disaster recovery plan iso 22301

ISO 22301 Business Continuity Simplified: Fortify Your Business Against Disruption

By Andy Marker | June 22, 2020 (updated September 15, 2022)

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In this article, you’ll find expert tips and implementation guides, and you'll learn how ISO 22301 can buffer your business against disasters. 

Included on this page, you’ll find an International Standards Organization (ISO) 22301 audit checklist template , a simplified ISO 22301 cheat-sheet , and an ISO 22301 self-assessment checklist , as well as examples of ISO 22301 in action and an ISO 22301 quick-start guide .

What Is ISO 22301?

ISO 22301 is a global standard for business continuity planning requirements to help organizations protect themselves against disruptions. The most current version is 22301:2019, Security and resilience - Business continuity management systems - Requirements.

The requirements in ISO 22301 address disruptive incidents that can be natural or human-made, widespread or local, intentional or unintentional, such as a snowstorm, a broken water main, an epidemic, a data breach, or a phishing attack. Large or small, for- and nonprofit organizations alike can use ISO 22301.

The Business Manager’s Quick-Start Guide to ISO 22301

The ISO 22301 standard can provide benefits for your business continuity planning, even if your organization chooses not to pursue certification, or the review process that confirms your business continuity system meets all ISO 22301 requirements. 

"Certification is nice, but not required,” says Mart Rovers of InterProm. “First, seek compliance. That way, you know that your business continuity management practices are in better shape." You can start to create a solid business continuity plan with just a few simple steps, which you can also download as this ISO 22301 Quick-Start Guide .

• Check If You Already Have Continuity Plans: Find out if your organization already has business continuity plans. Search through your document management system and ask management or long-time employees. Organizations sometimes create and quickly forget about resources, or store responses locally in an informal system.  As Andrew Nichols of the Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center suggests, if your organization already implements other ISO standards, such as ISO 9001 or ISO 27000, you can leverage some of the common requirement elements for your 22301 plan.
• Identify Missing Components: Conduct a gap analysis of existing policies and processes to see what business continuity resources you need. According to Mart Rovers, one way to conduct a self-assessment is to copy into a spreadsheet each phrase of the ISO 22301 standard that contains the word "shall." Then, determine gaps between your company and the standard. "Use the standard as your guide to establishing a coherent set of practices to address business continuity management for your organization," says Rovers. You can also use Smartsheet's ISO 22301 Self-Assessment Checklist and ISO 22301 Simplified Cheatsheet for your gap analysis.
• Keep It Simple: Having binders full of perfectly formatted procedures won’t help in an emergency. Create easy-to-follow guidelines and checklists and, more importantly, build "muscle memory" in your employees through training and drills. That way, in a panic, people understand what to do without having to be told.
• Make Your Plan a Living Document: Ticking off items on an audit checklist doesn't mean you’re prepared. Frequently read, revise, and practice your plan to keep it relevant and to train new staff.

• Communicate Your Plan to Staff and Other Stakeholders: Even the most well-written plan is useless if the people who can benefit from it don't know about it. Inform everyone covered by the plan that it exists, including your supply chain and other outside stakeholders.

ISO 22301 Requirements

The ISO 22301 standard offers a framework for planning, testing, and monitoring a business continuity management system (BCMS). The ISO 22301 document contains 10 sections, which introduce the standard and definitions, as well as actionable requirements of the standard. 

As with other ISO requirement documents, ISO 22301 describes only what organizations must do to reach minimum proficiency — it does not prescribe how to achieve these standards. Each organization must consider its distinct conditions and obligations to find the best way to follow the requirements.

Here is an overview of the clauses in ISO 22301 that impact an organization most: 

• Clause 4, Context: Your organization must understand what it is, what it does, and what outputs and processes it must sustain. You must also determine who has a stake in the continuity of your operations — in other words, the interested parties. For example, customers have a stake in your organization continuing to function.
• Clause 5, Leadership: Few organizational initiatives thrive without the sustained support and championship of top management. Management must commit to a business continuity plan and make available any resources — human, financial, or otherwise — to ensure its success. 
• Clause 6, Planning: To plan for sustainability, you must understand what disruptions could potentially occur and how these incidents affect the business — in other words, potential risks and their impact. Set measurable business continuity objectives to guarantee the minimum viable products or services, as well as compliance with any legal or regulatory requirements. 
• Clause 7, Support: No program can advance without resources and support. Decide what personnel, roles, and teams you need for threat response and how you can best enhance their effectiveness. Create internal and external communication procedures for reference, and communicate the continuity plan to all necessary parties before and during a crisis. Establish a document management system for key continuity documents, such as procedures.
• Clause 8, Operation: Conduct your risk assessment and business impact analysis , and plan your disruption recovery approach. Implement the recovery plan with detailed procedures, and test it regularly to verify that it works. Make sure people can find the procedures (and other documents) they need, and revise your plan as necessary.
• Clause 9, Evaluation: Establish a process to regularly measure and assess your continuity policies and procedures and their execution. Review and revise your plan and documents to ensure they are effective and relevant
• Clause 10, Improvement: Seek continual improvement in all functional and operational areas, including through periodic management reviews. Improvements in day-to-day activities help bolster the organization in times of disruption. When processes veer from the standard or fail to conform with ISO and quality management standards, implement corrective action.

Key Definitions Related to ISO 22301

Some of the following key terms and concepts originate with ISO, some with ISO 22301, and some with business continuity and risk management:

• Context: The purpose and character of the organization and the environment in which it operates. This includes internal and external influences that shape the business continuity management system.
• Disruptive Incident: A disruptive incident is an event that stops or slows the everyday work of an organization. Examples of disruptive incidents include earthquakes, internet stoppages, broken fans in a data center, or food poisoning in a cafeteria. 
• Interested Parties: Interested parties are stakeholders in the successful operation and outcomes of your business continuity plan. They can include customers, employees, suppliers, or regulatory officials.
• Leadership: In ISO 22301, leadership refers to top management or the person or people who run the organization and champion the business continuity effort. 
• Maximum Acceptable Outage (MAO): The length of time an activity or process can be unavailable or ineffective before the health and survival of the organization are threatened. 
• Minimum Business Continuity Objective (MBCO) : The lowest level of products or services that is acceptable for a business to offer during a disruption.
• Recovery Timeframe Objectives (RTO): This refers to the prioritization of key activities and the timing that makes those activities operational.

Benefits of ISO 22301 and Business Continuity Management System

If teams are already overwhelmed with their workload, they may not like to think about disasters. Furthermore, organizations might think that ISO standards include difficult jargon and that pursuing a continuity plan adds unnecessary work. However, management systems practitioners suggest that continuity preparations produce substantial gains.

“I think it's a truism that many organizations can benefit from the principles and some of the practices of resiliency and contingency planning,” says Andrew Nichols, Quality Program Manager at the Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center .

As an example of the benefits that risk analysis and preparation can yield, Nichols relates his experience of visiting a small northeastern town during a widespread winter power outage. The whole town was closed, with the exception of one restaurant that had a generator. 

“They had a line of people out the door every mealtime because nowhere else was capable,” Nichols remembers. “Somebody had the foresight to think about the loss of power. And that organization cleaned up financially because they were able to provide what the customers needed.” 

Consider these specific benefits to using ISO 22301 business continuity planning:

• Protect against and recover from disruptive incidents.
• Identify and control current and future threats.
• Improve your risk management planning efforts.
• Prevent large-scale damage.
• Become proactive in preventing problems and recovering from incidents, rather than reactive to damage and disruption.
• Reduce downtime and increase recovery time.
• Keep important activities running during disruption.
• Deliver quality products consistently. 
• Provide dependable service. 
• Prove you’re a reputable supplier.
• Prove your resilience to all stakeholders.

Experts also assert that ISO 22301 can be a simple and effective continuity tool. “All these ISO standards, they’re like hidden gems because of how fast they can get you up to speed without having to reinvent the wheel,” says Mart Rovers, President of IT consulting firm InterProm . 

“I cannot emphasize enough how within reach this standard is. Anytime people hear the word ‘ISO,’ they think, ‘Oh, that's for large organizations. Oh, that's way too formal. It's too much. It's overkill.’ I understand where this is coming from because the word ‘standard’ itself is scary for many organizations. However, the size of organization really doesn't matter. The things you should be doing in ISO 22301, you can do at a smaller scale,” says Rovers. 

Some also hesitate at the thought of certification. Both Nichols and Rovers stress that certification is not necessary for every enterprise. Although certification may be a condition of doing business for some companies, those who don’t need certification can still gain advantages from following ISO 22301. 

In weighing the pros and cons of ISO certification, Rovers suggests buying a copy of ISO 22301 , and then copying and pasting each sentence that contains the word “shall” into a spreadsheet (these sentences represent the requirements you must follow). From the spreadsheet, consider whether full ISO adoption and certification are too complicated for your organization. Regardless of your decision, you can always use the spreadsheet to conduct a self-audit.

ISO 22301 in Action

The following image provides a small sample of the possible outcomes to business continuity management.

How a Management System Helps Business Continuity

For those familiar with other ISO standards, the management system component of ISO 22301 might be a new concept. Rovers describes management systems as follows: 

“The best way to explain a management system is to imagine opening up an old watch. It has these spinning wheels, these gears. In the case of an ISO standard, you're looking at a number of requirements to put that watch together with all these spinning wheels. That watch is a coherent system. You take out one of those gears, and then the watch fails. 

“A management system for continuity follows the same idea — every requirement that the standard asks for represents one of those gears. And every requirement serves a distinct purpose (otherwise, it would not be a requirement). If you don't meet a particular requirement, the watch, so to speak, may not function as it could or should. These ISO requirements are not just there to keep you busy.”

ISO 22301 and PDCA

Each segment of the PDCA (plan-do-check-act) cycle for continuous improvement corresponds to at least one ISO 22301 clause. Organizations can use ISO 22301 to test continuity procedures, review outcomes, and implement updates or fix problems in a continuous cycle that leads to an increasingly resilient business continuity system.

ISO 22301 and Maturity Models

A maturity model measures an organization’s ability to pursue continuous improvement in key areas. ISO 22301 does not have a maturity model.

