Companies today face many threats that can adversely affect their ability to conduct business, such as a fire at a site, explosions, data corruption, communications failure, power failure, loss of municipal services and utilities etc.

It may not be possible to prevent these incidents from occurring, but how you react immediately afterwards will have a big impact on your company’s ability to survive. A Business Continuity Plan provides specific actions to be undertaken following a major incident. These actions are designed to bring your company back to a minimum, or predefined, operating level within agreed time limits. They specifically help with:

Maintaining Revenue.

• Maintaining Regulatory Compliance.
• Maintaining Customers and Suppliers.
• Maintaining the Company’s Reputation

Why do companies need a Business Continuity Plan?

Experience has shown that companies without a contingency plan in place are unlikely to survive a major incident.

Some published figures are given below -

• 74% of businesses that experience a major disaster fail within 18 months. Source - Department of Trade and Industry
•  40% of businesses affected by the IRA bomb in Manchester in 1996 never recovered. Source – The Home Office

Of the IT-dependent companies that experienced a major disaster without any form of contingency plan in place:

• 40% never re-opened.
• 40% re-opened but failed within 18 months.
• 12% re-opened but failed within 18 months to 5 years.
• 08% survived the disaster long-term.

           Source – BT CommSure

Business Continuity versus Disaster Recovery

Business Continuity is NOT the same as Disaster Recovery. Business Continuity is concerned with the whole business rather than concentrating purely on the IT functions.

Contact us for more information: bc@itmsltd.net