Traditionally enterprises consider business continuity an IT problem. Although IT leaders pioneered the discipline,
established rigorous methodologies and practices some 30 years ago, this is a somewhat oversimplified paradigm and is
rapidly giving way to today's harsher realities.
Business continuity has evolved into a whole-of-company practice that demands executive-level governance and management.
In return, well managed business continuity brings benefits in the way of operational excellence, asset availability,
competitive edge and regulatory compliance.
Many organizations depend on the information and data provided by internal and external sources, as well as business partners,
alliances, and clients. External system interfaces, vendors, and government agencies also may impact business operations.
Every organization depends on services that are provided by the public infrastructure, such as power, water, transportation,
and voice and data communications.
The business continuity planning (BCP) process outlines the activities that must be completed to keep the most critical business
processes running in the event of one or more interruptions.
The first step in the planning effort is to identify business processes that require a continuity/contingency plan.
XSM assists companies in developing and implementing a comprehensive business continuity plan (BCP).
We work with our clients using their internal methodology or we can utilize our internal 4-phased methodology in developing
a thorough BCP program.
These phases are:
Business Continuity Assessment (BCA)
Business Continuity Program Definition and Business Continuity Plan (BCP) development
BCP Implementation and Staff training
BCP Testing and Refinement
The foundation for building a successful business continuity plan is conducting a thorough risk and business impact assessment,
hence our approach starts with a business continuity assessment. Evaluation of the business impacts is critical for the success of your
business continuity plan. This is the process of identifying mission critical business processes, and realistically
identifying and defining alternate solutions for continuing business given an unexpected outage.
We have experience in using proven industry standard practices that can be used during the development and implementation
of your BCP program. We have developed templates that provide a framework for assessing and documenting your business impacts.
Our consultants are prepared to write or assist your staff in writing and coordinating a full BCP that integrates and articulates
all of the necessary work and procedures required to execute your BCP.
We leverage the deliverables developed from the business continuity assessment and business impact analysis and/or any existing
material that your organization has already built in order to develop a comprehensive business continuity program and associated plan.
Phases that follow the BCA and development of the business continuity plan (BCP) include implementing and exercising/testing the plans.
In case you already have a BCP in place, our experienced staff will review and certify your BCP based on industry standards and practices.
This certification can be presented to your internal audit team for their additional approval.
