Posted: November 18th, 2022

Disaster Management and Business Continuity

Please write a 4 page paper which addresses the following questions:

1. What is a business continuity plan? What factors should an organization take into consideration when creating a business continuity plan?

2. What is a disaster recovery plan? What factors should an organization take into consideration when creating a disaster recovery plan?

3. What is a business impact analysis, and how can the results be used to inform decisions about the details included in a DR and/or BC plan?

Paper should be double spaced with size 12 font.
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Business Continuity Plan
A business continuity plan is a wide area of focus that deals with planning and testing of different infrastructures with the aim of addressing people and procedures of operation of the business. The plan is used to identify the critical processes in the business and the possible ways in which the process can be restored in case of a disaster. The plan defines the personnel involved and procedures of reporting in cases of emergencies and future operations. Generally, a business continuity plan consists of prevention measures, preparedness, response, and recovery. Prevention helps in reducing the likelihood of occurrence of an incident. Preparedness is mainly applicable in business analysis to strengthen response and recovery. On the other hand, response concentrates on incident response and planning which consists of controls and containment to minimize the degree of impacts. Recovery is important in minimizing risks and disruptions.
Factors to consider when developing a business continuity plan
Type of the risk
Risk identification is an important factor to consider when developing a business continuity plan. Various risks and threats are identified by assessing the office of the business and the environment around it. During the assessment, the risks are prioritized based on the severity and strength of the occurrence of the risk. The risks that seem to have high threats are given priority. For instance, a threat such as cyber-attack may cause a devastating effect on the business. Thus in identifying the risks, some preventive measures can be implemented to reduce their occurrences. The system should be maintained regularly especially on critical parts, continuous monitoring of the system to improve the speed of solving a problem if any (Hiles, 2010).

Impact of the business
Another factor to consider when developing a business continuity plan is the analysis of the impact of the business. Different information is collected from many sources that help in strengthening various businesses. This is the process of identifying critical processes that take place and develop a recovery mechanism. Information can also be obtained from top management and workers by conducting interviews. Through interviews, various problems are identified and decisions are made from the information obtained. The process of conducting interviews ensures that there is continuity in the processes of the business.
Design and execution of the system
The design of the system is an important consideration in developing a business continuity plan. The design is important because it helps in organizing the functions of the business and identifying the rate at which the system may recover the processes. Design and execution are important in identifying the threats and provides the managers with a clue on how to make their decisions. The design ensures that there is security in the top management of the business. Through this approach, the availability of applications are identified and the means of recoverability. The plans regrouped according to uniqueness. The plans that are unique are developed under unique environment, while the plans that are not weighty are also grouped together (Hristidis et al, 2010).
Training maintenance and testing factors
Training of personnel and maintenance of the system are an important consideration when developing a business continuity plan. The testing of the system is important because it is used to determine the strength of the system to withstand various risks. Testing should be conducted regularly and full testing should be carried out at least once a year. The tests reduce possible emergencies. On the other hand, training is important in ensuring that the personnel is well equipped with the right skills and knowledge to undertake various tasks in the plan. The documents used in developing a continuity business plan should be updated to capture new changes that might have taken place. The changes may occur as a result of the change in technology.
Disaster Recovery Plan
The disaster recovery plan consists of processes that are documented to ensure that the assets of the business or organization are recovered from any loss in cases where disasters happen. The disaster recovery plan is important in ensuring there are continuity and sustainability of the business. The procedures to follow in dealing with a disaster are outlined in the disaster recovery plan. The disaster may be when an employee is sabotaged if there is data loss due to external fraud, any form of attack in the organization’s systems such as cyber-attacks (Lindström et al, 2010).
Factors to consider when developing a disaster recovery plan
There are various factors to be considered when developing the disaster recovery plan which includes, the capital costs, technology, data protection, and security.
Capital cost
Some disaster recovery plans are complex and sophisticated and hence requires a large amount of capital to develop. On the other hand, some plans have few procedures and hence requires less amount of capital in the whole process. Thus the resources are also required to purchase the necessary software and hardware including developing a sophisticated technology system. Capital is also required in training and connectivity that exist in the plan. The backup system is important when considering the disaster recovery plan to be implemented.

Technology
Technology is important in ensuring the security of the data. The data must be backed up using the best technology available to prevent any possible data losses. Adopting an online backup is necessary for ensuring that information is backed up regularly. Data monitoring can be done on the server rather than the local storage network only.
Data protection
The disaster recovery plan must protect crucial data and assets. Thus in developing a disaster recovery plan, security of the data should be given a priority. Thus mechanisms to increase the data security are incorporated in the system.
Security of the system
The system should be developed in the strongest possible manner. A stronger system reduces the possibility of attacks.
Business Impact Analysis provides the best approach of determining and evaluating possible factors that could cause interruptions in the normal operations of the business or organization which might be as a result of a disaster. BIA is important in the business continuity plan. A BIA helps in revealing any possible vulnerability that might be present in the business systems. When the vulnerabilities are identified, it is easy to form strategies that are used to reduce the risks. Thus the BIA is a special report that reveals possible risks in an organization. The management is able to make informed decisions basing on the analysis from the BIA report. The BIA provides the best analysis by considering the strength of various disasters which Helps the management in making decisions regarding funds allocations.
On the other hand, a BIA is an important component of the disaster recovery plan. The BIA is used in providing the analysis of cost-related issues such as loss of profits, loss of staff details and important data and loss of cash flows. The BIA is important in assessing the impacts of various risks and hence defines the fund allocation procedure.
References
Lindström, J., Samuelsson, S., & Hägerfors, A. (2010). Business continuity planning methodology. Disaster Prevention and Management: An International Journal, 19(2), 243-255.
Hiles, A. (2010). The definitive handbook of business continuity management. John Wiley & Sons.
Hristidis, V., Chen, S. C., Li, T., Luis, S., & Deng, Y. (2010). Survey of data management and analysis in disaster situations. Journal of Systems and Software, 83(10), 1701-1714.

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Tags: Disaster Management and Business Continuity