BLOG: Is your Business Continuity Plan up to scratch? #BusinessContinuityWeek

• by Olivia Lawlor-Blackburn
• General

One of the key things we highlighted in our last post was about testing your Business Continuity Plans. No plan ever survives first contact with the enemy, so the adage tells us. But if we have thoroughly tested our plans it puts us in a much stronger position to respond if one of those ‘enemies’ in the form of a disruption, occurs.

For this to be as effective as possible, it is a good idea to get professional help when testing business continuity plans. Business continuity testing is a critical component of the overall Business Continuity Management (BCM) process. It involves the validation of business continuity plans and the identification of any gaps or weaknesses in those plans.

Professional help can bring several benefits to the testing process. For example, professional consultants can provide an objective assessment of the effectiveness of the plans, using a range of testing methods and scenarios that may not have been considered by the organization itself. They can also offer best practices and industry standards to ensure the organization’s plans are up-to-date and effective.

In addition, professional consultants can help identify gaps or areas of improvement in the plans that the organization may not have recognized on their own. They can provide valuable insights and recommendations to address these gaps and strengthen the organization’s overall business continuity capabilities.

Using a specialist consultant to test Business Continuity (BC) plans can offer several benefits over doing it yourself. Some of the key benefits include:

Objectivity: A specialist consultant brings an objective perspective to the testing process, as they are not directly involved in the development of the plans. This can help to identify areas for improvement that may have been overlooked by those involved in the planning process.

Experience: A specialist consultant has experience in testing BC plans and can provide valuable insights and best practices based on their experience with similar organizations or scenarios. This can help to ensure that the testing process is more comprehensive and effective.

Expertise: A specialist consultant has specialized knowledge and expertise in BC planning and testing. They can provide a deeper understanding of the risks and potential disruptions that an organization may face and can offer recommendations for mitigating those risks.

Impartiality: A specialist consultant is impartial and independent, which can help to ensure that the testing process is fair and unbiased. This can help to build trust among stakeholders and ensure that the results of the testing process are credible.

Efficiency: A specialist consultant can help to streamline the testing process and ensure that it is conducted in a timely and efficient manner. This can help to minimize disruption to the organization and ensure that the testing process does not interfere with day-to-day operations.

When engaging with us we bring and additional layer of security experience and expertise which will address one of the top concerns every year in the BCI Horizon Scam, cyber security issues.

Watch out for our next post on BC and cyber security. If you would like help with testing your BC plan or want to talk to us about your cyber security resilience, call 0121 559 6699 or email sarah.richardson@advent-im.co.uk or visit our Business Continuity page for more information.