What Is the Definition of Business Impact Analysis?
A business impact analysis (BIA) is the process of identifying mission-critical systems, determining the maximum outage that each business function can withstand, and evaluating the short- and long-term impact.
Why Is BIA Necessary?
There’s no need to flee, hide, or panic if you haven’t prepared for unplanned downtime. However, you must conduct a Business Impact Analysis. A business impact analysis (BIA) assists you in identifying your vulnerabilities, prioritizing the importance of each business function, and developing a business continuity management strategy in the event of a disaster.
The following are some critical steps to take when conducting a Business Impact Analysis for your company:
What Is A Business Impact Analysis?
Determine the people, places, and programs that are critical to your company’s survival. Begin by listing the key processes and applications (internal and external) required to maintain critical business functions (CBF).
Then look for any possible dependencies between processes and resources. Will the failure of one of your servers affect the others? Are there any apps that, if rendered inoperable, would render others useless? This step will assist you in identifying and ranking the importance of each process, as well as determining which areas require round-the-clock security.
Determine how much downtime your company can afford
Once you’ve identified your key processes, you can calculate your maximum tolerable downtime (MTD), or the maximum amount of time you can go without a business function. Can you get by with only 24 hours? 48? 72? Or will 15 minutes be sufficient to harm your productivity and reputation? Knowing your MTD will assist you in determining your Recovery Time Objective (RTO) for restoring your systems (hardware, software, and configuration).
Calculate the costs of different disruption scenarios
Not all system disruptions are the same. Each has its own set of costs, downtime periods, and repair methods. What, for example, would the impact of a prolonged power outage be on your facilities? Or is it a natural disaster? Or is it a hardware failure? Or perhaps a cyberattack? Applying an estimated cost to multiple disruption scenarios allows you to put solutions and procedures in place in the event of a disaster, as well as focus on prevention strategies.
Consider who and what is absolutely necessary for critical operations to be restored
You might think that once your systems are back up and running, you can pop the cork, and the IT team might agree. However, there is still work to be done in terms of business functions before you can resume production. You must know who the staff members or suppliers are who will restore critical functions. Determine who they are and how long their work recovery time (WRT) will be. You’ll be back in business once all systems affected by the disaster have been verified and recovered!
IT Disaster Recovery Planning: A Must for Business Survival
When it comes to disasters, there is no such thing as a safe level of vulnerability. Catastrophic events, whether natural or man-made, do not discriminate based on the type of business, its size, age, or location. Many businesses believe they are too small to require a plan, but an effective IT disaster recovery plan can mean the difference between company survival and failure.
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