FEATURE : BUSINESS CONTINUITY
Developing robust Business Continuity policies
The goal of a Business Continuity policy is to document what is needed to keep an organisation running on ordinary business days as well as times of emergency . When the policy is well-defined and clearly adhered to , the company can set realistic expectations for Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery processes . Industry experts share insights on the aims of a Business Continuity policy , what is needed to keep an organisation running on normal business days as well as times of crisis , writes Manda Banda .
A
Business Continuity policy is the set of standards and guidelines an organisation enforces to ensure resilience and proper risk management . Business Continuity policies vary by organisation and industry and require periodic updates as technologies evolve and business risks change .
According to ResearchAndMarkets . com , The Business Continuity management solutions market is poised to grow by US $ 387 million during 2020 to 2024 progressing at a compound annual growth rate ( CAGR ) of 15 % during the forecast period .
Leona Mentz , Regional Operations Manager : Asia , Middle East and Africa , BT , said Business Continuity is not just about the nuts and bolts of keeping operations going in the event of a crisis . Mentz said it requires a careful understanding of the appropriate people , processes , technology , information and supplies in delivering essential activities .
“ Furthermore , the surge in a distributed work environment resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic has seen connectivity becoming more important than ever . With more organisations becoming reliant on cloudbased solutions , access provides the veritable glue that holds operations together ,” she said . “ Of course , there are other considerations to improve existing Business Continuity policies such as the physical environment of home workers ( for example , do they have privacy for video conferences ) and what will happen during times of unreliable power supply ? During these uncertain times , having the right capabilities in place before a disruptive event does require some predictive planning . This means that even existing policies that would have been considered sufficient pre-pandemic need to be reviewed and , where applicable , enhanced .”
Lorna Hardie , Regional Director , VMware Sub- Saharan Africa , said African businesses are beginning to fully embrace the underlying concepts of Digital Transformation , with opportunities ripe to overhaul legacy infrastructure and applications , and replace them with more innovative ones .
Hardie said mobile infrastructure and the cloud form just part of the equation of what the modern African business needs to remain competitive in a digital world . “ Fundamentally , organisations require modern applications capable of unlocking the true value of the data at their disposal . Strong relationships between organisations and their technology partners are critical . Most businesses in a competitive landscape want to remain solely focused on maintaining growth and not be stuck in the bits and bytes of their cloud transformation ,” she said . “ This is where refocusing on Business Continuity software across the continent will be a key step . It is one thing to embrace Digital Transformation . Still , if the underlying organisational
46 INTELLIGENTCIO AFRICA www . intelligentcio . com