While you may not need it today, your organization needs an effective business continuity plan in place in case of a manmade or natural disaster. If 2020 has taught us anything, it is to expect the unexpected. Whether your city was in a required lockdown or not, did you have a plan in place to deal with the impact of a worldwide pandemic? If you’re like many businesses, the answer is a resounding no. We’re here to change your no into a yes.
Preactive IT Services is creating business continuity plans for many of our clients.
What is a business continuity plan?
A business continuity plan answers the what-if questions of business and outlines a clear process and procedure for the organization in the event of a disaster.
- What happens if staff has to move from the office to remote work with short notice?
- What if a snowstorm or other natural occurrence prevented teams from being at the office for an extended period of time?
- What if the internal server failed?
If you’re not sure what will happen, having a business continuity plan in place will guide your teams. Here’s what we recommend.
Create an Effective Business Continuity Plan
For many years, our team has been supporting businesses and organizations just like yours to answer the what-ifs related to how technology and systems operate in case of disaster.
- Clear purpose and scope. The business continuity plan expressly defines the purpose and scope, key roles and responsibilities, explanation of communication in case business isn’t operating normally, information on data backups and security, plan for getting all employees back online, and risk mitigation and maintenance protocols. We tailor the plan to the specific needs of your organization.
- Assess the current technology. By reviewing what is currently in place, we will have a clear sense of where the organization is today as well as where it needs to be in case of disaster. Having the right equipment, including laptops and phones, as well as cloud services, will enable teams to work remotely at a moment’s notice.
- Identify gaps. Once we understand the current systems and procedures, we will begin to see where the organization is lacking. Maybe the servers are on-site and there isn’t a cloud service. Maybe there is no list of employee contact information or a map of the facility that are easily accessible in case of emergency. This assessment will identify areas where improvements are needed in order to recover.
- Explore strategies. We sit with your stakeholders and ask questions to gauge the what-ifs. What happens if the server is damaged? What if employees are unable to come to the office but have use of their own computers and phones until they can get work-issue equipment? What happens if employee safety is at risk? What happens to incoming calls if no one is at the office? As we explore the answers, we develop strategies and solutions that we can address in the business continuity plan.
- Test and adjust the plan. We can’t tell if the plan will be fully effective unless it is evaluated. Working together, we identify key employees to walk through scenarios to see what will happen. This helps us identify areas to change and where there may still be gaps so that we can adjust and implement before there is a disaster.
The safety of employees and integrity and security of data is the focus as we develop the business continuity plan for your business.