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A business continuity plan is much more than disaster recovery. A sample continuity plan

Most business continuity plans focus on data and operations recovery after a disaster. While this should of course be an aspect of your plan, it's not the only consideration..

By definition business continuity is continuing the operation of the business when something has happened to disrupt that continuity . It may very well be a disaster such as a flood, fire or hurricane, But it other much more inoccous factors can cause a disruption in business continuity. One of the most overlooked by small business is the loss of a primary customer. This can affect the business even more than a disaster.


With this in mind let's examine the real and fundamental issues of business continuity planning.

1. Access to capital.
Whan a disaster or loss of income befalls your business the first thing you're going to need is capital to contiue operations. The amount of capital is of course dependant on the size and operating costs of the business, but the old adage of six months operating costs is not entirely out of line. For the small business the reality of the situation is you may be limited to just sixty to ninety days of capital. If you don't currently have the resources to save the money, secure financing that isn't used until you have an emergency.

2. Backup and restore method of company financials
Every company believes they have the financials backed up. The reality is we see many companies that have a backup that can't be restored. You should test the restore process at least quarterly to make sure it's working as advertised. A frequent full data backup should also be held off-site and updated regularly.

3. Communications policy
In the event of a disaster or loss of a major customer there are two groups you need to communicate with, your customers, and your employees and vendors. In the case of losing a large customer it's probably not necessary to discuss it with your other customers. It's very important that you let the employees know that something is being done to address the issue.

4. Management continuity
The loss of key personnel for any reason can be a devastating blow to even the largest corporations. The line of succession has to be more than an organizational chart. The proper transition of leadership requires fore thought well in advance of a potential change. This also goes well beyond operational issues. You should make sure that more than one person has established relationships with bigger customers. Management continuity for the small business can be accomplished through the use of outside advisors or a board of directors. If you are the sole owner and operator of the business you need to consider protecting your investment.

5. Location
Some businesses may find it necessary to plain for an alternate location. Depending on the needs of your business this may be as simple as having employees work from home for a short time, or arranging several options for relocating quickly, without the need to sign a lease, or even retainer. This can be accomplished in an afternoon by driving around office parks and taking note of those with low occupancy rates. Leave yourself several options and then update the list once a year when you are revising and reviewing you continuity or disaster recovery plan. If you're business requries real time access to data, and or a large data center for operations you should probably consider an alternate location mirror site of your data center. While this can be somewhat pricey the alternative may be disastrous.

6. Partnering arrangements
If you are a manufacturer and something renders your equipment unusable for a period of time, you should have a short list of businesses that you can contract your work to on a short time basis. Ideally you don't want to use a close competitor. A smaller or startup company may jump at the chance for the work and extend you not only favourable pricing, but acceptable terms as well. Just make sure you have agreements in place. The conintuity you desire is yours, not your competitors or partners. These arrangement must be two way streets.