Is business continuity still on your radar?

The vast majority of companies rely on a complex IT infrastructure in order to function, and even a temporary loss of functionality can have a catastrophic effect on your business. If you were unable to operate plant machinery or access your customer relationship management system, for example, could your business continue to operate? 

If the answer is no, then you need an appropriate business continuity plan in place. With innovative and inventive solutions, it’s possible to find ways to maintain your operations, even if unexpected threats affect an element of your business functions. 

Managing business growth 

Creating an effective business continuity plan isn’t a one-off task. Business growth means the structure of your company may have changed, and the systems you use, software you rely on and hardware you utilise will evolve too. 

Whilst business growth is the ultimate aim of all corporate organisations, it’s important to update your business continuity plan to reflect the evolution of your business. If you created a continuity plan within the first year of launching your business, for example, it will no longer be relevant by year three, five or seven. 

Having a business continuity plan is only valuable if it can be actioned as soon as you need it to be. If an unforeseen variable affects your business processes, it’s too late to devise and enact an effective business continuity plan. By taking a proactive approach, however, you can devise and update your business continuity plan so that it’s usable and effective at any time. 

Responding to changing technologies 

With an ever-increasing range of technologies, it can be hard to keep up with the latest releases. However, it is essential that you enhance your business continuity plan to reflect the new technology you incorporate into your business. 

Many programs are now used on a software as a service (SaaS) basis, as opposed to being purchased outright and installed. Although this has made costly software available to a larger number of businesses and provided additional benefits to companies, it has altered the way they operate quite significantly. 

Some companies no longer require on-site servers as a result of increasing SaaS models, for example. If you’ve made the switch away from on-site hardware to SaaS subscriptions, have you updated your business continuity plan to reflect this? 

With more and more employees working from remote locations, your latest business continuity plan may involve using a cloud-based strategy to facilitate continued business function, for example. With a range of strategies and options, businesses can benefit from effective continuity plans, providing they take action before disaster strikes. 

By devising an effective business continuity plan, and updating regularly to reflect business growth, you can protect your organisation, mitigate risks and ensure continued operation in the event of system failures, physical destruction of hardware and/or security threats. 

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