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If there is one thing 2020 taught us, it’s to be prepared.

As coronavirus spread around the globe, businesses of all shapes and sizes found themselves in a race against time as countries locked down, adapting to new working practices, often without the necessary infrastructure in place.

While planning a global pandemic was not necessarily on anyone’s radar, a thorough business continuITy plan gives you a good starting point to deal with whatever life throws at you.

What is a business continuITy plan?

Essentially, it’s a plan of action a business has in place in ensure that its operations can keep running in the event of a disaster, such as extreme weather, technical issues – or a worldwide pandemic.

They indicate the steps that need to be taken before, during and after an incident to keep the business going, as well as how to hit the ground running once the threat has passed.

What could potential impacts be?

It very much depends on the nature of your business, but common issues faced during any disruption are cashflow, running costs or supply issues.

Another potential problem that many firms faced during this most recent crisis was the need to work from home. As health officials introduced lockdown measures, those who could work from home were encouraged to do so, which many organisations weren’t set up for.

Cloud-based computing is a must during times like this, and it’s much better to have everything in place ready, rather than waiting until crisis point.

How does a business continuITy plan help?

As they say, failing to prepare is preparing to fail.

A continuITy plan makes sure everything is in place ahead of any crisis, and can help to reduce the cost and duration of any disruption.

It means your team are all on the same page, with clear channels of communication laid out so nobody is left behind.

A plan also helps inspire customer confidence; a client is far more likely to trust you if they know you’re prepared for any eventuality. In times of crisis, customers often fall back on tried and trusted firms – so you don’t want to disappoint them.

What to include?

In short, everything. You’ll need back-up plans for back-up plans, so try to consider every aspect of your business, everything that could go wrong, and everything you could do to mitigate it – but be realistic.

It’s a time-consuming job but, believe us, it’ll be worth its weight in gold if disaster strikes.

For instance, are you set up to work from home? How will this be implemented? If you have a shop, can you set up an e-commerce site to make sure you can still reach your customers?

We’re better equipped than ever before to move to a virtual world when the physical throws us a curveball, so make sure you take advantage of all the resources that are available.

If you’d like to talk to someone about your continuITy planning, give the friendly Concept IT team a call on 0808 178 22 48 or email help@concept-its.co.uk