Documented procedures for maintaining operations during and recovering from disruptions.
A Business Continuity Plan (BCP) documents how an organisation will continue critical operations during disruption and recover afterwards. BCPs identify critical business functions, recovery time objectives, required resources, roles and responsibilities, and step-by-step procedures. Plans should be tested regularly, updated when changes occur, and accessible during incidents (not just stored on systems that might be affected). BCP is broader than IT disaster recovery, covering all business functions.
Why It Matters
The DSC Perspective:
A plan you haven't tested is just a document. Develop BCPs for critical functions, test them, and ensure people know their roles. During crises, you need procedures, not improvisation.