly points, and contact information for employees to report their safety status.

Business continuity planning: Steps for success

That’s a lot of reasons, right? Now that we addressed the necessity and urgency of having BCP, let’s look at 5 steps to creating a successful one:

  • Analyze your company
  • Assess the risk
  • Create the procedures
  • Get the word out
  • Iterate and improve

1. Analyze your company

In this phase you conduct an analysis to identify critical activities, determine which activities must continue, which can be temporarily paused, and which can operate at a reduced capacity.

You then assess the financial impact of disruptions. This involves asking yourself the question, “How long can I operate without generating revenue and incurring recovery costs?”

As this step covers your whole company, it’s important to get key stakeholders involved from the beginning.

2. Assess the risk

Now you have a good overview of your critical processes and the impact of disruption. At this point, pivot your attention to the risks they face, how well you can handle when things don’t work as usual, and how long you can manage if things go wrong.

The goal here is to understand what could go wrong and find ways to avoid, reduce, or transfer them. This assessment will help you strengthen your preparedness and resilience.

More great articles from LogRocket:

  • How to implement issue management to improve your product
  • 8 ways to reduce cycle time and build a better product
  • What is a PERT chart and how to make one
  • Discover how to use behavioral analytics to create a great product experience
  • Explore six tried and true product management frameworks you should know
  • Advisory boards aren’t just for executives. Join LogRocket’s Content Advisory Board. You’ll help inform the type of content we create and get access to exclusive meetups, social accreditation, and swag.

Think about risks specific to your industry and location

It’s important to consider both internal (e.g. an IT system failure or employee shortage) and external threats (e.g. a natural disaster or supply chain disruption) to your critical business activities.

3. Create the procedures

Once you analyze and assess, you need to create procedures.

Develop detailed, step-by-step procedures to minimize risks to your organization’s people, operations, and assets. This can include changes to your operating model, such as using alternative suppliers or implementing remote work options.

4. Get the word out

A plan is just a plan and no one will know how to act if you don’t communicate.

This step is all about communication. Integrate the BCP into your operations, policies, and company culture, and train, test, and communicate with your employees.

And don’t forget that communication is not limited to your company only. Communicate with external stakeholders, customers, suppliers, and so forth.

5. Iterate and improve

Before implementing your BCP ensure its effectiveness.

Don’t worry there are plenty more options to test your BCP. Consider involving external stakeholders or vendors as it makes exercises more realistic. Frequently train those who are accountable for executing the BCP.

After experiencing a real incident or conducting a training exercise, update your plan to improve its ability to protect your business. Keep in mind that both your organization’s development and the circumstances you operate in change, so a regular review isn’t a luxury but a necessity.

How to structure your continuity plan

Now you have a high-level understanding, let’s look at how to structure your business continuity plan.

You can find a copy of the template I use here .

Make sure to include the following sections in your BCP:

Version history

Executive summary, functions and process prioritization, plan activation, governance and responsibilities, recovery plans, crisis communication plan, emergency location and contents, review and testing.

This section shows the revision history. It includes the version numbers of the changes made, by whom, when, and who approved the changes. The revision history allows anyone reading the BCP to understand how it has evolved over time.

The executive summary provides a brief summary of the key objectives, goals, scope, and applicability of the BCP.

This chapter outlines the critical functions and processes in scope of continuation in case of a disastrous event.

This section refers to the risk and business impact assessment outcome. Its aim is to set out what triggers the activation of the plan.

Governance and responsibilities talks about who has to act when the BCP is activated. It includes the members, a description of their responsibilities, contact details of the BCP team, and the chain of command during a crisis.

This section builds upon the business continuity strategies, specifically the one chosen when a disaster occurs. It describes the detailed recovery plans for each critical function, the procedures for restarting operations, resource allocation, and recovery time objectives (RTOs).

Here you cover the internal and external communication strategies. You also address employee awareness and training activities.

Now there is a good chance the disaster will require your crucial activities to temporarily continue at a different location. This section covers all details about the location and what needs to be available at the location.

The BCP is to be tested to reduce the risk of missing things or even worse failing. Here jot down the testing procedures and document results and lessons learned.

This section includes all appendices. Think about the following

  • Supporting documents, such as contact lists, maps, and technical specifications
  • References to external standards, guidelines, or regulations
  • Training programs for BCP team members
  • Review of insurance policies
  • Financial reserves and funding for recovery efforts
  • Procedures for keeping the BCP documentation up to date

Business continuity plan example

Earlier this year, the Koninklijke Nederlands Voetbal Bond (KNVB), which is the Royal Dutch Football Association, was hit by ransomware. The cyberattackers threatened to share personally identifiable information captured and the KNVB paid over one million euros to avoid this from happening.

What could have been done to mitigate the ransomware attack risk?

The Risk of the attack to succeed could have been mitigated with:

  • Regular data backups
  • Segmentation of networks
  • Intrusion detection systems

How to ensure business continuity in case of ransomware?

In response to the ransomware incident, and to allow for continued business as usual as soon as possible, steps could include:

  • Isolating affected systems
  • Activating backups
  • Notifying law enforcement
  • Engaging with a cybersecurity incident response team

Key takeaways

A business continuity plan (BCP) is like a safety net for your business when things go haywire. It helps you keep going, avoiding downtime, revenue loss, and reputation hits. On top of that, it’s a legal must in certain industries.

