In an effort to bring the attention of the business community to this critical business process, DATAFORT joins the Business Continuity Institute in recognizing the 18th through the 23rd of March as Business Continuity Awareness Week.
Release Date: 22 March 2013
Though the primary role of business continuity management (BCM) is mitigation of the risk faced through unexpected events – whether natural or man-made, BCM is more than just emergency response and disaster recovery. Modern businesses can also take advantage of robust continuity strategies to create a strong foundation for growth.
As an example, providing evidence that your company has an understanding of business risks and a tried and tested set of recovery processes already in place positions you as an appropriate partner to larger companies who may be considering relationships with smaller companies to benefit from their tighter margins and greater flexibility. No larger company is going to risk the continuity of their supply chain by doing business with companies that do not have robust processes in place. But if your communications documents make clear your existing attention to such measures, you are in a position to make the deal while your competitors are struggling to understand what processes are needed to be put in place.
Here are some other suggestions to make sure your business is in a position to thrive as the economic environment improves and business opportunities present themselves.
- Recognise the importance of having continuity plans for your business, not forgetting that there are some risks you can see and some that you can’t. These so-called “black swans” that swim up on us from nowhere, the high-profile, high-impact, hard-to-predict and rare events. Now more than ever, organisations are looking for a solution to help them manage both types of risk.
- Just because you have never experienced a hard-to-predict event, does not mean the risk does not exist.
- Recognise that disruption can be caused by a wide range of factors and you need to anticipate those risks as much as possible and develop strategies to deal with appropriately with each potential threat.
- If you cannot afford to eliminate a risk, minimizing a risk is a pragmatic strategy as well.
- Be practical in your approach, identify threats and if possible eliminate them. Use innovative tactics to extend your reach as this will allow the organisation to focus on growth and development.
- Review your supply chain and identify which suppliers are critical to your operations and ensure they have BCM arrangements in place and are able to meet your growing procurement requirements.
- Nothing stands still for long so be sure to review your business continuity arrangements regularly
About DATAFORT
DATAFORT provides dependable and secure data protection services that offer enterprise-level functionality with a focus on security and reliability. Its software and services are used by thousands of organisations worldwide, ranging from SMBs through to large enterprises and local government departments. Every hour of every day someone, somewhere backs up with DATAFORT. The company was founded in 2000, is headquartered in Guildford, UK and has offices in London and New York.
CONTACT
Marcie Terman
T: 0800 4 44 35 x82
