Business Continuity Management
What is business continuity?
Nearly one in five businesses suffer a major
disruption every year - yours could be next. With no recovery
plan you have less chance of survival.
How quickly, and painlessly, you manage to get
back to 'business as usual' in the event of a terrorist attack,
fire, flood, natural disaster, or any major interruption, depends
on how effectively you can devise, and put into action your own
business continuity management.
Business Continuity Management can be best
defined as:
"A holistic management process that
identifies potential threats to an organisation and the impacts to
business operations that those threats, if realised, might cause,
and which provides framework for building organisational resilience
with the capability for an effective response that safeguards the
interests of its key stakeholders, reputation, brand and
value-creating activities."
(British Standards
Institutions Code of Practice for Business Continuity
Management)
Why have a plan?
Building in business continuity, making it part
of the way that you run your business, rather than having to
'firelight' any emergency, helps prepare you to offer 'business as
usual' in the quickest possible time. Planned business
continuity management, so that your staff, customers and suppliers
are reassured that you have an effective policy and practice for
managing the unexpected, helps build confidence in your
business.
Business Continuity Management is an
established part of the UK's preparations for the possible threats
posed to organisations, whether from internal systems failures or
external emergencies. The Civil Contingencies Act 2004
recognised its importance by requiring frontline responders to
maintain internal BCM arrangements, and since May 2006, local
authorities have been required to promote BCM to business and the
voluntary organisations in their communities.
Within Hertfordshire a group has been
established to provide information and assist organisations with
business continuity. Hertfordshire Resilience is a
partnership of emergency services, local authorities, health
services and voluntary agencies, working together to make
Hertfordshire a safer place to live work and travel in. Further information and advice is available from its website.
The Business Continuity Institute website promotes business continuity
management, and provides guides and best practice advice to
businesses.