To make a solid BCP, just follow five steps: figure out what’s crucial for your business, spot the risks, plan how to bounce back, make sure everyone knows the plan, and keep fine-tuning it.

Structurally, your BCP should have sections like history, a quick guide, what’s most important, when to activate it, who’s in charge, the nitty-gritty recovery plans, how communication is done, where to go in a crisis, how to test the BCP works, and some extra info.

Featured image source: IconScout

LogRocket generates product insights that lead to meaningful action

Get your teams on the same page — try LogRocket today.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • #collaboration and communication
  • #project management

requirements for business continuity plan

Stop guessing about your digital experience with LogRocket

Recent posts:.

Leo Gong Leader Spotlight

Leader Spotlight: Innovating before you think you need to, with Leo Gong

Leo Gong, VP of Product at Apartment List, talks about knowing when to plant a new seed in the business to expand growth opportunities.

requirements for business continuity plan

A guide to enhancing user experience through customer delight

PMs often use the words “customer delight” very loosely and fail to recognize that it isn’t an isolated moment, but a holistic experience.

requirements for business continuity plan

Leader Spotlight: Communicating the value of commodity products, with Kevin Sakamoto

Kevin Sakamoto discusses Dollar Shave Club’s transition from a 100-percent subscription-based model to a hybrid one.

requirements for business continuity plan

A guide to applying the AIDA model

The acronym AIDA stands for attention, interest, desire, and action. The AIDA model is a marketing funnel representing a customer’s journey.

requirements for business continuity plan

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

  • Client Login
  • Supplier Login
  • Rail Replacement
  • Passenger First & Last Mile
  • Managed Taxi Rank Solutions
  • White Docket Management
  • Rail Crew Transport & Accommodation
  • Delay & Divert Solutions
  • Passenger Accommodation
  • Door-to-Door Transfers
  • Missed Connections
  • Travel Management Companies
  • Crew Transport and Accommodation
  • Patient Transfer Services
  • Employee Transport
  • Event Travel and Transport Management
  • Staff Shuttle Service
  • Business Continuity
  • COVID-19 Transport
  • Onward Travel
  • Passenger Transport

Call us today on 03333 207 100

  • Emergency Transport
  • Corporate Travel Management
  • Hotel And Accommodation
  • CMAC Booking Portals
  • First and Last Mile
  • Sustainability Strategy
  • Community and charity Strategy
  • Meet the team
  • Business Travel Report
  • Taxi Expenses Report
  • Airline Consumer Research Report
  • Case Studies
  • Become a Supplier
  • Accommodation
  • Partnership
  • Health Care
  • Public Sector

Press enter to search or ESC to close

Find out about the latest goings-on at CMAC

A step-by-step guide to writing an effective business continuity plan.

Posted Aug 30, 2022

What is a business continuity plan?

A business continuity plan is a written document that describes the emergency procedures that should happen if a business-critical process fails.

Several sources can threaten businesses. Sometimes, disruption can take the form of Force Majeure circumstances, like extreme weather or political unrest. Other circumstances are less obvious, but just as disruptive: supply chain issues, web server downtime or power outages can leave permanent damage to a business’s finances after a certain amount of time.

Businesses must prevent unwanted downtime to ensure critical functions and services aren’t affected. The best way to ensure a consistent and effective response to potential issues is to implement a robust, documented business continuity plan.

Learn more with our in-depth guide to business continuity.

What is the purpose of a business continuity plan?

A strategically structured and rehearsed business continuity plan provides a number of benefits to both employees and the company itself.

With improvements to communication, technology and resilience, here are a number of examples of the positives that you can expect from a business continuity plan:

Helps your business to survive a disruptive event — Ensuring you have a robust plan in place will enable your business to recover in the shortest possible timeframe from an incident.

Protect your organisation’s reputation and brand — Whether it’s in the eyes of the public, suppliers and/or clients you work with, showing that you can respond well to the unexpected will instil confidence in your business and help to mitigate any negative feelings due to disruptions.

Strengthen your relationship with third parties and subsidiaries — With an effective business continuity plan, you’ll demonstrate that your company is being run well from the top down. By showing that you’re a reliable partner that can be depended on, you’ll attract new business and solidify your relationship with current clients and service providers.

Ensure staff safety — The well-being of your employees is a natural factor in a business continuity plan. By ensuring your team is looked after and knows what the procedure is during disruptions, you can establish clear roles and responsibilities to keep everyone under your care safe in an emergency.

Meet regulatory standards — Globally, there are corporate governance regulations that require directors and key stakeholders to exercise reasonable care, skill and diligence to mitigate risks facing an organisation. With an effective business continuity plan in place, you can ensure you’re meeting the requirements of a growing body of legislation.

What does a good business continuity plan look like?

The three key elements of a business continuity plan are:

1. Resilience

Businesses can increase their resilience by designing critical functions and infrastructures to protect against specific scenarios. Examples include; data redundancy, staffing rotations and maintaining a surplus of capacity. If implemented efficiently, resilience in business continuity can even keep essential services running on-site or remotely without interruption to daily operations.

