{"id":3011,"date":"2019-07-22T16:04:41","date_gmt":"2019-07-22T21:04:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.stratospherenetworks.com\/blog\/?p=3011"},"modified":"2019-07-22T16:04:41","modified_gmt":"2019-07-22T21:04:41","slug":"what-is-a-business-continuity-plan-and-why-is-it-important-for-my-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.stratospherenetworks.com\/blog\/what-is-a-business-continuity-plan-and-why-is-it-important-for-my-business\/","title":{"rendered":"What is a Business Continuity Plan and Why is it Important for My Business?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Business<\/a>What would happen to your business if a fire, flood, tornado or another type of disaster struck tonight? If you haven\u2019t taken these steps already, you should have a plan and the right solutions in place to get back up and running and ensure you still have access to vital data following any sort of catastrophe. Otherwise, the aftermath could prove extremely costly and otherwise damaging to your company: On average, the cost of an unplanned data center outage was nearly $9,000 per minute in 2016, according to the Ponemon Institute<\/a>.<\/p>\n

If you already have backup and disaster recovery<\/a> (BDR) solutions in place, you might think you\u2019re all set, but that\u2019s a common misconception. BDR alone isn\u2019t enough. For instance, if you just have file-based backups and lose a server, spinning up a new one will take a long time, since you\u2019ll have to locate application software and drivers, go through the importing process, and so on.<\/p>\n

Similarly, if you have both backup and disaster recovery solutions that supply you with a snapshot of your data before the catastrophic event, you\u2019ll still need to consider what you\u2019ll do if you lose your hardware and\/or your main site.<\/p>\n

At the end of the day, business continuity (BC) is essential \u2013 in combination with BDR \u2013 to provide comprehensive protection and ensure your organization can weather a disaster with minimal damage and downtime. If you\u2019re looking to establish a BC plan for your organization, here are the answers to some questions you might have.<\/p>\n

1. What is business continuity? <\/strong>BC involves either keeping your business running uninterrupted or recovering from an outage quickly in the event of a disaster, according to the CIO article \u201cHow to create an effective business continuity plan<\/a>.\u201d A BC plan specifies what your organization will do following a disruptive incident and includes details about human resources, business processes, assets and other factors.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s important to note that a BC plan concerns all aspects of the entire organization, whereas a disaster recovery (DR) plan typically just addresses IT operations and infrastructure.<\/p>\n

2. Why do I need a business continuity plan?<\/strong> Why is it important? Overall, a BC plan is vital for any organization that wants to succeed and remain competitive, regardless of size or industry. If you experience extended downtime due to a disaster, you won\u2019t be able to get anything done or serve your customers. A disruption in business can result in lost profits and cause your clients to turn to competitors, according to Ready.gov, the official website of the Department of Homeland Security<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Conversely, with a business continuity plan in place, you can minimize outages and reap the following benefits:<\/p>\n