As Rovers explains, “It was never the intent of ISO 22301 to be a maturity model. You either meet all the requirements of the standard, or you don’t. You could say that by not meeting the requirements of the standard, you’re not mature. Or better said, your business continuity management practices are not mature.”

BCM Lifecycle ISO 22301

The business continuity management (BCM) lifecycle represents industry best practices and some of the core requirements of ISO 22301. These practices offer a solid foundation for resilience, while offering flexibility to adapt to changes in the organization. 

Guided by leadership, these are the key activities for the lifecycle:

• Conduct a business impact analysis and risk assessment.
• Establish a business continuity strategy.
• Establish and implement business continuity procedures.
• Exercise and test the procedures regularly before a disruption occurs.

ISO 22301 Audit Checklist Template (Excel)

Use this detailed checklist to determine if your business continuity plan aligns with ISO 22301 standards. You can use the template whether you’re applying for certification or simply pursuing a continuity management plan. 

Download ISO 22301 Audit Checklist Template

Excel  | Smartsheet

ISO 22301 Self-Assessment Checklist

This self-assessment checklist is divided into sections that correspond to clauses in ISO 22301. Use it to confirm whether your business continuity system meets the requirements for leadership, planning, support, operation, performance evaluation, and continual improvement.

Download ISO 22301 Self-Assessment Checklist Template

Excel | Word |  PDF

ISO 22301 Implementation Guide

This guide states the essential information from ISO 22301 in plain English. For best results, read it with the full standard, which is currently available for free online to support the COVID-19 response. 

Download ISO 22301 Implementation Guide Template

Excel | Word | PDF

ISO 22301 Simplified Cheat-Sheet

Use this simplified cheat-sheet to understand the basic elements of creating a business continuity plan. The template walks you through the process of determining critical aspects of your organization, writing the recovery plan, and exercising the plan to ensure proficiency. 

Download ISO 22301 Simplified Cheat-Sheet Template

ISO 22301 Business Continuity Policy Template

A business continuity policy describes the processes and procedures an organization needs in order to function well daily, including in times of disruption and crisis. This policy template includes space for BCMS objectives, a leadership description, a policy outline, and any certification details.

Download ISO 22301 Business Continuity Policy Template

ISO 22301 Business Continuity Template

Use this template to create a business continuity plan. Describe the results of your risk analysis and business impact analysis, detail your disaster recovery and continuity procedures, and list key contacts and important assets. 

Download ISO 22301 Business Continuity Template

Word |  PDF

ISO 22301 Business Continuity Sample

The Community Nonprofit Center of New York made available this business continuity template to support the response to coronavirus. Find space to detail responses to minimal and critical emergencies, a risk matrix template, and lists for information about insurance, critical assets, and responses to disruptive events.

For other most useful free, downloadable business continuity plan (BCP) templates please read our  "Free Business Continuity Plan Templates"  article.

Disaster Recovery Plan Templates

After you perform a risk analysis and business impact analysis, consider writing a disaster recovery plan. Disaster recovery plan templates , available in different formats, provide an easy-to-use structure for documenting continuity plans. Download templates specialized for IT, payroll, small businesses, and more.

To learn about the difference between recovery plans and continuity plans, visit our "Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery: Their Differences and How They Work Together" article.

ISO 22301 Versus ISO 27301

ISO 27301 provides requirements that organizations use to ensure their information and communications technology (ICT) continuity, security, and readiness to survive a disruption. The standard is often staged with ISO 22301 because both are based on similar management system approaches.

The full name of this standard is ISO 27301 - Information Technology - Security Techniques . Originally published in 2011, it is soon to be revised.

“Both [ISO 27301 and ISO 22301] ask for top management involvement and commitment, both ask that you have the right resources, that you have documentation management, that you do performance evaluations, and that you make improvements,” explains Rovers. 

They differ in the focus of the risk assessment: ISO 27001 addresses security, whereas ISO 22301 addresses business continuity. “Each area has different risks, but the approach to the risk management assessment and mitigation follows the same steps. There's enormous overlap.”

IT security continuity has significant relevance in the remote work environment. For example, while using your work laptop at home or signed into the work network, what happens when someone innocently plugs in a thumb drive that infects your laptop and corrupts the network? Both ISO 22301 and ISO 27001 work together to prevent such incidents and mitigate problems that occur.

For additional resources, visit " Free ISO 27001 Checklists and Templates ."

General Requirements Across Management System Standards

Some ISO requirements are commonly stated across the management system standards, which include ISO 22301; ISO 9001 , Quality Management; ISO 20000, IT Service Management; and ISO 27001, Information Security. Examples of common requirements include establishing objectives for the business continuity management system as appropriate to the organization, obtaining management’s commitment to supporting the system, implementing a documentation management system, conducting internal audits, and pursuing continual improvement. This functional overlap enables organizations to undertake combined audits for these standards.

Historical Foundations of ISO 22301

The concept of business continuity was borne out of the IT boom of the 1980s and 1990s. Public and private organizations realized the need to ensure continuity of service and key supplies and to mitigate the effects of disruptive events. The first formal standard reflecting these concerns was the United Kingdom’s British Standard (also known as BS) 25999, which introduced the management system concept to the business continuity discipline. 

In 2012, the global standards body ISO released ISO 22301:2012 as the first international standard for business continuity. Based on the contributions and comments of continuity professionals from assorted industries in over 60 countries, ISO 22301 superseded BS 25999. 

ISO’s consensus-based standards, such as 22301, cover practices and industries ranging from quality management, IT service, and food safety to environmental safety and information security. ISO standards aim to increase the quality and safety of many products and services, including most common household items, appliances, and cars. Although large enterprises and manufacturers usually follow ISO requirements and guidelines, organizations of all sizes and types can benefit from ISO principles. 

For ISO 22301, the standard provides a consistent BCMS framework and a universal language among organizations for communicating about continuity and aligning processes.

When they get certified in ISO 22301 and other ISO standards, organizations can demonstrate to management, legislators, regulators, customers, and other stakeholders that they follow good practices. For ISO certification, organizations need third-party verification that they comply with all requirements of a standard. 

“Certification shows you have some level of competence,” explains Rovers. “It shows you take the standard seriously. For organizations buying your goods or services, it can be a compelling reason to choose you.”

Guidance Documents for ISO 22301

For in-depth discussions of aspects of the 22301 standard, ISO offers a series of guidance documents. To those considering pursuing ISO 22301 certification, these documents provide additional insight:

• ISO 22313 - Security and resilience — Business continuity management systems — Guidance on the use of ISO 22301
• ISO 22316 - Security and resilience — Organizational resilience — Principles and attributes
• ISO 22317 - Societal security — Business continuity management systems — Guidelines for business impact analysis (BIA)
• ISO 22318 - Societal security — Business continuity management systems — Guidelines for supply chain continuity
• ISO 22330 - Security and resilience — Business continuity management systems — Guidelines for people aspects of business continuity
• ISO 22331 - Security and resilience — Business continuity management systems — Guidelines for business continuity strategy

What Is the Latest Version of ISO 22301?

The requirement document ISO 22301:2019, Security and resilience - Business continuity management systems - Requirements , was released on October 31, 2019. The update from the original 2012 version reflects changes in management system approaches and clarifies specifications around clause 8.

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ISO 22301, The Business Continuity Management Standard Simplified

Security and Resilience with Business Continuity Management Systems

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ISO 22301, what it is & why you need it

ISO 22301, is the recognised international standard for Business Continuity Management Systems (BCMS), published by the International Organisation for Standardization (ISO). ISO 22301 business continuity management is the first ISO standard to incorporate Annex L, which provides a common framework for all new management system specifications issued by ISO.

In a world where cyberattacks, data breaches and natural disasters can interrupt business continuity and quickly damage reputation, organisations and businesses need to implement, maintain and keep refining their business continuity management system (BCMS). ISO 22301 certification of their continuity management ensures they are doing so.

The ISO 22301 business continuity management standard, crucially helps organisations identify and prioritise threats. It allows them to implement their business continuity management system effectively so they are ready to respond to and recover from incidents with the least disruption to business.

Studies have shown that almost 1 in 5 organisations experience significant business disruptions every year. Therefore, a robust and resilient organisation is one that can change with the times, has an understanding of where its vulnerabilities are and have plans in place to mitigate risk as well as respond if it needs to do so. Compliance or certification to ISO 22301 business continuity management allows your organisation to achieve all of the above in a straightforward and structured manner.

In 2012, a version of the standard was set out as ISO 22301:2012 . This focused on ‘societal security’. It specified requirements to ‘plan, establish, implement, operate, monitor, review, maintain and continually improve a documented business continuity management system’.

The aim of ISO 22301 2012 was to protect against, reduce the likelihood of occurrence, prepare for, respond to, and recover from disruptive incidents as and when they arise.

In 2012, a version of the standard was set out as ISO 22301:2012 . This focused on ‘societal security. It specified requirements to ‘plan, establish, implement, operate, monitor, review, maintain and continually improve a documented business continuity management system’.

We felt like we had the best of both worlds. We were able to use our existing processes, & the Adopt, Adapt content gave us new depth to our ISMS.

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ISO 22301, what is the latest version of the standard?

On 31 October 2019 the latest version of the ISO 22301 standard was published – ISO 22301:2019 . This is a revised version of ISO 22301:2012. It aims to make the standard “more streamlined and practical”, according to the ISO. According to the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) , companies will be able to transition from ISO 22301:2012 to ISO 22301:2019 up until 30 April 2023. The deadline was, as an exception, extended due to the Covid-19 situation. The 2019 version has been generally well received and transitions from old to new versions of the standard are seen as a not overly onerous value adding exercise.

You can find the ISO 22301 business continuity management standard documentation on the official ISO website here: https://www.iso.org/standard/75106.html

ISO 22301:2019 provides businesses with the most up-to-date security and resilience certification to be sure their business continuity management systems meet the international standard, set out by the ISO .

The Relationship With ISO 22301:2012

There’s not a radical difference between ISO 22301:2012 and ISO 22301:2019. Both versions necessitate senior management involvement, and the updated model reflects on what is required to sustain a successful BCMS.

That sustainability becomes much more comfortable with a technology-based business continuity management systems such as ISMS.online .