2. Recovery

There’s no way an organisation can prepare for every eventuality. But with rapid recovery, you can future-proof your business by ensuring you have strategies in place to restore business functions in an emergency. With recovery time objectives for different systems, you can analyse and prioritise which needs recovering first.

3. Contingency

A contingency plan ensures that an organisation has procedures in place to distribute and delegate responsibilities for a range of external scenarios. These can include replacing hardware, sourcing an emergency workspace and contracting third-party vendors for assistance.

Who is responsible for a business continuity plan?

To ensure your organisation’s readiness, it’s important to designate who will be responsible for implementing and managing your business continuity plan. For small businesses, a single individual could be tasked with writing a business continuity plan. Or for larger organisations, a whole team could be involved with developing a business continuity plan.

In such cases, business unit leaders — such as payroll, corporate travel, human resources and security — will be given the responsibility of creating their respective unit’s business continuity plan with a program manager overseeing the process.

It is essential to make sure each person understanding their responsibilities and that there are clear lines of communication between employees and external stakeholders, in order to keep everything as smooth as possible during an disruptive scenario.

What is the first step in writing a business continuity plan?

The first step you should take when preparing to write a business continuity plan is to conduct a full Business Impact Assessment (BIA).

A BIA predicts the consequences of a significant disruption to your business processes. It clarifies the potential losses that could be incurred in each circumstance.

A BIA should include the following:

Potential losses — What would your lost sales and income look like for each hour of downtime, or each day?

Delayed sales — Could disruption create cash flow issues for you by delaying your sales or income? If so, to what extent? What lines of credit would you have to rely on?

Increased expenses — How much would you have to spend on resources to mitigate the issue? Think about things like overtime, outsourcing, and costs associated with expediting business-critical activities.

Regulatory fines — How much could you be fined by regulators for breaches to things like data privacy or health and safety?

Contractual penalties — Are there any charges you could incur for failing to meet SLAs with your business partners?

Customer satisfaction — How much damage to your public reputation could a disruption have? You can quantify by thinking of the number of additional negative reviews you could receive for each day of delays.

Delay of new business plans — Would you need to push back any planned launches or new business agreements while you deal with disruptions?

Writing your plan: Step-by-step instructions

Identify your business-critical processes — Critical business processes are those necessary for the survival of the company in the case of loss of revenue, customer service interruption or reputation damage. E.g. Manufacturing — what you would need to keep your production line going. Finance — how to recover important documents that contain sensitive information. IT — is home working feasible for your business?

Specify the target recovery time for these processes — How long would it take for the loss of a business-critical process to do irreparable damage to your business? Your target recovery time for each process you identified should be within this window. Determine how long you could tolerate a disruption: this is known as a recovery time objective (RTO). Your business continuity plan should enable you to mitigate disruptions within this time window.

Define the specific resources needed for each process — Once you’ve identified how long you’ll need to restore a process, you’ll need to outline everything you’ll need to do so, and plan within that time frame. You could split this into internal resources (key people in your organisation, passwords, office space, specialist equipment) and external resources (e.g. supplies, transportation). Along with identifying how readily available they can be, and for how long you’ll need them.

Describe the steps needed to restore each process — If your business is disrupted by an IT failure, fire, flood or an extreme weather event, what is your plan to address this? Devise a backup plan for each key operation you have, detailing who to contact, what resources you’ll need, and how much you might need to spend in order to restore each process.

Decide on a schedule to update the information — Once you’ve compiled the above 4 points, you’ll have a strong business continuity plan that you can action. But it won’t be bulletproof forever. As your business evolves, so will the technology it uses and the relationships it has. Therefore, you need to plan ways to keep the information up-to-date. It might be that you decide on a regular date that the whole plan needs to be revisited, whether that’s yearly, quarterly or even monthly. Alternatively, you might decide it’s better to update small elements of the plan as and when they change: e.g. if a password to a critical folder is changed, there’s someone in your organisation who is responsible for updating your business continuity plan accordingly.

What are the four P’s of business continuity planning?

The four P’s of business continuity are:

People — This covers your staff, customers and clients.

Processes — This includes the technology and strategies your business uses to keep everything running.

Premises — Covers the buildings and spaces from which your business operates.

Providers — This includes parties that your business relies on for getting resources, like your suppliers and partners.

You can use the four P’s when reviewing the initial draft of your business continuity plan to ensure you’ve considered the impact on each of them at every stage.

For example, how might your plan to recover important documents out of working hours impact your staff? How hard would it be to access the premises? When should you notify your clients and business partners?

What is the most important part of a business continuity plan?

Every element of your business continuity plan is important, but perhaps the most critical part to get right is how you plan to respond to potential issues. It’s advantageous to have precise calculations about potential losses and the impact of your business relationships, but without a clear and effective way of reacting to disruptions, your business will incur serious — and sometimes irreparable — financial damage.

Business continuity plan template

We’ve prepared an example business continuity plan to get you started.

1. Objective of the plan

Open with a short summary of the ‘why’ behind the how. Explain clearly and succinctly that the aim of your business continuity plan is to protect your business in the event of a disruption to business-critical processes.

