Business Continuity Plan - Research Paper Example

Business Continuity Plan Business Continuity Plan Introduction Business continuity plans play an integral part in enabling organization survives disruption of services that can occur due to a myriad of reasons. Today, there are many challenges that cause business to experience significant business disruption, which can originate from external or internal factors. In an event of business disruptions, many businesses are likely to experience downtime in operation that can translate to immense economic loss.

Because of the severity of business disruptions, business continuity plan is one of the most critical elements that allow business to survive any form or disruptions that would otherwise cause devastating impact. The goal of using business continuity plan is to limit the time of outage of vital information systems used in an organization (John, 2002). In the organization of choice, MFS has implemented several programs that constitute its business continuity plans. BCP Score Card Analysis The BCP scorecard is an invaluable tool that reflects an organization’s preparedness to survive any disruption of business operations.

During the visit to the MFS, I managed to fill the executive business continuity scorecard, which is attached and tiled appendix A. during the process of filling the scorecard, I was able to learn some substantial information about MFS. First, I was fascinated to realize the MFS had a well-written business continuity plan that had been tested in recent times. This was an indication that MFS was not only prepared for any disaster, but it was also keen to ensure that their business continuity plan was ready for use at any given time.

Perhaps most notable was the fact that the organization had several dichotomies of risks along with the financial risk related to them. This proved to be a vital indicator of how MFS valued its stakeholders in the financial sectors. In addition, filling the BCP scorecard revealed the presence of program that MFS had instituted to act in an event of business disruptions. Largely, these programs signified that MFS was ready to address any potential liability and fiduciary outcomes that might emanate from risk affecting it financial operations.

Furthermore, during the completion of the BCP scorecard, it realized that the BCP was entrenched in the culture of MFS, and their management did all they could to ensure that it was current. In case of business changes, MFS would make to the BCP plan to reflect the changes in business operations. Most important, I determined that MFS management knew many essential elements of BCP. This was because the management ensured that its IT department carried out back-ups of its entire servers and disk drives.

It also made back-ups to their off-site archives that are always handy when local offices are inaccessible. Moreover, MFS had an appropriate automatic back-up solution that used several reliable media. Most significant, I noted that MFS’s management was fully versed and supported the business continuity program and disaster recovery readiness. In general, the BCP scorecard revealed to me that MFS was fully prepared by its business continuity program and disaster recovery readiness. MFS Best Practices In relation to the business continuity program and disaster recovery readiness, MFS stood out because of its use of continuous improvement cycle.

Continuous improvement cycle is one of the best practices that organizations can put in place because it allows them to ready at all times. The management of MFS recognizes that continuous improvement cycle forms an integral part of readiness to tackle any significant business disruption that might cause an outage. Because of this understanding, the continuous improvement cycle gives them an opportunity to improve their readiness (Grigonis, 2002). With regard to this best practice, MFS has put other programs in place, which ensures that the organization is ready in all areas that are vulnerable to threats.

For instance, MFS has in place a plan of how the management would initiate the business continuity program and disaster recovery program in an event of a significant outage. Indeed, this was a clear indication that MFS focused on meeting the requirement of appropriate business continuity program and disaster recovery readiness. In addition, regular back-ups to off-site servers work to ensure that MFS resumes critical operations in an event of a significant outage. Role of IT in MFS BCP As one of MFS’s staff explained to me, IT held a significant part that contributed to the success of the business continuity program and disaster recovery readiness of the organization.

In particular, IT plays a critical role in ensuring that MFS succeed in recovering from disasters. According to Wallace and Webber (2010) there are many IT tools and process help organizations recover from catastrophes that range from terrorist attacks to failure of power supply. On MFS’s business continuity program and disaster recovery plan, it is evident that the entire business continuity plan is dependent on IT. For instance, back-up applications control the back processes and keep log files of all activities.

In addition, all the communication lines use IT infrastructure as a critical avenue for reporting any threats to all MFS management. Conclusion BCP plays a critical role in helping restore business operation in case of significant operations. With a focus on MFS, a financial organization, the BCP scorecard indicates that the organization is well prepared on every facet of business continuity program and disaster recovery plan. Its best practices such as carrying out backups, continuously improving its plans among with the use of IT to communicate crisis and carry out disaster recovery make MFS stand out most as an exemplary organization having BCP.

References Behl, R. (2009). Information tech for management. New Delhi: Tata McGraw-Hill. Grigonis, R. (2002).Disaster survival guide for business communications networks: strategies for planning, response, and recovery in data and telecom systems. New York: Focal Press. Johns, M. L. (2002). Information management for health professions. Ohio Cengage Learning. Wallace, M. & Webber, L. (2010). The disaster recovery handbook: a step-by-step plan to ensure business continuity and protect vital operations, facilities, and assets.

New York: AMACOM. Appendix A