ISO 22301:2012 was published in May 2012 and amended in June of the same year. The management system requirements established in ISO 22301 business continuity management had meant to extend to all organisations. The degree to which the criteria becomes implemented depends on the operating environment and the scope of the organisation, similar to how one would develop their range for other management system standards like ISO 27001 .

While several concepts and terminology of business continuity management have been revised to expand context and reflect established procedures, Clause 8; Operation, is the main area where changes have occurred.

ISMS.online offers ISO 22301 business continuity management frameworks within its packaged services. That means organisations who wish to migrate their existing business continuity management systems can, as well as those embarking on ISO 22301 for the first time.

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What Is Business Continuity Management and Why Do You Need It?

If your company was affected by a catastrophe or a crisis, would your business be able to continue ? When incidents and natural disasters strike, there is little time to prepare a response structure, particularly when the key people, processes, networks, infrastructure and other essential services get disrupted.

A disaster has no bounds. It could impact your business continuity internally and externally, affecting your customers and the supply chain too. Whether you are a small or a large business, you can face impact. The primary purpose of business continuity management is to reduce the likelihood of threats and guarantee that the company reacts to significant disturbances that could endanger its future.

Business continuity management is about responsible and effective leadership. It should provide a foundation for developing resilience to incidents as well as the ability to respond successfully, safeguarding the interests of your key stakeholders, reputation, and value-creating operations of your company.

A business continuity strategy with a documented management system should ensure that workers are mindful of their roles and responsibilities. In the case of an unexpected occurrence, it is essential to be able to adapt to established processes and approved procedures.

Many of our customers develop simple yet effective business continuity plans within ISMS.online for meeting ISO 27001 and protecting their valuable information assets . Other customers take that even further with ISO 22301 and introduce more sophisticated resilience planning and prevention, as well as response mechanisms to incidents.

ISMS.online will save you time and money towards ISO 27001 certification and make it simple to maintain.

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What are the benefits of business continuity management?

Business continuity management helps organisations reduce the likelihood and impact of disruption and downtime, protect assets if something does go wrong,  continue operating through the disruption, and recover as quickly as possible from any incidents that do occur. Having business continuity plans in place will help your organisation in the following ways:

Comply with legal requirements

ISO 22301 is used for legal and regulatory certification of continuity management, ensuring all the required elements of a business continuity management system are being met.

Achieve marketing advantage

Brand reputation is precious for any organisation and should be protected at all costs. With a continuity management system, it’s possible to build customer confidence and trust, reducing the likelihood of a PR disaster that could damage relationships with stakeholders including customers, clients and suppliers.

Reduce dependence on individuals

Through planning, training, awareness programmes and testing, everyone in an organisation should understand what is expected of them. This breeds confidence that the business continuity plans will deliver in the event of a disruption.

Prevent large-scale damage

It’s vital to keep your business trading during and after an incident. By recovering business operations quickly after interruptions, it’s possible to reduce the cost of damaging incidents, protect the organisation’s reputation and even save lives, if dangerous events, such as fire or flooding, occur.

Operational resilience

Mishaps and unplanned events vary in scale, speed and impact, possibly only hitting a single department or location. Identifying and planning for possible smaller-scale issues that could escalate into major operational difficulties for the entire organisation will keep the wheels turning.

Business continuity risk, explained?

As stated, business continuity management using a well-documented management system helps you to identify better and reduce the likelihood of disruptive incidents or address business continuity risks. Business continuity management leads to the growth of a more stable environment, although companies with no successful business continuity management systems will increase chances significantly. A well-developed, organised and rehearsed Business Continuity Plan (BCP) can help the business rebound from an incident as quickly as possible.

All of your procedures must be up-to-date, accurate and efficient. Methods include but are not limited to corporate risk assessments, information security risk reviews, and addressing your health and safety policies, as well as your continuity management plan.

Examples of business continuity risks include:

• Cyberattacks and data breaches
• Unplanned IT and telecom outages
• Interruption to utility supply
• Adverse weather and other environmental causes
• Pandemics and epidemics
• Acts of terrorism
• Security incidents
• Loss of key personnel
• Physical property destruction or material loss

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Emergency preparedness

Business continuity management details the steps you need to take in an emergency in the form of a Disaster Recovery Plan (DRP). A Disaster Recovery Plan is a documented, organised business continuity strategy that demonstrates how to respond to disruptive incidents.

The Disaster Recovery Plan begins its formation following a more detailed business impact analysis, which helps demonstrate where the most significant impact and consequences are from an event. ISMS.online gives you the tools you need to manage your business impact analysis, disaster recovery plans, and much more using information technology .

Your DRP should include a short-term arrangement to fix and rebuild critical business systems, and a plan to address problems such as root cause identification and a long-term prevention approach. There are many options available to ensure that an organisation has a setup with a contingency system that provides the best solution .

For example, the on-site recovery system would ensure that data can be retrieved more efficiently with data backups and other means. Your prevention measures should also protect from potential server failure and consider the risk of external contractors. You would then build contingency plans and alternative business continuity strategies for the absence of supplies that are vital to business operations long before they even become a disaster recovery issue.

ISMS.online enables the easy preparation of risk management and assessment as well as mitigation actions. The platform also holds the necessary disaster recovery plans while making its delivery very straightforward in times of crisis.

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• Designed for ISO 27001 success
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ISO 22301, what are the benefits?

There are many advantages of ISO 22301, including returning the organisation to ‘business as usual’ with minimal disruption from any crisis.

ISO 22301, will keep critical functions up and running during times of crises

Good Business Continuity Management can ensure the continuation of critical services and preserve the revenue stream, properties as well as reduce the likelihood of potential losses due to an incident or catastrophe. Since its revision, the standard now better represents the current thinking in the business continuity industry, specifically the study of business impact anaysis and the creation of recovery strategies.

ISO 22301 makes risk management from events such as cyber-attacks and natural disasters less stressful. It also means that organisations with effective business continuity management programmes recover from any incident much quicker.

ISO 22301 business continuity management, demonstrates resilience to customers, suppliers and for tender requests

ISO 22301 certification shows stakeholders that your business continuity capability is appropriate for the scale and scope of your organisation. Like ISO 27001 , it engenders more trust, especially when certified by an independent certification body. It aids your understanding of business needs by identifying potential failures and risks. Businesses can then demonstrate to stakeholders, consumers, vendors and regulators, that they have sound business continuity management systems and processes in place.

ISO 22301 will also increase stakeholder trust in the organisation’s ability to respond to disruptive incidents and events, and to sustain critical business processes should a catastrophe occur.

ISO 22301, identifies and manages current and future threats to your business

By its very definition, continuity planning and management frameworks such as ISO 22301 ensures that issues can be detected before they arise. It gains an understanding of effective business process management in an enterprise by offering a systematic approach to its operation and continuous improvement . Systems built for business continuity allow organisations to identify the potential impact of functional disturbance, deploy successful business continuity plans and to reduce the overall effect on the business

ISO 22301, takes a proactive approach to minimise the impact of disruptive incidents

ISO 22301 gives you the ability to respond appropriately in the event of disruptive incidents and avoid waste or unnecessary loss. Through proactively assessing the effect of the disruption, business continuity management recognises the products and services that are essential to the organisation’s survival. It seeks to determine what solutions will be required if an incident was to occur.

Knowing the difference between disaster recovery and Business Continuity

An often misunderstood area is the difference between disaster recovery and business continuity. ISO 22301 addresses both of these areas. Disaster recovery activities concentrate on returning the company to “business as usual” after a traumatic event and reaching complete recovery. Business continuity management is about ensuring that the enterprise can continue to reduce the likelihood of natural disasters and function during a crisis.

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ISO 22301, how does it work?

ISO 22301 works by setting out how to build a management system that helps an organisation to plan for any type of incident that might affect its ability to operate effectively.

This standard provides a framework for an organisation to define responsibilities and makes it possible to assess and review business continuity performance over time. With ISO 22301 you can create the documents necessary to provide auditable evidence of contingency capabilities, as part of ongoing compliance requirements.

Performance assessment, audits and continual improvement are central to the management system standard set out by ISO 22301:2012 and ISO 22301:2019.

Who Can Implement ISO 22301?

The ISO/IEC 22301 BCMS standard extends to organisations of all sizes, across all markets and all experience levels. Implementing ISO 22301 business continuity management includes reviewing operational structures to identify potential shortfalls and allowing the organisation to concentrate on its goals and business continuity objectives.

The business needs of the implementation project are specific to the company implementing the standard and ISMS.online makes that straightforward. There’s no need to concentrate on ‘how’ you’ll implement and manage ISO 22301, you can simply focus on the activities within the standard and focus on ‘what’ you need to do for prevention and cure.

ISO-22301, how to Implement it?

When you implement ISO 22301 business continuity management, the first simple step is to think about addressing the primary requirements of the standard. This starting point will encourage you to take a strategic approach (hence why leadership is so important) and set the context, the scope, as well as develop a stated business continuity policy and objectives of the business continuity management systems.

Developing a business continuity policy will help identify your areas of risk and opportunity. From here, you can consider the impacts of those risks and what it might mean for consequences and the time to failure, recovery etc. Doing so will help you discover any holes or shortcomings in your current ISO management systems standards requirements . You will also identify and provide practical suggestions for improving them. ISO describes this as business continuity strategies and solutions.

ISMS.online has partners that can help with your ISO 22301 implementation, from achieving a pragmatic and straightforward business continuity management systems approach to a highly sophisticated BCMS.

Once you’ve completed your implementation, it is essential to undertake regular audits of the business continuity management system. Internal audits are mandatory for achieving independent certification of the BCMS too. Performance reviews also complement internal audits to make sure that your management systems are operating as expected at all times.

The ISO auditor would also expect to see a record of improvements your organisation has made over time. Having a method for addressing nonconformities, corrective actions and other enhancements is a crucial requirement.

ISO-22301, getting started with the Business Continuity Management standard

We encourage organisations to buy the ISO international standard and digest that to understand the ISO management system standards requirements fully. We recommend starting at the beginning (4.1 understanding the organisation and its context ) and avoid jumping into developing incident response plans until you’ve considered the scope, risks and impacts.

ISMS.online is also pre-configured with a range of tools that helps follow the process easier and means you retain a focus on the business. It also maps into the more comprehensive tools and features set for ISO 27001, meaning you can also achieve many of the ISO 22301 management systems requirements. You will be able to manage tasks like audits, performance reviews, management meetings, staff education etc. all at the same time.