2. Business-critical processes checklist

Your plan will need to contain a list of its most important processes. Below are a few examples:

3. Recovery plan

For each critical function you listed in step (2), you’ll need to specify a comprehensive, tailored recovery plan that should be followed in order to get the process back up and running within your RTO.

4. Contact list

Create lists of staff, suppliers and insurers that should be contacted in case of an emergency.

List of key staff: example

Supplier list: example

List of insurers: example

Ensure your business continuity

If you want to protect your business against all eventualities, putting in place reliable business continuity plans is a crucial step.

CMAC specialises in providing emergency assistance to businesses experiencing transport disruptions to keep things running smoothly and minimise potential losses. Learn more about CMAC’s full suite of industry-leading recovery solutions , from ground transport to emergency accommodation.

Other useful guides

What is Business Continuity and why is it important for your business? | CMAC Group

Related Posts

Cmac group poised for growth as it joins comfortdelgro corporation.

Posted Feb 13, 2024

7 essential factors to consider when hiring a corporate events transport company

Posted Feb 07, 2024

Beyond Delays: Insights from Peter Slater, CMAC Group CEO, on Navigating Challenges and Enhancing Passenger Experience Amidst Rising Disruptions

Posted Jan 31, 2024

Built by Statuo , Designed by Arena

  • Advisera Home
  • ISO in General

Partner Panel

ISO 22301 Documentation Toolkits

Iso 22301 training.

  • Documentation Toolkits
  • White Papers
  • Templates & Tools

Where to Start

New ai tool.

  • Live Consultations
  • Consultant Directory
  • For Consultants

Dejan Kosutic

Dejan Kosutic

  • Get Started

ISO-27001-ISO-22301-blog

ISO 27001 & ISO 22301 Knowledge base

Business continuity plan: how to structure it according to iso 22301.

Advisera Dejan Kosutic

In my experience, companies usually find two things in their business continuity or information security management to be the most difficult: risk assessment, and business continuity planning. Here I’ll give you some tips on business continuity plans (BCP).

ISO 22301 business continuity plan should include Purpose, scope and users, Reference documents, Assumptions, Roles and responsibilities, Key contacts, Plan activation and deactivation, Communication, Incident response, Physical sites and transportation, Order of recovery for activities, Recovery plans for activities, Disaster recovery plan, Required resources, and Restoring and resuming activities from temporary measures.

What is a business continuity plan?

According to ISO 22301 , business continuity plan is defined as “documented procedures that guide organizations to respond, recover, resume, and restore to a pre-defined level of operation following disruption.” (clause 3.5)

This basically means that BCP focuses on developing plans/procedures, but it doesn’t include the analysis that forms the basis of such planning, nor the means of maintaining such plans – all these are required elements of business continuity management that are necessary for enabling successful contingency planning.

To read more about analysis, see Five Tips for Successful Business Impact Analysis , and to find out how to interpret the analysis, read Can business continuity strategy save your money? .

Business continuity plan example

Here’s what I found to be the optimal structure for the business continuity plan for smaller and midsize companies, and what each section should include:

Purpose, scope and users – why this plan is developed, its objectives, which parts of the organization it covers, and who should read it.

Reference documents – to which documents does this plan relate? Normally, these are Business Continuity Policy, Business Impact Analysis, Business Continuity Strategy, etc.

Assumptions – the prerequisites that need to exist in order for this plan to be effective.

Roles and responsibilities – who will be responsible for managing the disruptive incident, and who is authorized to perform certain activities in case of a disruptive incident – e.g. activation of the plans, urgent purchases, communication with media, etc.

Key contacts – contact details for persons who will participate in the execution of the business continuity plan – this is usually one of the annexes of the plan.

Business Continuity Plan (BCP) Structure According to ISO 22301

Plan activation and deactivation – in which cases can the plan be activated, and the method of activation; which conditions need to exist to deactivate the plan. Communication – which communication means will be used between different teams and with other interested parties during the disruptive incident. Who is in charge of communicating with each interested party, and the special rules of communication with media and government agencies.

Incident response – how to react initially to an incident in order to reduce the damage – this is very often an annex to the main plan.

Physical sites and transportation – which are the primary and alternative sites, where the assembly points are, and how to get from primary to alternative sites.

Order of recovery for activities – list of all the activities, with precise Recovery Time Objective (RTO) for each.

Recovery plans for activities – description of step-by-step actions and responsibilities for recovering manpower, facilities, infrastructure, software, information, and processes, including interdependencies and interactions with other activities and external interested parties – these are very often annexes to the main plan. To read more about them, see How to write business continuity plans?

Disaster recovery plan – this is normally a type of recovery plan that focuses on recovering the information and communication technology infrastructure. To read more about the relationship between disaster recovery and business continuity, see Disaster recovery vs business continuity .

Required resources – a list of all the employees, third-party services, facilities, infrastructure, information, equipment, etc. that are necessary to perform the recovery, and who is responsible to provide each of them.

Restoring and resuming activities from temporary measures – how to restore business activities back to business-as-usual once the disruptive incident has been resolved.

