What Every Business Needs Before Disaster Strikes
You don’t need a crystal ball to know that disruptions will happen. You just need a plan to deal with them. Whether it’s a cyberattack, a power outage, or a natural disaster, the businesses that survive are the ones that prepare. Use this checklist to see if your continuity and recovery strategy is truly ready.
Business Impact Analysis (BIA)
A BIA helps you identify which operations are most critical and how downtime would affect your business financially, operationally, and reputationally. It goes beyond guessing and puts real numbers to risks.
Example: If your billing system is offline for three days, invoices can’t be processed, cash flow is disrupted, and customers may question your reliability. A proper BIA makes sure leadership understands these costs and prioritizes the systems that keep your business running.
Risk Assessment
Every business faces threats, but they aren’t all the same. A risk assessment evaluates the likelihood and potential impact of events like cyberattacks, supply chain disruptions, severe weather, or even internal errors.
Example: A ransomware attack could lock down your files overnight, halting operations and forcing you to pay a ransom or lose critical data. Without an assessment, you may be overlooking this risk until it’s too late.
Business Continuity Plan
A business continuity plan is a playbook for how your business will keep operating when things don’t go as planned. It includes alternative work locations, secure remote access, and strategies for keeping customer services online.
Example: If a regional power outage shuts down your office, can employees continue serving clients remotely? Without a continuity plan, your customers may experience delays that push them to competitors.
Disaster Recovery Plan
Your recovery plan is the technical roadmap for restoring systems, applications, and data. It should include recovery time objectives (RTOs), recovery point objectives (RPOs), and detailed steps for IT teams to follow.
Example: A flood damages your server room. Without backups stored securely in the cloud, you risk permanent data loss. A strong recovery plan ensures you can rebuild quickly without weeks of downtime.
Communication Plan
When a crisis happens, silence breeds confusion. A communication plan defines who communicates what, to whom, and when. It includes templates, escalation paths, and designated spokespersons.
Example: If your systems are down and customers can’t access your services, they may panic if they hear nothing. With a communication plan in place, you can reassure clients, update employees, and protect your reputation.
Roles and Responsibilities
Everyone needs to know their part before disaster strikes. This means assigning clear responsibilities for IT recovery, client communication, vendor management, and leadership decision-making.
Example: During a major outage, if no one is assigned to notify vendors or reset critical security protocols, important tasks may be overlooked in the chaos — stretching out downtime and exposing your business to further risk.
Testing and Maintenance
A plan that isn’t tested is just paper. Regular drills and maintenance ensure your strategies actually work when you need them. Testing reveals gaps and gives your team confidence under pressure.
Example: One company discovered too late that their backup systems hadn’t been running properly. When a cyberattack hit, their “backup” was useless. Routine testing and updates prevent surprises and ensure your recovery plan works in practice.
Every unchecked box in this list is a risk. The good news? You don’t have to figure it out on your own.
