Explain how components of the business Infrastructure are Included In a business continuity plan. Discuss the processes of planning, analysis, design. Implementation, testing and maintenance In developing this plan. For a business to successfully grow and prosper, it is important the business continues without any interruptions and delays in the business process, because has we have seen in the past any disruptions in any part of the business, be it production line or supply of raw materials, causes the business in time, money and customers.
It is important to have a BCC or Business continuity plan or planning to keep the business going. Most essential is that in every step of the BCC is integrated with the business infrastructure to make certain that It Is a part of not only means of business continuation but also becomes an important essential part of the business Itself. Just Like the System Development life cycle (OSDL) and steps of creating a business, It Is also necessary to go through the steps of planning, Integrating and Implementing the BCC.
There are several Integral part of BCC that need to be at the forefront of any business planning. First is the planning stage where all the essential element are come together and counted for. This is a crucial phase of choosing and protecting part of business that is essential for the business to continue. A good example would be the 2011 Though earthquake and the following Tsunami that devastated Japan also killed 20% of Honda Motors business in the U. S. Cause the Tsunami caused production delays and also its operations in Thailand had to be shut down. That caused further dent in the world wide Honda productions and also the availability of Its car models which caused Honda to lose customers to other car manufacturers. Campy on the other hand was able to balance its production and assembly to other parts of the world which kept Its profits flowing even as Its Japanese operations were gone. The second phase or step would be Analysis.
This part takes account of all the unforeseeable event that might happen to interrupt or stop the business such as the above mentioned Tsunami, earthquake and so on. At this point the owner and management of the business asses the risks weigh their options on what they can and should do to protect their business and investments. Some large corporations do detailed recovery analysis to get a better before and after picture of the shape of the business after a disaster. Stage 3 and 4 are Design and Implementation phase respectively.
Design phase is where essentials of the BCC are designed into the infrastructure of the business so there Is no disconnect between the actual business and the contingency plan to keep it going. Implementing a cost friendly system to keep the business going. Both design and Implementation of the continuing business plans are essential In making the business more viable and give its infrastructure a boast. Is necessary to also check that the BCC is successful or not. This step will smooth out all the rough edges and would reveal all the strength and the weakness of the business continuity plan.
The more the plan is tested the more streamline the transition of the business from the normal business cycle to the Business Continuity plan it will be. And of course the last phase is the maintenance stage or phase. Businesses as we know are fluid in nature, they are organic and ever changing. In order to keep up with the changing nature of business it is important to keep the systems and also the business continuity plan up to date. As technology advances so does the need to pep track improve and maintain the system be it the IT system of the business or the BCC.
There can be no effective BCC that does not keep up with the current trends including prices and new evolving technology. So to sum it all up for a business to succeed it is necessary to have a Business Continuity plan which could be a life blood of the business survival and needs to be planed and implemented with extreme care for your businesses’ survival depends on it and it will ensure that your business thrives even if there is a pause because of unforeseen circumstance that might momentarily hinder your business.