You will reduce costs, simplify learning for staff and make the administration of the broader business management system that much more comfortable too. External auditors also find that much more effective and take great confidence when they see consistent operating practices across the ISO standards.

Since migrating we’ve been able to reduce the time spent on administration.

What is a BCMS?

A business continuity management system, put very simply, is a recognised approach for ensuring an organisation can continue business operations and respond effectively to disruptive incidents.

ISO 22301 provides a constant and established method of business impact analysis with a framework based on recognised good practice. Anyone implementing and achieving certification for an ISO 22301 based business continuity management system will find instant recognition and understanding from influential customers, including educated experts, auditors and other interested parties.

When based on ISO 22301, ISO itself emphasises the importance of business continuity management systems:

• Showing the organisation understands the needs and necessity for a stated business continuity policy and objectives
• Implementation and execution of processes, incident response mechanisms and other interventions to ensure the organisation survives a disruption
• Monitoring and continuous improvement of the business continuity management system

Demonstrating good practice for business continuity management

Following ISO 22301 as a basis for your BCMS will provide proof that the company has taken the necessary steps to meet regulatory requirements in addition to the recognised good practices.

A best practice in business continuity incorporates the lifecycle of business continuity management as you can make it possible to maximise the efficiency and quality of your business continuity management systems. ISO 22301 provides a framework regarding international best practices on the well-understood concept of Plan/Do/Check/Act. This concept applies to organisations that implement, maintain and improve their business continuity management systems, which seeks to ensure compliance with the stated policy on business continuity.

With a business continuity management system based on the requirements of ISO 22301, both internal and external interested parties can be made aware that the organisation operates with good practices in business continuity management.

The ISO-22301 framework

Here we summarise the framework that is set out in ISO 22301:

The ISO 22301 framework is for all types and sizes of organisations that implement, maintain and improve a BCMS. It should be adopted as a strategic intent by any business that wants to conform with stated business continuity policy and is committed to enhancing resilience through the effective application of the business continuity management systems.

Fundamentally, business continuity management systems planning begins with assessing and determining the risks and opportunities regarding business continuity management. The organisation must also establish business continuity objectives for the relevant functions and levels. These objectives must be monitored, clearly communicated, and updated as appropriate.

In every industry, it’s vital that the management team can demonstrate leadership and commitment to the BCMS. This can be achieved by ‘ensuring the business continuity policy and business continuity objectives are established and are compatible with the strategic direction of the organisation’ says ISO. Leadership should use communication channels to show its people and partners the importance of effective business continuity and of conforming to the business continuity management systems requirements. The leadership strategy must also promote continual improvement and development of a culture of business continuity.

Business continuity strategy relies on operational processes being in place for incident preparedness and incident response across all functions of the business. That means establishing criteria for the processes and implementing control of the processes in line with agreed criteria. From having in place a media and communication strategy to tightly managing site risk in the aftermath of disruptive incidents, disaster recovery is reliant on continuity plans. A crucial step is keeping documented information for the purpose of proving that processes and BC testing have been carried out as planned and improved where needed.

• Performance evaluation

Performance assessment means a great deal can be learnt from incidents taking place. By monitoring successes and limitations, knowledge builds up. Interested parties have a responsibility to keep records, and use the results of audits to help them make the right decisions about how to manage business disruptions going ahead. By establishing an audit programme the organisation can ensure that any necessary corrective actions are taken. The aim is to eliminate detected nonconformities and their causes.

• Improvement

Continual improvement is central to the documented management system standard set out by ISO 22301. Any revisions and improvements to the way the BCMS is managed will enhance the business continuity management plan over time.

ISO 22301 policies and procedures

Policies and procedures for an ISO 22301 business continuity management compliance project must be carefully managed.

An organisation must demonstrate compliance with the ISO business continuity standard by providing appropriate documentation. This includes a scope, a detailed business continuity policy, a formal risk assessment procedure and business continuity plans that show how the organisation will respond to and recover from disruption.

• Terms and definitions

The standard talks in detail about security and resilience. It uses a wide range of either specialist technical terms, or common terms that have a specific meaning in a security and resilience context.

To help you understand them, it includes definitions of the 31 most important ones. It also points you towards “ISO 22301 Security and Resilience – Vocabulary”, which lists and defines almost 300 security and resilience terms.

There are some associated guideline documents that add more detail to the requirements in ISO 22301. Some of these are listed inside ISO 27001, standout guides are:

• ISO 22313 – Guidance on the use of ISO 22301
• ISO 22317 – Guidelines for Business Impact Analysis (BIA)

If you need to understand a term that isn’t listed here, you should check in ISO 22301 to see what it means.

You can also find terms and definitions online.

ISO and IEC maintain terminological databases for use in standardisation at the following addresses:

• ISO Online browsing platform: available at https://www.iso.org/obp
• IEC Electropedia: available at http://www.electropedia.org/

Understanding these terms is very important. For those who are not already expert in this field, they can be a little difficult to get to grips with.

If you choose to work with us we’ll make sure you understand them. We explain them in our own support materials, and if you need more targeted help we can either answer your questions ourselves or find the right independent partner to work with you.

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What is an ISO 22301 certificate?

The certificate is the evidence that a business continuity management systems have been audited against and complies with the requirements of ISO 22301. Many companies have achieved an ISO 22301:2012 certificate and this can now be updated to the ISO 22301:2019 version .

Achieving the ISO business continuity standard proves that an organisation has implemented business continuity management systems that are compliant to the requirements of the standard. By achieving the certification, it provides reassurance that the organisation will cope when there is disruption.

What are the benefits of ISO 22301 certification?

Here are some of the benefits that organisations may see having achieved the ISO 22301 standard.

• Customer satisfaction
• Business resilience
• Legal compliance
• Improved risk management
• Proven business credentials
• Ability to win more business
• Global recognition as a reputable supplier

How does ISO 22301 help your business?

Having the ability to continue business operations regardless of any minor or major incident taking place is becoming increasingly important to businesses in all sectors. A Business Continuity Management System (BCMS) allows a company to plan for these incidents. This leads to greater competitiveness and decreases the amount of operational down time a business will have, should the unexpected occur.

ISO 22301 gives businesses and organisations the ability to respond appropriately in the event of disruptive incidents and avoid waste or unnecessary loss. Through proactively assessing the effect of the disruption, business continuity management recognises the products and services that are essential to the organisation’s survival. It seeks to determine what solutions and contingency planning will be required if an incident was to occur.

Corporate governance

Compliance with ISO 22301 helps with meet the requirements of corporate governance. Essentially the standard can provide evidence that the organisation has taken the necessary steps to comply with regulatory requirements that call for an effective business continuity management programme.

Crisis management

Crisis Management (CM) refers to the overall coordination of an organisation’s response to a crisis, in an effective, timely manner. For those responsible for handling crisis management , the goal is to avoid or at least minimise damage to the organisation’s profitability, reputation, or ability to operate. Meeting the ISO 22301 standard confirms the appropriate measures are in place for this to happen.

Disaster recovery

Disaster recovery activities concentrate on returning the organisation to “business as usual” after a traumatic event and putting it on track towards complete recovery. It’s important to recognise that this is different from business continuity management, which is about ensuring that the enterprise can continue to reduce the likelihood of natural disasters and function during a crisis.

Protection of reputation in a crisis

ISO 22301 certification shows stakeholders that your business continuity capability is appropriate for the scale and scope of your organisation. Like ISO 27001 , it engenders more trust, especially when certified by an independent certification body. It aids your understanding of business needs by identifying potential failures and risks. Businesses can then demonstrate to stakeholders, consumers, vendors and regulators, that they have a robust business continuity management system and processes in place.ISO 22301 will also increase stakeholder trust in the organisation’s ability to respond to disruptive incidents and events, and to sustain critical business processes should a catastrophe occur.

Preparation for technology failures

From telecommunications breakdown to loss of access to stored data, technology failures can be hugely damaging to an organisations profitability and reputation. ISO 22301 ensure all measurements are in place to mitigate such disruption and ensure all departments are prepared for the worst-case scenario.

Reduce business interruption insurance costs

With a BCMS in place that conforms with ISO 22301, an organisation has more meaningful insights into the impacts of a potential disaster. This enables the business to better evaluate the type and value of insurance cover it requires, potentially reducing costs in the long term.

Plan for the sudden loss of critical resources

It follows that if there is proactive identification of the impact of disruption, an organisation will be a strong position to maintain business continuity. Business continuity management systems help to establish what responses will be needed if a disruption occurs and ISO 22301 further provides the capability to adequately react in case of any such disruption.

A BCMS (business continuity management system) helps organisations cope with incidents affecting their business-critical processes and activities. ISO 22301, the international standard that defines best practice for business continuity, states that there are four major components to a successful BCMS. These are management support, business impact analysis, risk assessment and having in place a Business Continuity Plan (BCP).

Disaster recovery and BCMS

In developing effective business continuity plans, an organisation will be well-placed to implement practices that reduce the likelihood of incidents and damage to the organisation. Not only this, but effective business continuity plans help you better understand your organisation and run it more effectively.

ISO guidance helps organisations identify and manage compliance, typically using a series of procedures, policies, process diagrams or similar. This guidance helps them plan for and rebound from disruptions in their business activities. However, it’s still better to avoid them entirely, although that is not always possible or feasible financially or technically. It is also essential to clarify priorities if an incident occurs, for example: what is the goal of recovery time? What is the highest endurable downtime? You can use the answer to these questions to prepare your disaster recovery plan. Speed of recovery must be a consideration. An ISO 22301-aligned business continuity management system will include disaster recovery and effective business continuity plans to help your company recover your critical operations as rapidly as possible.

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BCMS and cyber-resilience

Implementing a business continuity management system (BCMS) is imperative to developing cyber resilience in today’s cyber security environment. Part of the ISO 27001 Information Security Standard contains a clause about business continuity – ISO 22301 more than satisfies this ISO 27001 requirement.

Cyberattacks routinely have hit the headlines in the last decade. For instance, the infamous global WannaCry ransomware attack in May 2017 left a trail of devastation as organisations were denied access to their own data and forced to halt business operations until large ransoms were paid.

