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Prepare For the Worst with the Best in the Business
Experience capable, consistent, and easy-to-use business continuity management software.
If there’s one thing business continuity practitioners agree on, it’s that any tool or method that can help you complete your BIAs faster and with less effort is worth considering. BCMMetrics’ BIA On-Demand is just such a tool, though like most tools it must be used wisely to achieve the best results.
Related: BIA Blunders: 6 Common Mistakes Organizations Make When Conducting BIAs
Why BIAs Matter and Why They’re Hard to Do
The business impact analysis (BIA) is one of the cornerstones of a strong business continuity (BC) program.
As every BC professional knows, the BIA is the process that identifies an organization’s most critical functions and establishes its recovery priorities. Any company that bases its recovery strategies on a poorly executed BIA is building its continuity program on a foundation of sand.
BIAs are also required by every leading BC standard, and regulators, auditors, and customers frequently ask to see the BIA as proof that an organization has carefully considered its risks and planned accordingly.
In today’s world, the BIA is not optional; it is essential.
At the same time, BIAs are notoriously difficult to complete. They require collecting information from across the organization, often from hundreds of people in different business units, each with their own perspective.
Participants usually lack even a basic understanding of BC concepts and methodology. Often they do not know what BC is or why it is important. They frequently underestimate the likelihood of disruption, overstate the importance of their role, misunderstand what information they should provide, and lack a realistic sense of what can and cannot be delayed.
For the BC office, the process of conducting BIAs can feel like herding cats.
How BIA On-Demand Makes BIAs Faster and Easier
This is where BIA On-Demand comes in.
Originally created by MHA Consulting for use in executing client engagements, BIA On-Demand is now available to all by subscription as part of the BCMMetrics platform. (BCMMetrics is a sister company of MHA.)
MHA consultants continue to use BIA On-Demand every day in working with our clients.
BIA On-Demand addresses many of the pain points that make BIAs so time-consuming. It replaces spreadsheets with structured questionnaires, guides users through a step-by-step process, and automates calculations such as Recovery Time Objectives (RTOs) and Recovery Point Objectives (RPOs). It also generates reports and graphs that are compliant with the leading standards, including ISO 22301, NIST 800, FFIEC, and NFPA 1600.
The potential time savings of using BIA On-Demand can be dramatic. In our experience as front-line users of the product, it can cut the time and effort involved in conducting BIAs by as much as 75 percent.
The tool makes it easy to share pre-work questionnaires with business units, capture responses, and consolidate them in a central database. It supports collaboration, allows for customization of categories and scoring, and enables quick import or export of data for integration with other systems.
Perhaps most importantly, BIA On-Demand improves accuracy and reduces the risk of errors. By minimizing manual entry and embedding structured calculations, the tool helps continuity teams avoid common mistakes and focus on what matters: analyzing the results and planning for resilience.
The Key: Using BIA On-Demand Wisely
The benefits of using BIA On-Demand are real; however, it would be a mistake to think of the tool as a magic wand. The software accelerates the process of figuring out which of your processes, systems, and applications are the most critical. It does not replace the need for professional judgment, participant education, and data validation.
If you put bad data into the system, you will get bad results out, only faster. For example, if business unit participants simply list the applications they use rather than describing the functions they perform, the BIA output will be of limited value. Similarly, if they claim that every activity is “immediate,” the recovery priorities will be skewed and unrealistic. And if they overlook cloud-based tools such as Salesforce, Workday, or regulatory portals, the resulting analysis will have dangerous blind spots.
To avoid these pitfalls, the continuity team must take an active role in guiding the process. That means briefing participants on what a BIA is and why it matters, providing context for how to answer questions, and validating the information that comes back. In some cases, it may be enough to provide clear instructions and a brief orientation before participants complete their questionnaires. In others, training sessions or workshops may be necessary.
BIA On-Demand can greatly speed the job of identifying your critical processes and prioritizing recovery tasks. It cannot eliminate the need for leadership, context, and facilitation.
Tips for Getting the Most from BIA On-Demand
My colleagues and I have used BIA On-Demand in conducting hundreds of client engagements. Based on that experience, here are four keys to using it successfully and optimizing your process for conducting BIAs:
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Explain the purpose clearly
Don’t assume business unit participants understand what a BIA is or why it matters. Provide context. Tell your colleagues that the BIA is about understanding the business functions the organization relies on, their tolerance for disruption, and the resources needed to recover them.
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Focus on functions, not systems
Many participants default to listing the applications they use (ERP, HR systems, email, etc.). But a BIA is not an IT inventory. It is about the work being performed—such as processing invoices, shipping products, or providing customer support—and the impact if those functions cannot be carried out.
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Don’t overlook the cloud
Cloud-based applications and portals are business-critical, even if they are managed by third parties. BIA respondents often ignore these apps, assuming they are “someone else’s problem.” The truth is, if those systems are unavailable, the organization will still be affected. Include them in your BIA.
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Be realistic about urgency
Left unchecked, most people will say their activity must resume “immediately.” But “immediate” recovery implies 24/7 staffing and instant failover—an expensive proposition that may not reflect the actual business need. Encourage participants to think in context: What about weekends? Lunch breaks? Times when the activity normally pauses? By asking these questions, you can establish that, in many cases, their jobs can safely go undone for a period of time. This can help you at more reasonable RTOs, ones that balance urgency with feasibility.
Following these guidelines ensures that BIA On-Demand produces results that are not only fast but also valid and actionable. It allows the organization to enjoy the efficiency gains of the software without sacrificing the quality of the analysis.
Turning Efficiency into Resilience
BIA On-Demand can greatly reduce the time and effort of conducting BIAs, delivering clearer insights and a more streamlined process. However, like any powerful tool, it requires knowledgeable use to produce reliable results.
The most successful continuity teams treat BIA On-Demand not as a shortcut but as an accelerator. By guiding participants, validating data, and leveraging its features, they gain BIAs that are both efficient and credible.
In the end, BIA On-Demand is not a replacement for professional judgment but a force multiplier. To learn how to make the most of it—or to see how our consultants use it in practice—contact BCMMetrics today.
Further Reading
Richard Long
Richard Long is one of MHA’s practice team leaders for Technology and Disaster Recovery related engagements. He has been responsible for the successful execution of MHA business continuity and disaster recovery engagements in industries such as Energy & Utilities, Government Services, Healthcare, Insurance, Risk Management, Travel & Entertainment, Consumer Products, and Education. Prior to joining MHA, Richard held Senior IT Director positions at PetSmart (NASDAQ: PETM) and Avnet, Inc. (NYSE: AVT) and has been a senior leader across all disciplines of IT. He has successfully led international and domestic disaster recovery, technology assessment, crisis management and risk mitigation engagements.
