Facing a business catastrophe unexpectedly is the last thing any business would want. But with the market’s unforeseeable future, this could happen at any time. That is why processes, such as business continuity planning (BCP) and disaster recovery (DR), are essential for companies to have as it will reduce the risk they carry in times of disruption.

Regardless of the size or industry, any organization that depends on critical business functions to deliver products or services to customers can benefit from BCP and DR. Healthcare providers, financial institutions, manufacturing companies, retailers, and government agencies are some examples of organizations expected to have BCP and DR. To give you a better understanding, here is an example: A bank (financial institution) with BCP and DR can ensure that critical financial services can continue during and after a disruption (i.e., COVID-19 pandemic).

After establishing that both processes are critical in your business security, let us dive into understanding business continuity planning (BCP) and disaster recovery (DR), as well as their differences.

What is Business Continuity Planning?

Business continuity planning is a proactive approach that involves identifying potential risks and developing strategies to ensure that critical business functions can continue in the event of a disruption. The goal of BCP is to minimize the impact of a disaster and to enable the organization to resume normal operations as quickly as possible. BCP is a comprehensive process that involves the following steps:

1. Business Impact Analysis: This is a critical step in the BCP process. It involves identifying critical business functions and the impact of a disruption on these functions.

2. Risk Assessment: This step involves identifying potential risks and threats that could cause a disruption to the critical business functions.

3. Strategy Development: Based on the Business Impact Analysis and the Risk Assessment, strategies are developed to minimize the impact of the disruption and ensure that critical business functions can continue.

4. Plan Testing and Maintenance: Once strategies have been developed, they must be tested and maintained to ensure their effectiveness.

Its purpose is to ensure that an organization can continue to provide essential products or services to its customers during and after a disruption. BCP helps organizations to identify potential risks and threats that could cause a disruption to critical business functions and to develop strategies to minimize the impact of such disruptions. By having a BCP in place, organizations can ensure that they are prepared to respond effectively to a crisis or disaster, and can minimize the potential damage to their operations, reputation, and financial stability.

What is Disaster Recovery?

Disaster recovery is a reactive approach that involves restoring critical IT infrastructure and systems in the event of a disruption. The goal of DR is to minimize the downtime of IT systems and restore normal operations as quickly as possible. DR is a technical process that involves the following steps:

1. Disaster Declaration: This step involves identifying the nature and scope of the disaster and declaring a disaster.

2. Data Backup and Recovery: This step involves backing up critical data and restoring it to ensure business continuity.

3. Infrastructure Restoration: This step involves restoring the IT infrastructure and systems that are critical to business operations.

4. Plan Testing and Maintenance: Once the infrastructure has been restored, it must be tested and maintained to ensure its effectiveness.

Its purpose is to restore an organization’s critical IT infrastructure and systems to a functioning state following a disruption. DR is designed to minimize the downtime of IT systems and to restore normal operations as quickly as possible.

The Differences Between BCP and DR

Although BCP and DR have certain similarities, they are separate processes that require different strategies. BCP is a proactive approach that is focused on seeing potential hazards and creating plans to lessen their effects. The goal of DR, on the other hand, is the restoration of vital IT systems and infrastructure following an interruption.

Another difference between BCP and DR is the scope of their impact. Although DR focuses on recovering IT infrastructure and systems, BCP ensures the continuity of crucial business processes. DR is restricted to IT infrastructure and systems, whereas BCP covers all facets of the enterprise.

Now that you understand the purpose, importance, and difference between BCP and DP, you might be wondering what your next steps are. Depending on the size of your organization, you can choose the most appropriate approach in developing your own BCP and DP. Here are the most common methodologies:

1. Business Impact Analysis (BIA): The BIA methodology involves identifying critical business functions and the impact of a disruption on these functions. This methodology helps organizations to prioritize their BCP efforts and to focus on the most critical aspects of their operations.

2. Risk Assessment: The Risk Assessment methodology involves identifying potential risks and threats that could cause a disruption to critical business functions. This methodology helps organizations to identify the specific risks they face and to develop strategies to mitigate those risks.

3. Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA): The PDCA methodology is a continuous improvement cycle that involves planning, implementing, testing, and evaluating BCP and DR processes. This methodology helps organizations to continually improve their BCP and DR processes and to adapt to changing circumstances.

4. Six Sigma: The Six Sigma methodology is a data-driven approach to quality improvement. This methodology can be applied to BCP and DR to identify and eliminate defects in the process and to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the processes.

5. Agile: The Agile methodology is an iterative and flexible approach to project management. This methodology can be applied to BCP and DR to enable organizations to respond quickly and effectively to changing circumstances and to continuously improve their processes.

6. ITIL: The Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) is a framework for IT service management. This framework can be applied to DR to ensure that critical IT infrastructure and systems are restored as quickly as possible following a disruption.

Overall, the specific methodology used for BCP and DR will depend on the organization’s goals and objectives, the size of the organization, and the specific risks and threats that it faces. Regardless of the methodology used, it is essential to regularly test and evaluate BCP and DR processes to ensure their effectiveness and to make necessary improvements.

If you are now thinking about having either BCP or DP for your business, you can either build a team of professionals or hire external consultants, such as Acuvity Consulting, or have an internal team supported by an external consultant. Having a third-party management consultant can provide expertise and guidance on best practices, industry standards, and emerging trends in BCP and DR. Most importantly, they won’t be biased on identifying key problems and improvement opportunities that are usually ignored due to the business’ traditional methodologies.

At Acuvity Consulting, we have a track record of success in helping our clients to develop and implement effective BCP and DR processes that can help them to maintain continuity of critical business functions, minimize downtime and financial losses, and protect their reputation during and after a disruption. Thus, empowering our clients to strengthen their resilience and agility in the face of a crisis or disaster, and to ensure that they can continue to provide essential products or services to their customers.