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A hidden weakness in many organizations is that business continuity data is kept in different places, which causes confusion and can hinder access during an emergency.
In today’s post, we’ll take a look at some of the issues surrounding these so-called data silos, including the problems they cause and why you need integrated information.
Data Silos: A Metaphor
Business continuity (BC) plans, IT/ Disaster Recovery (IT/DR) information, such as BIAs, recovery plans, crisis communication plans, emergency contact lists, and so on, give us directions for what to do in an emergency.
Think of this BC data as being similar to the emergency escape ladders people sometimes buy if they have a home with multiple stories.
If you have one of these ladders and the smoke alarm goes off, you hook the ladder over the window sill, roll it down the outside of the house, then climb down to safety.
But imagine if, instead of keeping the ladder ready to go near the window, you stored it disassembled with the pieces scattered all over the house. First, you would have to track all the parts down. Then you would need to sit down and put them together. All while the house is burning down. Talk about a nightmare scenario.
This scenario illustrates what it’s like when you have an emergency at a business and the critical BC information is scattered among many different data silos, in different business units, under different storage protocols.
Integrated Information and Access
Many organizations operate in silos, with each department working independently, with their own compliance regulations, key processes, and vendors.
But if a disaster occurs, you need to have all your business continuity documents in a centralized location, integrated with all key information for every department.
You don’t know when a disruption will occur, and who will be working. So there also needs to be a global understanding across your organization that a large number of people at the organization need to know about this information, know where your recovery plan is, and have the ability to access it quickly.
To simplify your unification of information, you can use business continuity management software.
Five Key Steps For Integrated BCM Information
So how do you go about eliminating harmful data silos and integrating your BC information?
1. Develop a Common Approach to Managing BC Data
Sit down with key parties, including management, IT, and other key departments or people to decide on how you will all manage business continuity data and information together.
2. Centralize Business Continuity Data Safely
Organizing all your business continuity data in a single, centralized, secure system. This repository could be a document storage system (like SharePoint, DropBox, or Google Drive). For a small business, it’s a good place to start. However, as you grow you should consider a specialized business continuity management tool. A specially made business continuity plan software is better as it both stores information, and helps you to build your BCM plans, manage BIA reports, and compliance self-assessment.
To discover more about BCM software made by BC experts, book a demo of BCMMetrics.
3. Determine Different Levels of Access
While business continuity and disaster recovery (DR) plans need to be shared widely within your organization, it’s important to adjust access and levels of access.
For instance, interns don’t need to see your DR plans, managers may need read-only access, while department heads should be able to comment or edit, and so on.
4. Agree on a Maintenance Schedule for Your Data
All key stakeholders should agree on a schedule for maintaining your business continuity data and to make sure that it’s fully integrated.
5. Organize Business Continuity Data Clearly
All your BC information and data needs to be clearly organized so that anyone can understand what the critical recovery plans and key facilities are. This organization will help during a crisis where quick, informed decisions need to be made.
Integrating All Business Continuity Information Effectively
To fully integrate BC information, organize your plans, and eliminate all data siloes, the business continuity team needs to work closely with all key departments.
An important tool to help you integrate that information is business continuity management software like BCMMetrics. BCMMetrics provides you with four modules that have independent pricing:
- A single platform to build, store, and share your business compliance program.
- A self-assessment tool to analyze the compliance of your BC plan.
- A complete business impact analysis (BIA) software.
- An easy to use facility mapping tool worldwide.
See how it works with our virtual tour.
Further Reading
For more information on this and other hot topics in business continuity and IT/disaster recovery, check out these recent posts from BCMMETRICS and MHA Consulting:
Michael Herrera
Michael Herrera is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of MHA. In his role, Michael provides global leadership to the entire set of industry practices and horizontal capabilities within MHA. Under his leadership, MHA has become a leading provider of Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery services to organizations on a global level. He is also the founder of BCMMETRICS, a leading cloud based tool designed to assess business continuity compliance and residual risk. Michael is a well-known and sought after speaker on Business Continuity issues at local and national contingency planner chapter meetings and conferences. Prior to founding MHA, he was a Regional VP for Bank of America, where he was responsible for Business Continuity across the southwest region.
