What Is A Business Continuity Plan (BCP)?

In today’s digital world, businesses face many risks, including cyberattacks, data breaches, natural disasters, and system failures. For Australian businesses, especially in Brisbane, having a Business Continuity Plan (BCP) is more important than ever.

Whether you’re a bank, a financial company, a small business, or a large corporation, a strong BCP helps ensure your operations can continue smoothly, even when unexpected problems arise.

At Shift Computer Solutions, a leading IT provider in Brisbane, we understand the importance of protecting your business from potential threats. In this article, we’ll explain why business continuity matters and share clear steps to help you create an effective BCP tailored to your needs.

What Is A Business Continuity Plan?

A business continuity plan is a strategy that explains how a business will keep operating during and after a disruption. It includes steps for protecting IT systems, recovering important data, maintaining communication, and ensuring employee safety. The main purpose is to reduce downtime, safeguard critical assets, and help the business recover quickly.

For Australian businesses, especially in Brisbane, a BCP is more than just a backup, it’s a key advantage. It works closely with a disaster recovery plan, which focuses on restoring IT systems and data after a problem. Together, these plans provide a strong foundation for effective risk management.

Why Australian Businesses Need A BCP

Businesses can face many types of disruptions, ranging from minor issues to major disasters. A BCP is designed to ensure that operations can continue even during serious events, such as fires. This is different from a Disaster Recovery Plan, which focuses specifically on restoring a company’s IT systems and data after a crisis.

1. Growing Cybersecurity Threats

Cyberattacks are increasing across Australia, with businesses of every size being affected. The Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) reported a 15% rise in ransomware attacks in 2021 alone. Having a BCP in place helps organisations recover quickly from such incidents, reducing both financial losses and reputational damage.

2. Compliance With Australian Regulations

In Australia, businesses (particularly banks and financial institutions) must comply with strict regulations such as the Privacy Act 1988 and the Notifiable Data Breaches (NDB) scheme. A well-documented BCP supports compliance with these requirements and helps organisations avoid costly penalties.

3. Protecting Customer Trust

During a disruption, the speed of recovery can determine whether customers maintain their trust in your business. A strong BCP helps keep services available and safeguards customer data, strengthening your reputation as a reliable organisation.

4. Minimizing Financial Losses

Downtime can be expensive. For SMEs and larger corporations in Brisbane, even a few hours of interruption can lead to significant revenue loss. A BCP helps identify critical operations and prioritise their recovery, reducing the overall financial impact.

5. Preparing For Natural Disasters

Australia regularly faces natural disasters such as bushfires, floods, and storms. A BCP ensures your organisation is prepared to manage these events, protecting both assets and employees.

6. Ensuring Supply Chain Resilience

For businesses that rely on a supply chain, disruptions can create a ripple effect across operations. A BCP helps identify vulnerabilities and put strategies in place to maintain operations, even if key suppliers are impacted.

5 Components Of A Business Continuity Strategy

Before developing your BCP, it’s important to define its main components. The list below outlines five key elements of a BCP and explains their importance.

List Of Threats

Threats are events that disrupt business operations and can affect results and key performance indicators (KPIs).

While specific threats vary for each organisation, common examples include:

• Cyberattacks, internet connectivity issues, and malware
• Natural disasters such as floods, bushfires, earthquakes, and landslides
• Physical risks like burglaries, power outages, or equipment failure
• Supply chain disruptions leading to material shortages

RTO And RPO

A Recovery Point Objective (RPO) defines the amount of data that can be restored after a disruption, while a Recovery Time Objective (RTO) measures how long it takes to fully recover operations.

These objectives help your response strategies. Although you cannot control when or how every threat occurs, you can manage your RPO as part of your emergency plan. For example, if your team relies heavily on IT systems, you can require regular data backups to the cloud or an external hard drive. Depending on the sensitivity of the data, backups may be scheduled hourly or daily.

Clear Communication

A BCP should emphasise the importance of clear communication. It should include digital tools such as Teams for video conferencing and messaging, while also accounting for manual alternatives in the event of a power outage. For example, designating emergency meeting points near the workplace ensures communication can continue even without technology.

Emergency Management

Emergency management provides a framework that guides how a business should respond during an emergency. This includes practical measures such as fire drills, as well as technical processes like penetration testing to identify cybersecurity vulnerabilities.

Change Management

As a business grows, it may become exposed to more advanced threats. An effective change approach supports the smooth introduction of new processes in areas such as resources, customer service, or data management. It outlines specific adjustments and explains how they will improve existing operations.