Such incidents demonstrate the importance of ensuring your business can respond to and recover from disruptions, by implementing an effective business continuity management system (BCMS).

Assess your BCMS arrangements against ISO 22301

ISO 22301 is used for certification of continuity management, ensuring all the central elements of a business continuity management system are being met.

The importance of auditing the BCMS

An audit is an evidence gathering process with the purpose of evaluating how well key criteria are being met. Audits must be objective, impartial, and independent, and the audit process must be both systematic and documented.

Internal audits are a mandatory part of a certified BCMS. In addition, the chosen certification body will undertake periodic ‘external’ audits in order to firstly certify the BCMS and then ensure it remains compliant to the standard. It’s also possible to carry out combined audits. This is when two or more documented management systems of different disciplines are audited together at the same time. An ISO auditor will expect to see a record of improvements your organisation has made over time. Having a method for addressing nonconformities, corrective actions and other enhancements are crucial requirements.

The importance of testing the BC arrangements

There are various ways to test the documented arrangements and plans contained in the BCMS. Examples include tabletop exercises, full or part-scale exercises and also harnessing learning from real events. ISO 22301 mandates these processes happen regularly as appropriate to your organization’s activities and risk profile.

Having achieved certification, you need to put in place a maintenance plan to ensure continued compliance to the ISO 22301 standard. At ISMS.online we have particular expertise in this.

We also understand that continuous improvement is an important part of maintaining an ISO 22301 certification. Clause 10 focuses on this, covering all actions taken within an organisation to:

• Deliver business continuity goals more effectively
• Increase the reliability of security procedures and controls
• Create increased security benefits for the organisation and its stakeholders

ISO 22301 FAQ

Why choose isms.online, what is the latest version of iso 22301, how many key clauses are there in iso 22301.

• Normative references

What is business continuity management ISO 22301?

Are you prepared to respond to and recover from a disruptive incident, what are business continuity risks, what is a business continuity management system (bcms).

• demonstrate the company recognises the importance and requirements of business continuity policies and objectives
• introduce and execute procedures for incident management strategies and other measures to ensure that the organisation effectively manages and recovers from a disruption
• track and continuously improve the business continuity system

Why is ISO 22301 Important?

• retaining essential functions in times of crisis
• demonstrating resilience to consumers, suppliers and tender requests
• detecting and handling current and potential risks to your business
• taking a proactive approach to mitigating the effect of disruptive incidents

What is ISO 22301?

Iso 22301:2019 requirements.

ISO 22301:2019 implements the framework, fundamental text and definitions of Annex L , formerly Annex SL. Annex L establishes a high-level framework for ISO management system standards. The Annex was drawn up to incorporate a similar core text and common terminology and concepts.

Except for Clause 8, the Annex L requirements address many of the same areas as the core requirements of ISO 27001, covered in Section 4.1 through to 10.2.

• ISO 22301: The Business Continuity Standard
• Clause 1 – Scope
• Clause 2 – Normative references
• Clause 3 – Terms and definitions
• Clause 4 – Context of the Organization
• Clause 6 – Planning
• Clause 7 – Support
• Clause 8 – Operations
• Clause 9 – Performance Evaluation
• Clause 10 – Improvement

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Building resilience: ISO standard for business continuity just updated

Natural disasters, fires, supply chain issues or cyber-attacks are just some of the many unexpected yet possible threats to the smooth running of any business. Consistent and robust business continuity planning for what to do when disaster strikes is the best defence.

Uncertainty has never been more certain, and business disruption is a key area of concern for most executives, but, managed well, the benefits and opportunities are many. Having effective business continuity plans and capabilities in place is key to restoring operations if anything goes awry. 

ISO 22301 , Security and resilience – Business continuity management systems – Requirements , is the world’s first International Standard for implementing and maintaining an effective business continuity plan. It enables an organization to have a more effective response and a quicker recovery, thereby reducing any impact on people, products and the organization’s bottom line.

The standard has recently been updated to remain current and relevant and continue to meet market needs. James Crask, Convenor of the ISO group of experts that developed the standard, said it brings together some of the world’s best practice to help organizations of any kind respond to, and recover from, disruptions effectively.

“A resilient organization is one that is able to adapt to change, is aware of where its vulnerabilities lie and has plans in place to respond should things go wrong,” he said.

“Recovering quickly from a business disruption requires a deep understanding of what is important to an organization, easy-to-follow response plans and staff that know their role in an incident.

“ISO 22301 helps organizations do all of that, thereby providing reassurance to their clients, suppliers, regulators and other stakeholders that they are not only prepared for disruption, but in shape for the future.”

Key improvements to the latest version include clearer structure and terminology to foster a better understanding of what is required and updates to remain in line with all other ISO  management system  standards.

ISO 22301 was developed by ISO technical committee ISO/TC 292 , Security and resilience , the secretariat of which is held by SIS , ISO’s member for Sweden. Learn more about the committee on its dedicated  Website .

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Activity recovery plan.

The purpose of the recovery plan is to define precisely how will the organization recover the critical activity within set deadlines, in the case of a disaster or other disruption of business operations.

The document is optimized for small and medium-sized organizations – we believe that overly complex and lengthy documents are just overkill for you.

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Using ISO 27031 to Guide IT Disaster Recovery Alignment with ISO 22301

Many organizations struggle to define the best method to meet business expectations regarding information technology (IT) recovery. ISO 27031 provides guidance to  business continuity  and IT disaster recovery professionals on how to plan for IT continuity and recovery as part of a more comprehensive business continuity management system (BCMS). The standard helps IT personnel identify the requirements for Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and implement strategies to reduce the risk of disruption, as well as recognize, respond to and recover from a disruption to ICT.

ISO 27031 introduces a management systems approach to address ICT in support of a broader business continuity management system, as described in ISO 22301. ISO 27031 describes a management system for ICT readiness for business continuity (IRBC).  An IRBC is a management system focused on IT disaster recovery.  IRBC uses the same Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) model as the business continuity management system described in ISO 22301. The objective of IRBC is to implement strategies that will reduce the risk of disruption to ICT services as well as respond to and recover from a disruption. Business continuity and IT professionals will find the use of the PDCA model very familiar but with necessary changes to support recoverability of ICT based on business requirements and expectations.

As a guidance standard, organizations cannot be certified in ISO 27031 like ISO 22301, but the management system follows many of the same steps that experienced preparedness professionals are used to implementing with business continuity planning. The following diagram displays IRBC management system detailed in ISO 27031.

IRBC Management Systems ISO 27031 uses the same basic PDCA management system used in ISO 22301 but adapts it to fit the technical nature of IRBC. In addition to technical changes to PDCA, ISO 27031 also relies on the Business Impact Analysis (BIA) conclusions developed and approved as part of the broader BCMS for an organization. For IRBC, the PDCA management system is broken down the following way:

• Plan:  the  Plan  phase creates and updates the governance structure for the overall IRBC management system. The key outputs of the  Plan  phase are an IRBC policy that adequately addresses continuity of information and communication technology and strategy options that the organization can deploy to meet business requirements.
• Do:  the  Do  phase focuses on performing activities and implementing solutions that enable the organization to monitor for, respond to and recover from a disruption to ICT services. The key outputs for the  Do  phase are the implementation of strategies, generation of plans and execution of training and awareness activities to promote continuity for ICT services.
• Check:  the  Check  phase includes the review and evaluation of the performance of the IRBC management system. The key outputs of the  Check  phase include continuous monitoring of information and communication technologies for disruptions and performance levels as well as periodic reviews of ICT responsiveness and recoverability.
• Act:  the  Act  phase provides management with the opportunity to review the performance of the IRBC effort as well as direct the implementation of corrective actions which will enhance management system performance and/or reduce the risk of future disruptions to ICT services.

Let’s take a more in-depth look at each phase.

PLAN Many organizations may already perform some of the “Plan” components of ISO 27031 as part of their Information Technology Disaster Recovery (ITDR) programs. ISO 27031 considers ITDR as a component of the IRBC, but in reality, very few differences exist. In the  Plan  phase, the organization implements a policy to govern processes and requirements for the IRBC. The policy establishes the governance structure for the IRBC management system. The IRBC uses inputs from the organization’s BIA to translate the business requirements into ICT performance requirements for ICT services. The  Plan  phase concludes with generating IRBC strategy options, which will be implemented in the  Do  phase.

IRBC strategy formulation essentially means the creation of IT service offerings that ICT staff will include in the service catalog or, more generically, as options for business consideration and selection. For example, an organization with a service catalog entry for a virtual server would add entries to address recoverability of a virtual server through a variety of means to address a range of recovery objectives. The organization may choose to provide two recovery strategies for recovery of a virtual machine with different recovery times to meet business requirements identified through the BIA. Those two recovery strategies are then incorporated into the organization’s service catalog either as separate entries or incorporated into existing service catalog entries.

In order to be effective, ISO 27031 states that the IRBC strategies described above need to incorporate six components into monitoring for, responding to and recovering from disruptions to information and communication technology. The six components are:

• Skill and Knowledge:  Recovery strategies include consideration regarding the specialized technical skills and knowledge needed to operate ICT services before, during and after a disruption. Strategies that include skill and knowledge considerations focus on ensuring no single individual holds specialized skills or knowledge that would be needed to operate the organization’s ICT systems.
• Facilities:  Recovery strategies include mitigating risk associated with operating ICT systems based in a single facility. Strategies that include facility considerations ensure ICT systems can be operated even if a primary facility is rendered inoperable.
• Technology:  Recovery strategies include consideration of the technical requirements needed to meet the organization’s recovery requirements, specifically Recovery Time Objective (RTO) and Recovery Point Objective (RPO). Strategies that include technology considerations involve ensuring hardware and applications are able to be recovered within the time and data recovery required by the organization. These considerations must include support systems such as power, cooling, staffing, vendor support and WAN connectivity.
• Data:  Recovery strategies include consideration of how to protect the data required by the organization. Strategies that include data considerations include security, validity and availability of the data required by end users.
• Processes:  Recovery strategies include consideration of how to sustain the processes necessary to monitor, operate and recover ICT systems in order to meet business requirements. Strategies that consider processes identify the ICT processes necessary prior to, during and after a disruption to ICT systems.
• Suppliers:  Recovery strategies include consideration of how to inform and engage suppliers who are needed to recover and operate ICT systems. Strategies that include supplier considerations identify what suppliers are engaged in the operation and recovery of ICT systems before, during and after a disruption has occurred.

