Discover the importance of a business continuity plan
You have undoubtedly heard the expression, “Expect the best, prepare for the worst.” This is an underlying principle companies should live by, especially in a time when something as simple as a faulty update in one software product can lead to a global outage impacting millions of devices.
The unprecedented scale outages seem to be reaching means a business continuity plan can't be taken for granted. It's like insurance — you obtain it, hope you never need it, but when and if you do, are thankful to have it. It can be a lifesaver, particularly when disaster strikes.
With such high-profile incidents impacting a significant portion of the world's operational infrastructure, IT departments will be under increasing pressure to develop and implement robust risk mitigation plans to safeguard against potential future service interruptions.
If you are an IT solution and service provider looking to update your own business continuity plan or create and implement one for the first time — or help your customers do the same — here are five things to consider.
1. Conduct an assessment
A business impact assessment is a tool used to evaluate the effect of unexpected events on a business’ core operations. Using a business impact analysis, the assessment creates a report enabling decision makers to better understand how their company could be adversely affected by an event.
For instance, what are current operational risks and how could those potential risks harm business? What workaround plans are in place? What processes and technologies are needed to let employees work remotely successfully? A business impact assessment provides the bones of a solid business continuity plan.
2. Designate a team
Without a team in place, planning for and enacting a business continuity plan could easily go to the back burner. It is critical to build a team, define clear roles and responsibilities and give them authority to make decisions.
An incident manager, for example, could ensure activation of the plan occurs seamlessly, should an event strike. Make sure this leader has a team that will play critical roles and provide guidance during a disaster — preferably one person from each area of the organization, depending on size.
3. Enhance infrastructure for large-scale remote work
Hybrid work models are now the standard for many, meaning companies are working harder to keep their data and systems secure as more people than ever work remotely, forcing expansion of the edge.
Whether IT solution and service providers like you help your customer with edge computing or not, it is crucial to ensure you (and they) have security measures in place to facilitate continued hybrid work scenarios.
4. Communication is key
Critical to keeping your brand intact is communication during a disruptive event. Continuity planning includes identifying key audiences like employees, customers, vendors and stakeholders and letting them know how you plan to handle a situation.
Consider the channels through which you will communicate — email, SMS, social media, live chat and more. Remember to focus on the humans involved, since they could be worried or confused after an incident, instead of just the products and services you provide.
5. Ensure business goes on
If you lose the ability to sell IT products or services to your customers, they could go elsewhere. But that is not likely to happen with a business continuity plan in place. Therefore, it is imperative to have things such as more than one server should one stop functioning. Redundancy allows your business to continue.
Better safe than sorry
Large-scale global business disruption continues to come into focus. While we hope incidents of these magnitudes will not repeat themselves, it is much better to be safe and plan for the unforeseen than to be sorry.
Perhaps you lack the resources to create a sound business continuity plan or simply need help updating an existing one. If so, Arrow can help. Our technical sales engineers can quickly identify gaps in a plan and find solutions to ensure it is solid enough to withstand disruption and minimize potential damage brought on by an unexpected event.
Once you have developed and tested your own plan, consider taking the framework and building a service offering to help your customers manage business continuity. And as always, Arrow can help you stand up a solution.
Contact us to learn more about how Arrow can help you and your customers.
This article was originally published in 2022 and has been updated for relevancy.
