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If your technology stopped working, would your business stop functioning
too? Is your business totally reliant on the information stored on your
computer systems or could you continue to deliver 95% of your products
and services and catch up on the computer work later? No matter which
end of this scale your business is at, you will fare much better during
a major technology outage if you plan in advance, before it happens.
This month we take some of the mystery out of Business Continuity
Planning.
Business Continuity Planning (BCP) is the process of working out how
your business will continue to function during a disaster. These
threats to your business could include:
|
·
Fire |
·
Burst water
pipes |
·
Burglary |
|
·
Flooding
(severe rainfall) |
·
Earthquake |
·
Influenza
outbreak |
|
·
Hardware
failure |
·
Software
Failure |
·
Internet
outage |
|
·
Tornado/Hurricane/Cyclone |
·
Severed
phone cabling |
·
Security
breach |
|
·
Damage by
disgruntled employee |
·
Employee
error |
·
… And many
more! |
BCP begins with identifying the possible risks and the impact they would
have on your business. What functions would be affected if your main
administration PC crashed? How long could you be without internet
access? It’s important to evaluate the probability of these incidents
occurring and the severity of their impact. This will help you to
determine which incidents are the highest priorities to be addressed.
Next, you look at how these risks can be prevented, or the impact of
them lessened. This could include copying data to a different site or
having a laptop that has the same business-critical software
applications as your administration PC.
Finally, you plan the actions that would be needed to help you respond
when this incident occurs. Do you need to go to another site to get a
copy of your data or bring the laptop in from home? Do you need to
temporarily relocate to another site that does have internet access?
Can you run a paper-based system until you can access your computers
again? Think about who will be responsible for doing what and what
resources they will need. This also needs to include any third-party
suppliers of your business, like your local Computer Troubleshooter.
Your Business Continuity Plan should be examined, tested and maintained
on a regular basis. This is to ensure it still reflects the changing
needs of your business and also to make sure that the key parties within
your business understand their roles in the process.
Whilst it may seem a little daunting, some forethought and planning will
save you a lot of time, stress and money when things do go wrong. Talk
to your local Computer Troubleshooters about the best way to keep your
business running smoothly if you’re suddenly without your technology. |