Each IRBC strategy option will consider the six components and often result in the creation of tiers to classify information and communication technology that meets the organization’s needs. During the  Do  phase, ICT services will be assigned to a tier, which enables strategy selection. Once IT identifies the strategy options, the organization’s management should consider the amount of risk reduced by the strategy against the cost of implementing the strategy. Overall, the result of the Plan phase is a list of strategies to add or update in the service catalog, which allows the organization to select the appropriate level of recoverability.

DO The  Do  phase of the IRBC management system includes implementing the strategies identified in the  Plan  phase, writing recovery plans for ICT services and executing training and awareness activities to ensure personnel involved in the IRBC program are qualified and informed. The IRBC program implements the appropriate strategies identified in the  Plan  phase to improve ICT readiness for in-scope information and communication technology services.

Strategies that reduce the risk of a disruption will not fully eliminate the possibility of a disruption to information and communication technology. IT staff implement strategies and draft plans to overcome residual risk when disruptive incidents become reality. Response and recovery plan documentation is required to ensure personnel understand the activities necessary to meet business expectations. ISO 27031 includes many of the same considerations that are used in ISO 22301, including plan purpose and scope, defined roles and responsibilities, alternate personnel, plan invocation criteria, and contact information.

The final part of the  Do  phase is conducting training and awareness activities to ensure the personnel involved with the IRBC management system (including those with roles in response and recovery plans) are aware of their responsibilities before, during and after a disruption.

CHECK The  Check  phase of the IRBC management system includes the typical activities associated with BCM system’s  Check  phase, including management review and testing and exercising. The  Check  phase also adds in continuous activities which monitor for a disruption to ICT services and measure ICT readiness-related performance.

ACT The  Act  phase incorporates management review of the IRBC program, including program performance, ICT readiness performance and resource allocation. In addition to management review, the IRBC program implements corrective actions that were identified during other phases of the management system. The goal of the corrective actions is to ingrain a culture of continuous improvement in the organization and engage management with the prioritization of continual improvement.

So what if the organization doesn’t have a BCM program in place already? Often IT professionals are asked to implement mitigation, response and recovery measures in advance of a broader BCM program. In these instances, the organization hasn’t conducted a holistic business impact analysis to identify the business requirements for applications and hardware. Some IT organizations will use intuition and past experiences to establish ICT response and recovery requirements, such as RTO and RPO. However, using intuition and past experiences will often lead to gaps between business expectations for recovery of information and communication technology and actual recoverability. An easy way to develop recovery requirements for ICT services is to consider conducting a more focused application impact analysis (AIA) that focuses on the uses of ICT services and measures the impact to the organization of a disruption based on one or a group of related services.

An effective AIA will identify:

• The stakeholders (including users) of information and communication technology;
• The impact (quantitative and qualitative) of a disruption to ICT over time; and
• Manual work-arounds which users can implement during a disruption.

The IRBC program detailed in ISO 27031 assists IT and business continuity professionals, together with their program sponsors, in maintaining effective ICT resiliency. By implementing an IRBC management system, IT and business continuity professionals help their organization to monitor for, respond to and recover from a disruption to ICT. ISO 27031 applies and adapts the BCM concepts described in ISO 22301 to assist with reducing the risk of disruptions to information and communication technologies, as well as to the business as a whole.

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ISO 22301 Incident and Crisis Management Plan Template

A comprehensive incident and crisis management plan is crucial for organizations to effectively respond to and recover from disruptions. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has developed the ISO 22301 standard, which provides a framework for implementing an effective business continuity management system.

This blog will provide a ready-to-use incident and crisis management plan template that aligns with the ISO 22301 requirements. Whether you are a small business or a large corporation, this template will help you mitigate risks, minimize downtime, and ensure a swift and effective response to any incident or crisis that may arise.

The Importance of ISO 22301 Certification

Obtaining ISO 22301 certification is a testament to your organization's commitment to business continuity and resilience and offers significant benefits for your business.

First and foremost, ISO 22301 certification demonstrates to your clients, partners, and stakeholders that you have implemented best practices for incident and crisis management. It builds trust and reassures them that you have robust processes to mitigate risks and respond effectively to disruptions.

Furthermore, ISO 22301 certification can give you a competitive advantage in the market. It differentiates your organization from competitors by showcasing your dedication to business continuity and ability to maintain operations during challenging times. This can enhance your brand reputation and attract new customers who prioritize working with reliable, resilient partners.

Lastly, ISO 22301 certification can lead to cost savings in the long run. By identifying and addressing potential vulnerabilities and gaps in your incident and crisis management processes, you can reduce the likelihood and severity of disruptions, thereby minimizing downtime and associated financial losses.

Understanding the Components of an Effective Incident and Crisis Management Plan

To obtain ISO 22301 certification, it is crucial to understand the components of an effective incident and crisis management plan. This plan is the foundation for your organization's ability to identify, respond to, and recover from disruptive incidents.

• The first component of the plan is risk assessment . Conduct a thorough analysis of potential threats and vulnerabilities to your organization's operations. This includes both internal and external factors that could impact your business continuity.
• Next, establish clear objectives and strategies for incident and crisis management. This involves setting measurable goals, defining roles and responsibilities, and outlining communication protocols to ensure a coordinated and efficient response.
• Another important component is the establishment of incident response procedures. This includes steps to be taken during an incident, escalation procedures, and the activation of an incident management team.
• Additionally, your plan should include strategies for business continuity and disaster recovery. Identify critical business processes and develop strategies to maintain these operations during a crisis. Create backup and recovery plans for your IT systems and ensure they are regularly tested and updated.
• Finally, your incident and crisis management plan should include a process for reviewing and updating the plan. This ensures that it remains relevant and practical as your organization evolves.

In the following sections, we will delve into each of these components in more detail and guide how to develop an effective incident and crisis management plan that meets the requirements of ISO 22301 certification. Stay tuned!

The Key Components of the Incident and Crisis Management Plan Template Template

In today's fast-paced and interconnected world, incidents and crises are unavoidable. Whether it's a natural disaster, a cybersecurity breach, or a public relations nightmare, organizations need to be prepared to handle these situations efficiently and effectively. That's where an Incident and Crisis Management Plan Template comes in.

• An Incident and Crisis Management Plan Template is a comprehensive document that outlines the key components of an organization's response to incidents and crises. It serves as a roadmap for the incident management team, detailing their roles and responsibilities and the steps they need to take to recover from the incident and communicate with stakeholders.
• One of the key components of the template is the Incident Management Team Roles and Responsibilities section. This section identifies the individuals who will be part of the incident management team and clarifies their respective roles and responsibilities. Ensuring that the team is diverse and includes representatives from various departments or functions, such as IT, operations, communications, and legal is crucial. This ensures a holistic approach to incident and crisis management.
• Another essential component of the template is the section on developing recovery recommendations. After an incident or crisis, assessing the damage and developing a recovery plan is essential. This section outlines the steps the incident management team needs to take to assess the impact of the incident, identify the resources required for recovery, and develop a timeline for getting the organization back on track. It also allows for identifying any long-term changes that need to be made to prevent similar incidents in the future.
• Communication plays a critical role in incident and crisis management, and that's why a section dedicated to it is included in the template. This section outlines how the incident management team should communicate with internal and external stakeholders during and after the incident. It includes guidelines for drafting and disseminating public statements and protocols for keeping employees, customers, and partners informed about the situation.
• The post-incident action of the template is where the incident management team reflects on the lessons learned from the incident and makes any necessary adjustments to the organization's processes or policies. This section also includes a formal review process to evaluate the effectiveness of the incident response and recovery efforts. By systematically analyzing the incident and identifying areas for improvement, organizations can enhance their incident and crisis management capabilities.
• Incident classification is another crucial component of the template. It provides a framework for categorizing incidents based on their severity and impact on the organization. This classification helps the incident management team prioritize their response efforts, focusing on the most critical incidents and allocating resources accordingly.
• Finally, the template includes a maintenance requirements schedule. Incidents and crises can happen anytime, and organizations must always be prepared. This section outlines the regular maintenance activities needed to ensure that the incident and crisis management plan remains up-to-date and effective. It includes reviewing and updating contact lists, conducting training and exercises, and testing communication channels.

In conclusion, an Incident and Crisis Management Plans Template is valuable for organizations to respond to incidents and crises effectively. By providing a structured approach to incident management, clarifying roles and responsibilities, and incorporating communication and recovery plans, the template helps organizations minimize the impact of incidents and protect their reputation. The key components outlined above lay the foundation for a robust and efficient incident and crisis management plan.

The Benefits of Using a Template for Your Plan

Now that we have discussed the key components of an effective incident and crisis management plan let's explore the benefits of using a template to structure your plan.

• A template provides a standardized framework that ensures consistency and clarity in your plan's structure and content. It helps organize information logically and systematically, making it easier to navigate and understand for all stakeholders involved in incident and crisis management.
• Another benefit of using a template is that it saves time and effort in developing your plan from scratch. Templates typically include pre-defined sections, prompts, and examples that guide you through the process, eliminating the need to start from scratch and reducing the likelihood of missing critical components or overlook important details.
• Furthermore, using a template enhances collaboration and communication among different teams and departments within your organization. It provides a common language and structure that promotes effective coordination and seamless integration of efforts during times of crisis.

In the next section, we will explore some popular templates for developing your ISO 22301 incident and crisis management plan and discuss the key features and considerations to look for. Stay tuned to find the template that best suits your organization's needs!

Ensuring Continuous Improvement with Your Plan

• Ensuring continuous improvement with your plan is crucial for the long-term effectiveness of your incident and crisis management strategy. While having a template is a great starting point, it's important to regularly review and update your plan to adapt to evolving risks and organizational changes.
• One way to ensure continuous improvement is to conduct regular drills and exercises to test the effectiveness of your plan. These drills help identify gaps or areas for improvement, allowing you to make necessary adjustments and refine your response procedures.
• Additionally, it's important to gather feedback from key stakeholders, such as employees, first responders, and external partners. Their insights can provide valuable perspectives in enhancing your plan and addressing any concerns or challenges. Consider conducting post-incident debriefs to learn from real-life experiences and incorporate lessons learned into future iterations of your plan.