What I like about ISO 22301 is that it requires all the elements that are necessary for this plan to be useful in case of a disaster (or any other disruption in a company’s activities). However, no standard can help you unless you understand this task seriously – a properly written and comprehensive plan can save your company in tough times, while a superficially written plan will only make things worse.

Click here to see a sample  Business Continuity Plan .

Banner image

Writing a business continuity plan according to ISO 22301

Free webinar explains the basics about business continuity plans and how to structure them

Banner image

You may unsubscribe at any time. For more information, please see our privacy notice .

requirements for business continuity plan

ISO 22301 - Business continuity

Year of publication:  2019   |   Edition:  1

A free publication about ISO 22301, Security and resilience – Business continuity management systems – Requirements , the International Standard for implementing and maintaining effective business continuity plans, systems and processes.

  • Add to cart

* Shipping costs will be charged

Related Standards

  • ISO 22301:2019 Security and resilience Business continuity management systems Requirements

Add to cart this publication

This may also interest you.

Wind tunnel with bright backlight.

Got a question?

Check out our FAQs

Opening hours: Monday to Friday - 09:00-12:00, 14:00-17:00 (UTC+1)

  • Publications and products
  • ISO 22301 - Business continuity …

U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Here’s how you know

world globe

Official websites use .gov A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS A lock ( Lock A locked padlock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

requirements for business continuity plan

Business Continuity Planning

world globe

Organize a business continuity team and compile a  business continuity plan  to manage a business disruption. Learn more about how to put together and test a business continuity plan with the videos below.

Business Continuity Plan Supporting Resources

  • Business Continuity Plan Situation Manual
  • Business Continuity Plan Test Exercise Planner Instructions
  • Business Continuity Plan Test Facilitator and Evaluator Handbook

Business Continuity Training Videos

The Business Continuity Planning Suite is no longer supported or available for download.

feature_mini img

Business Continuity Training Introduction

An overview of the concepts detailed within this training. Also, included is a humorous, short video that introduces viewers to the concept of business continuity planning and highlights the benefits of having a plan. Two men in an elevator experience a spectrum of disasters from a loss of power, to rain, fire, and a human threat. One man is prepared for each disaster and the other is not.

View on YouTube

Business Continuity Training Part 1: What is Business Continuity Planning?

An explanation of what business continuity planning means and what it entails to create a business continuity plan. This segment also incorporates an interview with a company that has successfully implemented a business continuity plan and includes a discussion about what business continuity planning means to them.

Business Continuity Training Part 2: Why is Business Continuity Planning Important?

An examination of the value a business continuity plan can bring to an organization. This segment also incorporates an interview with a company that has successfully implemented a business continuity plan and includes a discussion about how business continuity planning has been valuable to them.

Business Continuity Training Part 3: What's the Business Continuity Planning Process?

An overview of the business continuity planning process. This segment also incorporates an interview with a company about its process of successfully implementing a business continuity plan.

Business Continuity Training Part 3: Planning Process Step 1

The first of six steps addressed in this Business Continuity Training, which detail the process of building a business continuity plan. This step addresses how organizations should “prepare” to create a business continuity plan.

Business Continuity Training Part 3: Planning Process Step 2

The second of six steps addressed in this Business Continuity Training, which detail the process of building a business continuity plan. This step addresses how organizations should “define” their business continuity plan objectives.

Business Continuity Training Part 3: Planning Process Step 3

The third of six steps addressed in this Business Continuity Training, which detail the process of building a business continuity plan. This step addresses how organizations should “identify” and prioritize potential risks and impacts.

Business Continuity Training Part 3: Planning Process Step 4

The fourth of six steps addressed in this Business Continuity Training, which detail the process of building a business continuity plan. This step addresses how organizations should “develop” business continuity strategies.

Business Continuity Training Part 3: Planning Process Step 5

The fifth of six steps addressed in this Business Continuity Training, which detail the process of building a business continuity plan. This step addresses how organizations should define their “teams” and tasks.

Business Continuity Training Part 3: Planning Process Step 6

The sixth of six steps addressed in this Business Continuity Training, which detail the process of building a business continuity plan. This step addresses how organizations should “test” their business continuity plans. View on YouTube

Last Updated: 12/21/2023

Return to top

ISO 27001 Business Continuity (Annex A. 17 Explained)

Meeba gracy, jul 26, 2023.

In modern businesses, data and connectivity reign supreme and are considered the foundation that paves the path to success. Even the tiniest organizations rely heavily on technology, making any disruption a potential nightmare. 

To highlight this, according to Datto, a mere hour of downtime can cripple small businesses with a cost of $10,000. For larger companies, those numbers skyrocket, reaching an astonishing $5 million or more. This is where ISO 27001 business continuity comes in.

It is also called Annex A.17 of the Annex A controls of ISO 27001 business continuity. Under this, people, places, and systems are united in pursuing uninterrupted operations. Let’s dive in to know more!

What is ISO 27001 Business Continuity Management?

Business Continuity Management is a vital process within ISO 27001 that helps your company identify risks to your operation and establish strategies to ensure you can respond swiftly when disaster strikes. 

How does it work, you ask? You must implement a series of smart controls, like personnel training, data backups, and disaster recovery plans, all carefully outlined in Annex A.17 of Annex A controls. 

