Business Continuity Planning Done Right – Save Money on Disaster Recovery During the Financial Crisis

So What Are you Spending on Your Business Continuity Resources?

It appears that in this time of financial crisis several organizations are looking at what they are spending on business continuity planning and the process of preparing for a major business disruption. Many are looking to “cut back” and yet others currently evaluating what resources need to be set aside are looking to cut corners. What to do? What to do?

Do you really know what you are or should be spending and for what level of protection? Are you spending too much? Are you spending enough? Either way what are you getting for your money? What level of protection have you achieved? Most folks don’t know and don’t have a clue. They see an expense but little else. Do you have the technology you need? Have you defined what your telecommunications environment should look like? How about workspace for your required personnel? Again is it too much or too little?

I’m still amazed at the number of organizations that have literally taken a “shotgun approach” to defining what is needed to protect their organization from a major business disruption. This scattered approach usually has them spending too much or too little, and whether they know it or not they are gambling with their ability to resume business should they experience that business interruption.

Unless you have done a formal business impact analysis to identify what is critical to the continuance and recovery of your business operations, and matched that to specific resources and specific recovery strategies such as data back-up, specific key hardware, applications, telecommunication and people, my guess is you really don’t know if what you are spending is adequate to protect your organization.

If you have a plan – conduct a business impact analysis. Follow that up with a resource analysis. See if you have the right solution in place – maybe you have too much? Maybe you have to little in place? It will tell you how much money you will need to spend to meet your defined recovery time objectives. If you are just now defining your resources required for resumption / recovery, and have not conducted a business impact analysis, do so and follow that up with a resource analysis. This will tell you how much you need to spend to meet your specific recovery time objectives.

My suggestion is that you review your business impact analysis annually and that you perform a formal business impact analysis every other year. Make sure this process becomes part of your program management to ensure the right monies are being spent for the right solution.

Make sure you are matching the needs of business to the money you are spending to protect the same.