Business continuity management (BCM) is part of a company’s general risk management and is intended to enable the smooth continuation of business processes under difficult conditions. It helps companies prepare for internal and external events that endanger their operations. In addition, BCM helps companies react appropriately to such incidents and to prevent or reduce damage to business processes. BCM covers the areas of IT, human resources and infrastructure, among others. BCM (business continuity management) is the way organizations manage and respond to risks. The aim is to allow mission-critical functions to continue operating in the event of disruptions. This includes anything from bad weather to cyber attacks. BCM also helps organizations return to ‘business as usual’ promptly and with as little trouble as possible after a disruption. Business continuity management (BCM) is the holistic management process that identifies potential threats to an organization and the impacts to business operations those threats, if realized, might cause. It provides a framework for building organizational resilience with the capability of an effective response that safeguards the interests of its key stakeholders, reputation, brand and value-creating activities. Effective BCM ensures the business can provide a minimum acceptable service in the event of a disaster and helps preserve corporate reputation, image and revenue. By adopting an ISO 22301 compliant business continuity management system, organizations can accomplish the following goals:
*Guide organizations in using a systematic approach to develop, implement, manage, maintain and improve its Business Continuity Program ƒ
*Ensure that you are on the right track ƒ
*Help organizations
to identify and understand the risks that could disrupt and impact the business
* Assure and give confidence to both staff and customers
*Certification is an independent assessment which marks an organization’s commitment, to ensure continuity of its business and service to customers.
*Facilitate organization wide communication on the need for preparedness for unexpected incidents and unwelcome events ƒ
*Promote awareness on the importance of making a smooth and quick recovery ƒ
*Maintain quality and efficiency even when incidents Occur ƒ
*Objectively evaluate and priorities the distribution of resource and implementation of redundancies
*Gain confidence of stakeholders by implementing best practices for business continuity
The ISO 22301
business continuity management model can help organizations better manage their
limited resources today while also supporting for longer term efforts to
improve resiliency with technology.
Conclusion
ISO 22301:2012 provides organizations with guidance to manage,
mitigate, and recover from disruptive incidents with the ultimate goal of
business survival, but delivering all of the clauses of the standard and truly
understanding them can benefit your organization in many ways. The publication
of ISO 22301 resulted in the first international standard that summarizes
business continuity best practices applicable to all organizations. Being
prepared by having an effective business continuity management system and
recovery strategy is an increasingly important aspect of organizational
performance.
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