Think of it as your go-to handbook for crafting policies and controls that ensure your business operations and information systems remain rock-solid, even during times of disaster. 

What is the objective of Annex A.17.1 of ISO 27001?

Annex A. 17.1 refers to the subject of information security continuity. The primary goal of this control within Annex A is to ensure that the organization’s business continuity management systems incorporate information security continuity measures.

If you aim to get ISO 27001 certified , this annex is a key requirement you must pay attention to. Now, let’s understand the requirements below:

A.17.1.1 Planning Information Security Continuity

Imagine a crisis or disaster striking your company. It could be a major data breach, a ransomware attack, a key person suddenly unavailable, or even flooding at the Head Office. Scary, right? That’s where planning for information security continuity becomes your secret weapon. 

You need to determine your company’s specific requirements for safeguarding information security during any dire situation. While your existing Annex A controls might already protect you against some risks, there will always be the possibility of more hyper incidents. 

So, you must identify potential events and scenarios requiring strategic planning. Once you’ve done that, document your plan with details to show your company’s understanding and preparedness.

Note : ISO 22301 gives a structured approach to business continuity that aligns with the core requirements of ISO 27001 .

A.17.1.2 Implementing Information Security Continuity

Planning alone won’t save the day. You need to put your plans into action. This means establishing, documenting, implementing, and maintaining processes, procedures, and controls that ensure continuity of information security during disruptive situations. 

Once you’ve identified the specific requirements, implement policies, procedures, and even physical or technical controls. 

You must also define responsibilities, activities, owners, and timeframes. 

A.17.1.3 Verify, Review & Evaluate Information Security Continuity

It’s not enough to establish and implement information security continuity controls. You should also ensure their validity. Hence, regular intervals of testing and evaluating the controls are necessary to keep them up to par with changes in your business.

If you’re wondering why, it’s because the auditors will be looking for evidence of periodic testing, detailed logs of plan invocations and the subsequent actions taken. Moreover, your company should have a well-defined change management process to ensure your plans are consistently maintained.

Recommended: A complete guide to ISO 27001 compliance

How to write an ISO 27001 business continuity Plan?

While it’s tempting to go for the quick route and download a business continuity template, we’ll walk you through the writing process of ISO 27001 business continuity plan by yourself. 

Here are the 10 points you should consider while write:

1. Create your version control and document mark-up

Before you begin, create a version control system for your ISO 27001 documents . This includes tracking the author, changes made, dates, and versions. Also, add document mark-up such as document classification for ease.

2. Write the policy purpose

Now, define the purpose of your ISO 27001 business continuity policy. To give you a hint, it’s designed to address threats, risks, and incidents that can potentially disrupt your operations.

3. Write the scope of the policy

Consider the scope of your business continuity policy. Ideally, it should apply to all employees and third-party staff associated with your company.

4. Write the principle on which the policy is based

Every policy needs a guiding principle; your business continuity policy is no exception. Here’s a powerful principle to consider: prioritize the safety of people above all else. This principle underscores the importance of protecting and supporting your workforce during disruption.

5. Define business continuity

Take a moment to clearly and concisely define what business continuity means for your company. You can also define any key terms or concepts used within the context of your business continuity efforts. 

6. Describe your ISO 27001 business continuity plans

Outline what your plans cover, including the specific areas, processes, and systems they include. Highlight how they are structured for execution during times of crisis.

7. Recovery procedures

Assure your stakeholders that you have recovery procedures in place to restore normal operations following a business continuity event. They need to understand that you can bounce back stronger than ever.

8. Describe business continuity testing

Communicate whether, when, and how often you conduct ISO 27001 business continuity testing. Highlight the significance of evaluating your plans and fine-tune your response capabilities.

9. Describe the link to incident management

In this section, you have to state how incidents are managed and coordinated within the framework of your policy. This will integrate incident response and business continuity efforts.

10. Document your disaster recovery plans

Document the existence and importance of your disaster recovery plans. Stress that these plans are specifically designed to avoid the impact of potential disasters on your operations.

Recommended: Complete list of ISO 27001 requirements

Importance of business continuity management under ISO 27001

Business Continuity Management is an important component of ISO 2700. It enables your company to identify potential risks and vulnerabilities in their operations and establish effective strategies to ensure the continuity of their business in the face of emergencies, disasters, or unforeseen events

The importance of business continuity management under ISO 27001 is that it assists companies in identifying and mitigating potential risks that could jeopardize their operations. 

This important process strengthens you against emergencies and uninterrupted continuation of business activities.

Don’t let your business become another statistic 

With the implementation of Annex A Controls, you have a powerful weapon to minimize the need for a business continuity plan. While striving for an ISO 27001 compliant ISMS with robust risk-prevention measures is the goal, there may be instances where the contingencies outlined in A.17 become necessary. 

But fear not, because our team of experts at Sprinto is here to support you in your organization’s information security approach. Take the first step towards enhanced protection by scheduling a no-obligation demo call with us today ! 

What is BCP in ISO 27001?

BCP is the Business Continuity plan in ISO 27001 that outlines the procedure a company should follow in case of a disaster or disruption.

