Did you know that 93% of companies who fail to have a business continuity plan and who suffer a major data disaster are out of business within one year? Additionally, 96% of companies with a trusted disaster and recovery plan were able to survive such attacks and get back to business almost immediately.

A business continuity plan is a plan that allows for contingencies such as natural disasters, virus attacks, or any loss of access to the critical infrastructure of a business.

Assessing Threats and Risks

Your continuity plan needs to include everything that could possibly attack the infrastructure of your business to allow for any event that might negatively impact your general operations. The goal is to prevent IT downtime that would naturally occur from such an attack. The attack can be deliberate or it may be accidental. Intention doesn’t matter but getting the business back in working order is the focus.

Secondly, you must have a plan that preserves important data that is central to your business. The data might also include sensitive information that belongs to your clients and customers. Because your credibility is at stake, you must take the time to secure any data that could be used in a negative way and shut down any systems that are vulnerable.

Why does your Company Need a BCP?

A business continuity plan is sometimes referred to as a “disaster recovery plan” because it allows for the preservation of critical data and other elements of your business. Having a good contingency plan ensure you that downtime is limited to the minimum amount of time needed to get it back up and running. Protection of data is the other aspect of this. You must make sure that your customers’ data is safe and secure and it usually involves putting it in a remote location or a SkyDrive outside of your location in which the disaster occurred.

Benefits of a Disaster Plan and Recovery Strategies

The general goal of a disaster or business continuity plan is to improve the level of responsiveness by employees in different situations that might interfere with the daily operations of your business.

Like preparing for disasters such as tornadoes, earthquakes, or other events that are unpredictable, a disaster plan or business continuity plan requires all members to be on board to make it work efficiently.

Emergency Management Plan

Not only should a business have a disaster plan, but they should have the continuity plan outlined succinctly in a place where everyone has access to it. It should be required reading for all executives, employees, and other staff members that work within the facility where the business is operated. Additionally, you should have assigned specific jobs and responsibilities to staff members who will be responsible for various actions in the event of an emergency.