Steps To Build An Effective Business Continuity Management For Australian Businesses

Developing a BCP can feel challenging, but breaking it into clear, manageable steps makes the process easier. Here’s how you can create an effective BCP for your Australian business:

1. Identify Critical Business Functions

Review each department of your business and identify the processes that support teams in meeting their KPIs. Assess your current IT systems in areas such as:

• Security measures
• Operating systems
• Hardware models
• Wireless connectivity
• Data storage

Conduct a thorough physical security audit, covering measures like emergency drills, lock systems, and video surveillance. It’s also important to review how business data is stored and transferred—for example, through end-to-end encryption and two-factor authentication.

Finally, evaluate your communication tools. Consider whether your existing platforms are effective, or if a more centralised solution such as Microsoft 365 would better support collaboration and productivity.

2. Conduct a Risk Assessment An All Business Processes

After identifying standard processes, assess potential threats, conduct a business impact analysis, and set recovery priorities. As you determine critical business functions, outline the specific hazards that could disrupt them.

Investing time in detailed planning increases the likelihood of developing a successful BCP that can address a wide range of possible scenarios.

3. Define Recovery Strategies

A Disaster Recovery Plan (DRP) provides a structured approach to minimise disruption and restore normal operations quickly. Start by defining multiple internet solutions to ensure your business remains connected with both your team and customers.

For example, using software with auto-save features helps reduce recovery time. Your plan should also enable offline work through applications that support cloud sharing for easy access from anywhere. Installing desktop versions of key programs offers an additional safeguard, allowing work to continue even without an internet connection.

Every digital recovery strategy should also have manual alternatives, for instance, handwriting invoices and mailing them if online systems are unavailable. Seeking professional guidance can further strengthen your backup and DRP.

4. Assign a Recovery Management Team

Assemble a team that includes process managers, human resources, key stakeholders, and departmental managers to develop a contingency plan. This plan should outline:

• Chain of command
• Individual responsibilities
• Resources available during disruptions
• Recovery strategies

It’s important to communicate clearly who employees should report to in different situations. For minor IT issues, staff may consult their department manager, while larger crises should be escalated to company leaders and stakeholders. Maintaining open communication streamlines recovery and supports business continuity.

The team should also review recovery strategies regularly:

• Small businesses: once per year
• Medium-sized businesses: twice per year

Business Impact Analysis

An essential step in developing a business continuity plan is conducting a business continuity impact analysis. This process identifies the effects of business disruption to business functions and processes, and uses that information to set recovery priorities and strategies.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) provides an operational and financial impact worksheet to assist with this analysis. These worksheets should be completed by business function and process managers who are familiar with day-to-day operations. They capture details such as:

• The financial and operational impacts caused by the loss of specific functions or processes
• The point in time when those impacts would begin to occur

Completing the analysis helps organisations identify and prioritise the processes that have the greatest effect on financial and operational performance. The point at which these processes must be restored is referred to as the recovery time objective.

Business Continuity Plan vs. Disaster Recovery Plan

BCPs and DRPs share similarities, but their scope is different. A disaster recovery plan focuses primarily on technology and IT infrastructure. A business continuity plan, however, takes a broader approach, covering the entire organisation, including areas such as customer service and supply chain while also aiming to minimise overall costs and losses.

DRPs are typically implemented during events such as communication failures, power outages, or natural disasters. They are usually developed and managed by IT personnel. In contrast, business continuity plan involve a wider range of staff who are trained to manage various processes across the organisation.

Why Are Business Continuity Plans Important?

They are a critical component of a company’s overall risk continuity strategy. They provide the foundation for disaster preparedness and emergency management, strengthening business resilience in the face of uncertainty.

Without a well-developed business continuity plan and supporting documentation such as a disaster response plan, a company may struggle to regain stability after an unexpected event. It also provides a structured path back to normal operations while helping to mitigate both short-term and long-term risks.

To achieve comprehensive protection, your plan should be supported by other risk management documents, such as succession plans. The more angles a business covers in preparing for emergencies or disasters, the more effectively it can reduce risk and protect profitability during times of crisis.

What Are The Challenges Of Implementing A Business Continuity Plan?

Businesses often face challenges when creating and implementing a continuity plan. By addressing these obstacles, organisations can develop stronger plans that provide consistent protection against uncertainty. Common challenges include:

Limited Resources:

Small and midsize businesses (SMBs) often have limited budgets and staff, making it difficult to prioritise development alongside other business needs.

Lack Of Expertise:

Developing a plan requires specific skills, and businesses may struggle to find employees with the necessary knowledge or experience. In addition, sourcing and funding professional expertise or training can be challenging and costly.