Remember, incident and crisis management is an ongoing process. By actively seeking feedback, conducting regular drills, and embracing a culture of continuous improvement, you can ensure that your plan remains robust and effective in mitigating and responding to incidents and crises.

In conclusion, an effective incident and crisis management plan is essential for organizations to respond to and mitigate risks effectively. However, having a template is just the beginning. To ensure your plan's long-term effectiveness, embracing a culture of continuous improvement is crucial.

Regularly reviewing and updating your plan is imperative in adapting to evolving risks and organizational changes. Conducting drills and exercises is a great way to test the effectiveness of your plan and identify areas for improvement. Additionally, gathering feedback from key stakeholders allows you to gain valuable insights and address concerns or challenges.

By actively seeking feedback, conducting regular drills, and embracing a culture of continuous improvement, you can ensure that your incident and crisis management plan remains robust and effective in mitigating and responding to incidents and crises. Remember, the development of your plan is an ongoing process that requires dedication and adaptability.

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Use ISO 22301and ISO 22313 to guide the practice of Risk Management and Business Continuity Management

Building upon the foundation understanding of the ISO 22301 Business Continuity Management System (BCMS) platform learned in CIS Policy Workshop: ISO 22301 Business Continuity Management , this course provides participants with the knowledge, methods, and skills to put the previous course's strategy into practice. It is based on industry best practice and guidelines for business continuity based upon the ISO 22301 and ISO 22313 standards. Again, practical exercises and instructor-led discussions will help students understand the techniques to deploy, test, and maintain business continuity management in an organization.

ISO 22301 and ISO 22313 advocate applying the same Plan-Do-Check-Act management methodology found in many other BSI, ISO, and IEC standards. Accordingly, this course addresses BCMS Life Cycle key concepts required for BCMS deployment, monitoring, testing, and maintenance.

This course naturally follows attendance of CIS Policy Workshop:  ISO 22301 Business Continuity Management . 

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• Current-year membership in the CIS Body of Certified Professionals

• Certificate included with class:  Upon course completion, we will provide you with an achievement certificate for 16 continuing professional education (CPE) credits that can be used to fulfill requirements for maintaining a variety of professional credentials for fraud examination, accounting, auditing, and information security.
• CIS Policy Workshop: ISO 31000 Enterprise Risk Management
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• Morning refreshments and snack, lunch, afternoon refreshments

Deploying, measuring, and maintaining ISO 22301 business continuity management is a team effort! Decisions regarding critical business processes, organizational resources including people, facilities, products, services, and information technology are not made by a single person, or even a group of three or four.

• Decisions on how your organization will choose to accept risk, or invest to mitigate risk will ultimately be decided by the very people who are ultimately accountable for how well the organization runs - in good times and in bad.
• Therefore, senior management is required to at least lead BCM risk and strategy, which are covered in CIS Policy Workshop: ISO 22301 Business Continuity Management .
• Other employees, who will go on plan and deploy BCM controls will continue on to attend Best Practices to Develop, Exercise, and Certify Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Processes .

Accordingly, the following key operations and risk management are recommended to attend since each is required to participate in the Business Continuity Management System:

Course Prerequisites

This course naturally follows attendance of CIS Policy Workshop: ISO 22301 Business Continuity Management . It will explore various business processes, environments, and risk strategy approaches to help you better understand how to best protect your organization's ability to prevent and sufficiently mitigate the business impact of a disruptive event.

Prior business is experience is highly recommended, and financial risk decision authority is preferred.

The tactics that support the ISO 22301 Business Continuity Management strategy

Developing and Implementing a business continuity management Response

• Developing, coordinating, evaluating and creating plans and procedures to communicate with internal stakeholders during incidents.
• The provision of post-incident support and guidance for employees and their families. Developing and implementing emergency response procedures for responding to and stabilizing the situation following an incident or event.
• Establishing and managing an Emergency Operations Centre to be used as a command centre during the emergency. Practical experience in handling incidents/emergencies.
• Develop Incident response procedures to fulfill Business Continuity Management objectives.
• Designing, developing and implementing business continuity and incident management plans that provide continuity within recovery time and/or recovery point objectives.

Exercising, Maintenance and Review

• Pre-planning and coordinating plan walk-throughs/exercises.
• Evaluating, updating, improving and documenting the results of exercises.
• Developing processes to maintain the currency of continuity capabilities, business continuity and incident management plans in accordance with the organization's strategic direction.
• Establishing appropriate policies and procedures for coordinating incidents, continuity and restoration activities with external agencies whilst ensuring compliance with applicable statutes and/or regulations. Practical experience in dealing with external agencies.

Embedding Business Continuity Management within the Organization's Culture

• Preparing a program to create and maintain corporate awareness and enhance the skills required to develop and implement the business continuity management program or process and its supporting activities.

Certifying Your Organization's Business Continuity Management System to ISO 22301

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ISO 22301 Disaster Recovery Plan

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KwikCert provides ISO 22301 DISASTER RECOVERY PLAN Document Template with Live Expert Support. By using this document you can Implement ISO 22301 yourself without any support. We provide 100% success guarantee for ISO 22301 Certification. Download this ISO 22301 Documentation Toolkit for free today.

This DISASTER RECOVERY PLAN Document Template is part of the ISO 22301 Documentation Toolkit. The toolkit combines documentation templates and checklists that demonstrate how to implement this standard through a step-by-step process. In addition, you can access help from our experts to keep you on the right path, ensuring a straight-forward journey to ISO 22301 certification.

By using this 22301 DISASTER RECOVERY PLAN Document Template, you have less documentation to complete, yet still comply with all the necessary guidelines and regulations. The Documentation Template decreases your workload, while providing you with all the necessary instructions to complete this document as part of the ISO 22301 certification requirement.

If yours is a small company looking to implement the ISO 22301 Business Continuity by applying the mandatory documents required by ISO 22301 requirements, as well as documenting the common non-mandatory procedures, then this is the perfect toolkit. Using this toolkit ensures you are able to conform to the leading Business Continuity standard: ISO 22301.

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Because we keep the entire process ISO 22301 Certification can take just 7 – 30 days to complete the process based on your company’s size. In fact, our ‘Hassle-free certification’ approach provides the following benefits

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Business Continuity and disaster recovery planning (ISO 22301)

Keywords:  bcp importance, bcp and drp, business impact analysis bia

Business continuity plan and Disaster recovery plan is activity to help organisation prepare for disruptive events and it is essential to consider the potential impact of disaster and understand the underlying risks. In this my research, I explore business continuity planning and Disaster recovery planning and its importance in support of operation and establish to manage availability of critical process in the event of interruption.

Introduction

Business continuity planning (BCP) and disaster recovery planning (DRP) is a vital role in the organisation. These plans are basic to the well being of an organisation and anticipated to make sure stability in the face of unexpected or difficult situation. Planning for these conditions is not always directly ahead neither identifies appropriate cause of information, products, and services. These tasks are also challenging and build of the plan itself. These plans has provision of information and guidance to identify the suitable tools and used in the right time.

Organisation has created this plan itself and necessary to consider the possible impacts of disaster and recognize the fundamental risks and build BCP and DRP. “Following these activities the plan itself must be constructed – no small task. This itself must then be maintained, tested and audited to ensure that it remains appropriate to the needs of the organization”. These plans are calculated to consider all these issues and find the software to assist with BIA and risk analysis along with link the tools to help to create, maintain, and audit the plan itself. (BCP, 2004)

BCP and DRP are significant to the clear and continue operation of all type of business. BCP involves developing a reaction strategy for organisation respond to disaster. Disaster occurs through power failure, accident, natural, IT system Clash, insider attacks, hacking, terrorism etc. (Barney, 2010) BCP check how organisation will take to maintain its operations in emergency and identify potential disasters or emergencies, verify how intend to minimize the risk of disaster occur, creating plan reaction, test BCP regularly. These strategies assume increase importance as organisation become increasingly reliant on technology to do business. “As companies place more emphasis on IT and communications services to support their customer communications and transactions, or to help manage supply chains. They become less tolerant of information and service loss as a consequence of disasters”. (4service, 2010)

This research work deal with business continuity plan will keep business up and running through interruption of any kind of disaster and support of operations and establish to manage availability of critical process.

1.1 Identify and critically explore business continuity and its importance in business environment, distinguish between business continuity (BC) and disaster recovery (DR) planning.

Business continuity.

Business continuity planning identifies the exposure of organisation internal and external threats and creates information assets to provide useful prevention and recovery for the organisation and maintain economical benefit and value of system integrity and perform policies, procedures, processes, and plans to certify the continue function in the organisation.

Business continuity plan take to prevent disruption of essential services and restore function as rapidly and smoothly. Business continuity planning develops the business ability to respond to such disruption and resume operations in order to meet business significant necessity.

BCP Importance in business environment

Business continuity is a process build up to counter system failure. If IT system fails, its major impact on the whole business consequently organisation should take dynamic interest in start business continuity plan for IT systems. A business continuity plan for your IT systems should include arrangements for providing:

Facilities and services to enable the business to continue to function;

The critical IT applications and infrastructure necessary to support the recovery of business processes. (Varney, 2010)

It is important the BCP plan is clear and brief to certify to every user read it and build available to all staff responsible for any part of it and it is start of ongoing commitment and also update the business continuity plan. (Varney, 2010)

Distinguish between BCP and DRP

Business Continuity Planning

Disaster Recovery Planning

Business Continuity is Proactive;

Disaster Recovery is Reactive;

BCP focus is to avoid or mitigate the impact of the risk;

DRP focus is to pick-up the part and re-establish the organisation to business following risk occurs;

BCP has as its scope the entire organisation with critical goal being recovery of mission-critical/ middle business functions to make sure the endurance of the organisation;

DRP is normally limited in scope to set of classify IT system and infrastructure with goal being entire recovery of the system and infrastructure within a timeframe and minimum data loss;

Business functions to recover in BCP extend beyond IT system;

DRP might exclude non-IT business units; (Nickolett, 2001)

BCP fill up the gap between the disruption occurrence and recovery going on.

