Business Continuity Management


Business Continuity Management, ISO 22301

Business Risk

Approximately two-thirds of today’s UK companies do not have the processes to ensure the continuity of their business in the event of a disaster. Business Continuity Management (BCM) is now a ‘must’, required by the business environment, as well as by industry regulations.

In 2013, in the UK, the top 10 disruptions to businesses according to government data were:

  1. Extreme weather
  2. Loss of people (due to illness)
  3. Loss of IT
  4. Loss of Telecommunications
  5. Transport disruption
  6. School closures
  7. Loss of electricity
  8. Loss of key skills
  9. Supply chain disruption
  10. Employee health & safety incidentBusiness Continuity Management, A to Z, ISO22301

As you can see from this list, business disruption can come in almost any form – from internal system failure to unforeseen natural disasters and political events.

Business Impact

The Federation of Small Business says that 80% of Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs) affected by a major incident close within 18 months, while 90% of SMEs that lose data from a disaster shut within two years. A recent survey carried out by insurance company Aviva, found that business owners grossly underestimate the time it could take to get their company back on its feet following a serious incident or interruption. The majority of SMEs believe it would take them only a week (33%) or a month (31%) to return to normal trading, but Aviva says a return to full trading can often take a business more than a year.

The consequences of excessive recovery times are more predictable and include:

  • Financial loss – from lost revenue to contractual penalties
  • Brand and reputational damage – including lost customers and negative publicity
  • Legal and regulatory threats – from breaches in compliance to civil litigation
  • Higher insurance costs – increased Business Interruption premiums or lack of access to capacity

Business Continuity Management for your Business

Many approaches to Business Continuity Management fail because they only protect technological resources without understanding their role in supporting the organisation’s critical business functions. Our Business Continuity Management approach goes much further and also takes into account a client’s business processes before making any recommendations on what resources are needed to ensure operations continuity. We have developed a framework that offers a unique combination of business and technological aspects, using a risk-based approach that focusses on all critical areas of your organisation.

Oak Consult can assist clients either by evaluating existing processes and plans to provide recommendations for improvement, or by helping to build new BCM processes and plans from scratch with the client. In both scenarios, our approach leads to cost-effective decisions that safeguard the future and long-term continuity of our clients’ business. Should you wish to pursue certification to ISO22301 we will help you select a certification body that will suit your needs and budget.

Please call us on 0800 999 4 625 for more information or click here