Underestimating Risks:

Some businesses are more comfortable with change and disruption than others. While this can encourage innovation, it may also lead them to underestimate the impact of risks such as cyber threats or supply chain failures. As a result, they may underinvest in developing effective plans.

Ensuring Staff Buy-In And Training:

Businesses often struggle to ensure employees understand the correct steps to take during a disruption. Delivering continuity plan training in an engaging, practical format can be challenging, particularly when staff have many other responsibilities.

Technology Reliance And Recovery:

As businesses become more reliant on digital systems and data, they also face greater vulnerability to technology-related disruptions. Risks such as cyber threats, outdated legacy systems, data sovereignty requirements, reliance on third-party providers, and employee skill gaps present significant challenges for continuity planning.

Ideally, organisations should implement a modern ERP system to integrate information from all business departments into a single, unified database.

Integration With Other Plans And Compliance Issues:

Businesses must comply with relevant industry and regulatory requirements when managing disruptions. Aligning a business plan with these additional obligations often requires extra resources and costs that some organisations may struggle to afford.

Managing Outsourced Relationships And Dependencies:

As businesses increase outsourcing, they become more dependent on external vendors. It is essential to confirm that each partner is prepared to take the necessary steps during an emergency.

What Is BCP Testing, And How Often Should A BCP Be Tested?

business continuity planning testing is the process of evaluating and validating a plan to ensure it works as intended to protect people, processes, data, and revenue. Testing also serves two additional purposes: identifying weaknesses or gaps in the plan, and ensuring all team members are familiar with their roles and responsibilities.

Testing is typically carried out through simulated scenarios and exercises that mimic disruptive events. These simulations help refine the plan, strengthen team collaboration, and confirm that staff are prepared to execute it when required.

Common testing methods include:

• Tabletop exercises: Group discussions that explore potential disruptions, assess impacts, and validate the strategies and responses outlined in the business continuity strategy.
• Walk-throughs: Step-by-step reviews of the plan to confirm feasibility and resource availability.
• Full run-throughs: Comprehensive simulations designed to replicate real disaster conditions and evaluate the plan’s overall effectiveness.

BCPs should be tested at least annually, with larger or more dynamic organisations testing more frequently. Testing schedules may also be increased in response to new risks, vulnerabilities identified in prior tests, or organisational changes that impact the plan.

The Role Of Information Technology In Business Continuity

In today’s digital age, IT systems are central to business continuity. From customer databases to online transaction platforms, they form the backbone of daily operations. Any disruption to these systems can bring business activities to a standstill.

A Disaster Recovery Plan addresses this risk by focusing on restoring IT systems and data after a disruption. Key components of an IT-focused recovery plan include:

• Regular data backups stored securely off-site
• Redundant systems to maintain operations if primary systems fail
• Cloud-based solutions for flexible and scalable recovery options

How Shift Computer Solutions Can Help In Business Continuity Plan

At Shift Computer Solutions, we specialise in helping Australian businesses design and implement robust BCPs. Our team of cybersecurity experts understands the unique challenges faced by banks, NBFCs, SMEs, and corporates in Brisbane. We provide tailored solutions to ensure your business is prepared for any disruption.

Our services include:

• Risk assessment and analysis
• IT disaster recovery planning
• Cybersecurity measures to protect critical data
• Employee training and awareness programs
• Regular testing and updates of your BCP

With Shift Computer Solutions as your partner, you can focus on growing your business with confidence, knowing you are prepared for whatever challenges may arise.

FAQ

What Is The Main Goal Of Business Continuity?

The primary goal of a BCP is to support essential business functions during a crisis. It aims to minimise recovery time while protecting people, assets, finances, equipment, and the workplace.

Who Needs Business Continuity Planning?

Every organisation, regardless of size, needs a BCP. Research shows that 60% of companies close after losing data in a disaster. While businesses should dedicate a continuity team, it is equally important that all employees receive proper training to ensure they know how to respond during a crisis.

What Are The 4 P’s Of Business Continuity?

The four P’s of business continuity are people, processes, premises, and providers. These represent the core areas a BCP should address to ensure an organisation can continue operating during and after a disruption.

What Are The 4 Phases Of Business Continuity?

he four phases of business continuity are:

• Mitigation: Reducing the likelihood and impact of disruptions.
• Preparedness: Establishing plans and resources to manage potential disruptions.
• Response: Acting quickly during an incident to minimise its effects.
• Recovery: Restoring normal business operations as efficiently as possible.

Creating a BCP takes a lot of time and effort, if you want to save yourself the headache then contact Shift Computer Solutions.