Business Continuity
Planning and Liability
Business continuity
planning and liability are important enough issues alone let alone
when you start to think about how one impacts on the other.
Business continuity
planning and liability – does it mean the
end?
When critical data is
lost, every minute that goes by means lost opportunities, missing
revenue and perhaps even the closing of a successful
business.
Whether the cause of
the data loss is a disk crash, power outage a virus, or even
accidental deletion, gigabytes of files and weeks, or even months,
of work are in jeopardy.
The key to ensuring
ongoing survival in the face of data loss is the development and
implementation of an appropriate business continuity and security
plan.
Business continuity
planning and liability – plan
Such a plan documents
which organizational functions are critical, what steps are
necessary to survive without them and what resources are available
to help recover lost or damaged systems. Without a suitable plan,
data loss might be irrevocable. In a business world that’s defined
by data, irreversible data loss is simply
unacceptable.
It’s a simple choice,
really. You can back up your hard disk or risk losing your data,
your setup and your applications. Whatever method you choose, it’s
important that you put a disaster recovery plan in place and use
it.
It’s a fact that
continuity planning can itself be a onerous task, requiring
extensive thought and comprehensive implementation. Each business
continuity plan should be designed to meet the particular needs and
requirements of the organization.
Continuity planning
should include development of strategies capable of meeting quick
fix, partial replacement, full redundancy or replacement and
possible outsourcing.
The information
contained in a business/service continuity plan must be kept alive.
The reality is that organizations are constantly changing –
businesses are acquired, merged and divested; new operations and
processes begin, some cease; people leave, are hired or are
promoted; customer commitments and supplier relationships change;
locations change; responsibilities change; market priorities change.
You cannot rely on outdated information.
Business continuity
planning and liability – plan
Continuity planning
not only provides a clear and comprehensive statement of actions to
be taken before, during and after a disaster to minimize its impact,
it also offers a certain level of comfort in knowing that when a
catastrophe occurs (and it will to some degree), it won’t result in
complete financial disaster. Ensuring that mission critical
operations continue on a day-to-day basis is the only real way of
nailing down your organization’s ability to conduct business as
usual.