Is business continuity dealt with as part of ISMS?

Yes, business continuity is dealt with as a part of ISMS. This is especially important if you would like to achieve ISO 27001 certification soon.

What is the ISO standard for business continuity?

ISO 22301 is the standard for the business community. Its purpose is to ensure that an emergency procedure is initiated in the event of a serious incident to continue business operations.

Meeba, an ISC2-certified cybersecurity specialist, passionately decodes and delivers impactful content on compliance and complex digital security matters. Adept at transforming intricate concepts into accessible insights, she’s committed to enlightening readers. Off the clock, she can be found with her nose in the latest thriller novel or exploring new haunts in the city.

Grow fearless, evolve into a top 1% ciso, strategy, tools, and tactics to help you become a better security leader, you may also like, soc 2 compliance checklist: a detailed guide for 2023, iso 27001 requirements – a comprehensive list, a complete guide to gdpr certification, hipaa compliance checklist (all you need to know in 2023), found this interesting share it with your friends.

  • Share on Facebook
  • Email this Page
  • Share on LinkedIn

Get a wingman for your next audit.

Schedule a personalized demo and scale business, here’s what to read next…., 10 best compliance management software in 2024, 10 best compliance software: feature, pro, and con comparison, 10 gdpr requirements you must know in 2024, sprinto: your growth superpower.

Use Sprinto to centralize security compliance management – so nothing gets in the way of your moving up and winning big.

U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Here’s how you know

Official websites use .gov A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS A lock ( Lock A locked padlock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

https://www.nist.gov/mep/business-continuity-planning

Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP)

Business continuity planning.

Business continuity planning enables you to create an easy-to-use, actionable business continuity planning solution to prepare for the impact of a broad range of threats including natural disasters, disease outbreaks, accidents and terrorism. In addition business continuity planning can help when you face technology-related hazards like the failure of systems, equipment or software. MEP Centers can assist you in developing a plan unique to your needs.

If your company needs to create or tweak a business continuity plan, I highly suggest reaching out to Purdue MEP!

—Doug Ellington, Director of Finance, Estes Design and Manufacturing Read the Success Story

Businessman holding tablet and showing the best quality assurance with golden five stars

Illuminating Possibilities to Achieve ISO Certification

Destructive Weather

Business Continuity Plans: Lessons Learned From Puerto Rico

For more information or assistance with business continuity planning, please contact your local MEP Center .

If you would like someone to contact you about business continuity planning , please complete the form below.

For General Information

  • MEP Headquarters [email protected] (301) 975-5020 100 Bureau Drive, M/S 4800 Gaithersburg, MD 20899-4800

IMAGES

  1. Free Business Continuity Plan Templates

    requirements for business continuity plan

  2. Business Continuity Plan Checklist Template

    requirements for business continuity plan

  3. Business Continuity Plan Template (MS Word/Excel)

    requirements for business continuity plan

  4. Business Continuity Plan

    requirements for business continuity plan

  5. Simple Business Continuity Plan Template Elegant Simple Business Requirements Docume…

    requirements for business continuity plan

  6. Free Template: how to write an ISO 22301 business continuity plan

    requirements for business continuity plan

VIDEO

  1. Business Continuity Planning BCP

  2. What’s new in Business Continuity Management

  3. BIA Data is like gold

  4. Business Continuity Plan (PhIS) 2024

  5. Business Continuity Management Element Definitions

  6. Business Continuity Plan

COMMENTS

  1. Business Continuity Planning (BCP)

    SIFMA's Business Continuity Planning page. FINRA requires firms to create and maintain written business continuity plans (BCPs) relating to an emergency or significant business disruption. Rule 4370—FINRA's emergency preparedness rule — spells out the required BCP procedures. A firm's BCP must be appropriate to the scale and scope of its ...

  2. 5 Step Guide to Business Continuity Planning (BCP) in 2021

    A business continuity plan (BCP) is defined as a protocol of preventing and recovering from potentially large threats to the company's business continuity. This article explains what a business continuity plan is today, its key benefits, and a step-by-step guide to creating a formidable plan. Table of Contents

  3. What Is a Business Continuity Plan (BCP), and How Does It Work?

    Key Takeaways Business continuity plans (BCPs) are prevention and recovery systems for potential threats, such as natural disasters or cyber-attacks. BCP is designed to protect personnel and...

  4. What Is A Business Continuity Plan? [+ Template & Examples]

    Published: December 30, 2022 When a business crisis occurs, the last thing you want to do is panic. The second-to-last thing you want to do is be unprepared. Crises typically arise without warning. While you shouldn't start every day expecting the worst, you should be relatively prepared for anything to happen.

  5. Business Continuity Plan: Example & How to Write

    A Business Continuity Plan should include: 1. BCP Team In the midst of a disaster or emergency, having a team or point person to go to will be essential. The BCP team will be responsible for planning and testing business continuity strategies.

  6. ISO 22301 Business Continuity Management Made Easy

    ISO 22301 Simplified Cheat-Sheet. Use this simplified cheat-sheet to understand the basic elements of creating a business continuity plan. The template walks you through the process of determining critical aspects of your organization, writing the recovery plan, and exercising the plan to ensure proficiency.

