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Why Should You Use a Business Continuity Plan?
Business continuity planning is essential for organisations of all sizes seeking to mitigate risks and ensure resilience. As the last few years have shown, disruptions to business operations can happen at any time. Business continuity goes beyond disaster recovery to include planning for any event that could disrupt operations, from cyber attacks to supply chain issues. Cyber attacks in particular are becoming an increasingly common threat. A 2019 survey by the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) found that 62% of small and medium-sized Australian businesses had experienced a cyber incident previously.
Yet many SMBs are woefully underprepared. A 2023 survey by the Small Business Association of Australia found that, while 68% of small businesses considered cybersecurity to be a top priority, 60% rely on free, open-source or low-cost solutions as they cannot afford a specialised budget for it. According to that same survey, only 36% have an active cybersecurity plan in place and are actively training their staff. A 2020 survey found that overall, only 49% of business have a business continuity plan.
How To Draft A Business Continuity Plan
Having a robust business continuity plan (BCP) goes well beyond just disaster recovery planning for IT systems. As outlined in standards such as ISO 22301, it involves pre-planning to maintain operations and critical functions across departments, including:
- Communications channels with staff, customers and suppliers
- Access to essential data and systems
- Supply chain contingencies
- Alternate worksites if needed
- Staff training for cyber attack scenarios
In addition, BCPs need regular testing and updating to account for changes in cyber threats and business operations. This allows companies to validate that critical systems can be restored within defined recovery time objectives. An effective business continuity plan reduces volatility and facilitates faster recovery.
Without these holistic structures in place before an attack, companies may face prolonged outages that severely damage revenue streams and customer trust. For example, a 2017 ransomware attack forced legal services firm DLA Piper to take down its global systems for over a week.
The financial and reputational damage from such incidents may be very difficult to recover from without adequate continuity planning. SMBs cannot just rely on IT recovery alone.
Integrated Business Continuity
While a written plan is essential, resilience requires an integrated approach across governance, staffing, partners, and digital infrastructure. Strategies such as cloud computing and microsegmentation boost resilience. Workplace culture is also key- empowered teams able to make decisions drive agility during crises.
Business continuity should ultimately be incorporated into strategy and operations. By continually monitoring for vulnerabilities, analyzing scenarios, and evaluating capacity to deliver priority products and services through disruption, organisations can enhance their resilience muscle.
Business Continuity in a Box
The Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) has developed a tool called “Business Continuity in a Box” to help small-to-medium businesses swiftly restore critical functions during or after a cyber attack. It provides interim solutions for:
- Continuity of Communications – Focuses on keeping email and other channels flowing through setting up alternate platforms.
- Continuity of Applications – Helps deploy secure interim cloud solutions to maintain access to business-critical systems and data.
For small businesses that don’t have the resources to develop comprehensive BCPs, Business Continuity in a Box can serve as a rapid, short-term solution while broader continuity structures are put into place.
However, implementing the tool still requires some level of technical capability, and it is not meant to fully replace proper continuity planning. All businesses should still look to invest in tailored plans with regular testing to deal with a wide range of potential incidents in the long run.
By combining robust continuity planning with tools like Business Continuity in a Box, Australian small businesses can better prepare for, respond to, and recover from unexpected disruptions. Don’t wait until it’s too late to act.
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Conclusion
Both the risks of cybersecurity for small-to-medium businesses and adequate solutions are becoming increasingly complex. We recommend becoming familiar with the ACSC’s Business Continuity in a Box, and using Lawpath’s Business Continuity Plan as a basic framework for a business continuity strategy.