DRP engage a breakdown, loss of the systems, people, and facilities. The disruption can impact any or all of these key business inputs.

1.2 Evaluate and explain some business worst case scenarios for risk assessment, assess different types of organisational assets.

Worst case scenarios for risk assessment.

There are many worst cases scenarios for risk assessment some are as below:

Information data lost – Disaster can damage the database and organisation loss confidential data such as staff, customer, vender details and other sensitive information;

Information system failure – There are many worst cases in information system failure such as overlooked, quality of project planning, use of management tools, object-oriented system development, use software engineering tools and system essential services can stop for time being etc. (Megaessays 2010)

Information asset lost – Due to the weak security measures Information assets can damage from natural disaster and internal activities in the organisation;

Natural Disaster – Natural disaster are unexpected and it is impossible to fully recover the damage caused by the disaster but it is possible to minimise the potential risk by developing BCP/DRP. (Banger, 2010)

Power failure – Sometime disruption of power supply or power failure can stop work, services failure, breakdown etc. It can effect in the business.

There is one real example of the worst case scenarios for risk assessment is Midmarket CIOs. This company is on the seventh floor of a building but one day in the next office door the water filter cracked in the office kitchen and sending water flow on the floor and under the wall into facilities. “Although critical servers remained dry, the flood ruined equipment that was on the office floor, including 10 surge protectors, six uninterruptible power supplies, six power bricks and one PC. While things were drying out and a length of wallboard was replaced”. CIOs implemented DRP to ability for total different incident because floods, fires, power failures and pandemic flu can occur. CIOs take step back and start with risk assessment of all the risks business faces and using risk management tools to calculate worst case scenarios in IT and effect potential loss will have on the business. (Midmarket, 2009)

Different types of organization assets

There are following different types of organisation assets to protect in BCP and DRP are:

Desktop workstation, Laptops, Servers, Printers, Scanners, Firewalls, Routers, Switches, Memory devices etc;

Licences Software CDs such as windows, Antivirus, MS Office, software tools and support, other operating system etc;

Database, websites, Photo Copiers, Fax Machines, Telephone System, Multifunction machines etc;

Paper file records like asset register, paper files, data, books, government legislation, policies and procedures, customer data and sensitive data etc;

Electronic records such as emails, organisation shared drives and personal drives, DVDs, CDs, Memory sticks etc;

Maps, drawers, chairs, desks, cabinets, etc;

Qualified staffs, Record management, etc;

Machines, Plants, building, fire extinguishers etc.

1.3 Explain critically disaster recovery business case, list down and appraise required documentation for BCP and DRP.

Disaster recovery business case.

The most critical parts of any IT plan explain the business case and assess of the potential risks to the organisation. There are eight following project steps in Disaster Recovery Planning in business are:

Step-1: Project introduction – Set the objectives of the DRP initiation, define the scope, develop, schedule and identify the risk to the project;

Step-2: Assess of Disaster Recovery – Assess of location, building composition, computing environment, physical plant security, installed security devices, access control system, software, personal, backup, and operating practices;

Step-3: Business Impact Analysis for IT – Analysis of all part of business units to support by the IT areas should assume to identify the system and its functions to continuation of the business and the time limit;

Step-4: Define of requirements – All requirements must be defined and detailed;

Step-5: Plan the project – project planning will define the project to be executed and its objectives will develop the DRP;

Step-6: Execute the project – Project must proceed to practices of project management and identify the methods of mitigating the risk will execute;

Step-7: BCP combination – DRP needs to combine back in to the organisation’s business continuity efforts;

Step-8: ongoing maintenance and combination – Ongoing maintenance and testing efforts require keeping the plan up to date and processes to identify and mitigate future risks.

Required Documentation for BCP and DRP

There are following necessary document for Business Continuity Plan and Disaster Recovery Plan in the organisation to make a best pan for long run business as follows:

Organisation Chart [explain names and designation];

If existing BRP and DRP and their terms explain in the documentations;

Scope of BCP and DRP, Procedures and control documents;

The report of Business impact analysis and risk assessment report;

Staff, list of vendors, list of emergency services, advisor contact details;

Details of IT system and communication system specification include maintenance agreements;

Existing evacuation procedure, Health & safety procedures, fire regulations, operations and administrative procedures;

Details organisation asset, information assets, and IT records;

Relevant organisation regulations, guidelines and insurance information.

Details any other documents for the support of BCP and DRP. (Yourwindow,2010)

1.4 Demonstrate and explore pragmatic approach towards project planning and initiation, describe how to evaluate risk and control in terms of BCP/DRP.

Pragmatic approach towards project planning and initiation.

A pragmatic approach towards project planning needs to be comprehensive and cover all relevant aspects and factors in BCP and DRP. There are some BCP and DRP following steps as follows:

Business continuity plan

Step-1: Identify strategy objective through performing needs and create outline for strategy performance;

Step-2: Establish the business value and identify recovery objectives through data risk and recovery time outline;

Step-3: Technology will equivalent for data protection along with backup, disaster recovery etc;

Step-4: Identify infrastructure and organisational plan;

Step-5: Implement technologies and inform key personnel as to which business processes are impacted;

Step-6: Test the documented plan continuously;

Step-7: Calculate and authenticate test results comparative to the plan’s objectives;

Step-8: Implement required development and priority as a result of continue testing and evaluation;

Step-9: continue review and enhance the BRP to replicate organisation change and added new technologies;

Step-10: Ensure the entire process continuously. (Miller, 2007)

Disaster Recovery Plan

There are following steps to DRP involves:

Outline DRP team with senior executives from IT department with specific responsibilities;

Perform Business impact analysis and Risk analysis for business assets, threats and impacts the risk can tolerate need to be determined;

Develop recovery strategies – IT security measures like backup etc;

Implementation, testing and training – the employee must be trained in the disaster recovery procedures and testing capabilities;

Need to carry out periodic audit, review and drills of BCP and DRP;

Types of disaster which need to be addressed;

The essential business processes and activities which are needy on IT;

The data and application software needs to be recovered and restored in case of disaster and IT services need to continue function of the event;

The IT infrastructure need to host the data and application software;

DRP arrange strategies and implementation such as backup and protection facility;

Challenges and emerging threats.(Periasamy, 2007)

Bottom of Form

Evaluate risk and control in terms of BCP/DRP

Evaluate the risk is vital activity in the organisation. There are major threats against business continuity plan and disaster recovery plan are:

Risk or threats

Natural disaster – Fire, flood, earthquake, volcanic eruption, tornadoes, cyclone, heat wave water disaster etc;

Information system threats – software failure, loss of information and data, system failure, cyber crime, multiple machine failure, capacity overload, network failure, etc;

Planned activities – war, terrorist attacks, hacking, breach the network and database, data theft, unauthorised modification of content, phishing etc;

Lack of utilities – power failure, electricity fail, air conditioning failure etc;

Other vital threats – Internal violence and dispute, legislative violation, labour strike, other strike, etc.

Classify the risk (High, medium, low) it will be easy to describe the risk;

Control must be according to the risk like backup system, data, building etc;

Proper monitoring the risks and threats;

Risk must be clear and explain;

Risk evaluations identify the threats which help to control it.

1.5 Critically explain business impact analysis (BIA) activity and describe how to execute it, assess emergency response and operations during period of IT disruption.

Business impact analysis activity.

Business impact analysis is an important part of any organisation business continuance plan.BIA is a logical process to identify business significant systems and activity as sign to any business continuity, disaster recovery, or emergency planning effort and reveal vulnerabilities and planning component to develop strategies for minimizing risk. One or more risk identifies causes of the loss of the application, systems, tools or other resource upon that activity is dependent. BIA identifies cost related to failures and it report measure the importance of business components and recommend suitable fund allocation for measures to protect them. (Miller, 2010)

How to execute BIA

Business impact analysis execute following guideline to allow organisation are as follows:

Effectively identify the proper organisational impact of any unexpected disruption of essential information processing systems such as fire, earthquake, theft etc;

Identify threats sources and significant vulnerabilities which can lead to unexpected outages / service disruption;

Execute suitable protect to reduce the likelihood and consequences should identify threats happen;

Increase cost effective and suitable contingency plans and important component disaster recovery / business continuity planning.

Emergency response and operations during the period of IT disruption

In case of IT disruption or failure, every organisation has quick emergency response plan to stop and control any damages. Emergency response facility is available in every organisation and DRP team identify the threats of failures. Some of the major elements of emergency response plan as below:

Emergency response plan and procedure;

Command, control and emergency operations centre;

Emergency reporting procedure, employee evacuation plans, health and safety, security plans;

Identify the disaster in IT;

Personnel protection, incident control, effect assessment, choose maximum action etc;

Emergency response components such as incident preparation, emergency action, facility stabilization, damage mitigation, and testing procedures etc. (Hui, Z,2010)

Above elements help to stop the disaster and resume as soon as possible in every organisation.

1.6 Explore and appraising different developing and implementing business continuity strategies used by most organisations.

Developing and implementing business continuity strategies.

The business continuity strategies have five key stages in developing and implementing used by organisation as follows:

Understand the business

Project initiation and create a management structure to build up and carry out the plan;

Identify the risk and perform risk evaluation and control;

Establish your business impact analysis process and identify the impact of any failures.

Business continuity management

Develop business continuity strategy and identify the areas and focus on the critical operating requirement of the business;

Develop a process level and documented structure stating how significant process will be restarted subsequent failures.

Business continuity response

Establish a crisis management process to respond to incidents;

Focus on overall business continuity strategy;

Put in place business unit plans for every department.

Develop business continuity management culture

Awareness and training plans;

Review the effectiveness of awareness training plans.

Exercising, maintenance and audit

Test the business continuity plans and technical aspects;

Maintain the plan and ensure that the documentation remains accurate and reflects any changes inside or outside the business;

Regularly audit plans. (Business link,2010)

I conclude that Business continuity plan and Disaster recovery plan play vital role in every organisation and BCP is ideal strategy to safe business away from a complete disaster because every organisation faces different type of risk and potential disaster and it is an essential tool to allow minimizing the risk and also continuously helps to stop IT disruption and services. BCP involve IT as the main component because every business relies on computer system and its existence can be equalised to the business itself.

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