  7. How to Write a Business Continuity Plan

    Here is an example of a BCP format: Business Name: Record the business name, which usually appears on the title page. Date: The day the BCP is completed and signed off. Purpose and Scope: This section describes the reason for and span of the plan. Business Impact Analysis: Add the results of the BIA to your plan.

  8. Understanding the Essentials of a Business Continuity Plan

    A business continuity plan is a document that outlines how a company can keep running during a crisis. It covers everything from backup systems, communication channels, emergency contacts, and recovery strategies. A good business continuity plan can help you avoid downtime, minimize losses, and protect your reputation. In this blog post, we’ll show you how to create a business continuity ...

  9. Business continuity plan (BCP) in 8 steps, with templates

    Step 1: Establish an emergency preparedness team Assign a team the responsibility for emergency preparedness. Select a few managers or an existing committee to take charge of the project. It's advisable to assign one person to lead the planning process. You should also ensure that this "emergency manager" has the authority to get things done.

  10. How to create an effective business continuity plan

    A business continuity plan outlines procedures and instructions an organization must follow in the face of disaster, whether fire, flood, or cyberattack. Here's how to create a plan that...

  11. How to craft an effective business continuity plan

    Get the word out. Iterate and improve. 1. Analyze your company. In this phase you conduct an analysis to identify critical activities, determine which activities must continue, which can be temporarily paused, and which can operate at a reduced capacity. You then assess the financial impact of disruptions.

  12. A step-by-Step Guide to Writing an Effective Business Continuity Plan

    We've prepared an example business continuity plan to get you started. 1. Objective of the plan. Open with a short summary of the 'why' behind the how. Explain clearly and succinctly that the aim of your business continuity plan is to protect your business in the event of a disruption to business-critical processes. 2.

  13. What is a Business Continuity Plan (BCP)?

    A business continuity plan (BCP) is a document that consists of the critical information an organization needs to continue operating during an unplanned event. The BCP states the essential functions of the business, identifies which systems and processes must be sustained, and details how to maintain them.

  14. ISO 22301:2019(en), Security and resilience ? Business continuity

    0.1 General. This document specifies the structure and requirements for implementing and maintaining a business continuity management system (BCMS) that develops business continuity appropriate to the amount and type of impact that the organization may or may not accept following a disruption.

  15. Business Continuity Plan (BCP) Structure According to ISO 22301

    ISO 22301 business continuity plan should include Purpose, scope and users, Reference documents, Assumptions, Roles and responsibilities, Key contacts, Plan activation and deactivation, Communication, Incident response, Physical sites and transportation, Order of recovery for activities, Recovery plans for activities, Disaster recovery plan, Req...

  16. ISO

    Requirements This may also interest you A free publication about ISO 22301, Security and resilience - Business continuity management systems - Requirements, the International Standard for implementing and maintaining effective business continuity plans, systems and processes.

  17. Business Continuity Planning

    Business Continuity Training Part 3: Planning Process Step 1 The first of six steps addressed in this Business Continuity Training, which detail the process of building a business continuity plan. This step addresses how organizations should "prepare" to create a business continuity plan. View on YouTube

  18. PDF Creating a Business Continuity Plan

    Business continuity planning is the process of identifying critical business functions of an organization, developing solutions to maintain those functions during a disruption, testing those solutions, and updating and revising solutions on a continuous cycle.

  19. Business Continuity Compliance Requirements

    Business continuity planning is essential for compliance because it helps organizations meet regulatory requirements, ensure the continuity of critical operations, and protect sensitive information. A strong BCP can also solidify a business's reputation and help avoid legal and financial penalties in the case of unexpected downtime.

  20. Business continuity planning

    Business continuity may be defined as "the capability of an organization to continue the delivery of products or services at pre-defined acceptable levels following a disruptive incident", [1] and business continuity planning [2] [3] (or business continuity and resiliency planning) is the process of creating systems of prevention and recovery to...

  21. Guide to ISO 27001 Business Continuity (2024 Updated)

    2. Write the policy purpose. Now, define the purpose of your ISO 27001 business continuity policy. To give you a hint, it's designed to address threats, risks, and incidents that can potentially disrupt your operations. 3. Write the scope of the policy. Consider the scope of your business continuity policy.

  22. Business Continuity Planning

    Business continuity planning enables you to create an easy-to-use, actionable business continuity planning solution to prepare for the impact of a broad range of threats including natural disasters, disease outbreaks, accidents and terrorism.

  23. PDF 7 Steps to Create a Business Continuity Plan

    Step 1: Perform a Regulatory Review and Landscape. The first step to creating a Business Continuity Plan is to perform a regulatory review, as all businesses have requirements coming from oversight bodies. Some examples of regulators include: International Bodies, EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

  24. How To Ensure Business Continuity In The Face Of Internet ...

    In terms of business continuity, AI enables automated customer service outside regular business hours. Incorporating tools like digital voice and AI ensures businesses can operate more smoothly ...

  25. Six Steps to Ensure Business Continuity in a Crisis

    Business continuity planning (BCP) is the process of identifying, assessing, and preparing for the potential impacts of such events on the organization's people, processes, technology, and assets.