What is a business continuity plan?

A business continuity plan is a strategic approach that ensures an organization can maintain essential functions during and after a disruptive incident, such as natural disasters, cyberattacks, or other crises. The primary goal of such a plan is to minimize downtime and maintain operations in the face of unexpected challenges.

This involves identifying critical business processes, assessing risks, and creating procedures and protocols that enable a quick and effective response. By focusing on resilience, a business continuity plan ensures that key services can continue or be swiftly restored, safeguarding the organization's reputation, operational viability, and financial performance during turbulent times.

The emphasis on maintaining essential functions sets this strategy apart from other options, which may not encapsulate the full scope and intent of business continuity planning. For instance, while a plan focused on disaster recovery in IT systems is crucial, it is more of a subset of the broader concept of business continuity. Similarly, strategies aimed at increasing productivity or guides for hiring new staff do not address the specific needs and requirements for sustaining critical operations during disruptions.