CrisisPro

Why You Need A Business Continuity Plan

It doesn’t matter how well your business is run, any company can face a disaster, which is why a Business Continuity Plan is now seen as being essential to any well-managed company.  Stakeholders, such as your bank, insurance company, investors and key customers, are now also more likely to ask for evidence of a contingency or disaster plan in case the worst should happen.

It’s a very sobering statistic that 67% of businesses suffering a major claim go out of business within two years and 80% will disappear within five years. 40% of businesses suffering a critical IT failure go out of business within one year. 90% close within 2 years if they lose data following a disaster. The statistics may be quite surprising and they are certainly frightening.

Cowens are committed to ensuring your survival after any incident, the preparation of a Business Continuity Plan can be a major contribution to ensuring you will be able to survive a major incident, whether insured or not.

Writing a Business Continuity Plan from scratch is likely to be beyond the remit of even the most qualified and experienced directors and managers due to the specialised knowledge needed. There will be a lot to consider, especially if it’s a major event such as a fire.
  • Is everyone safe?
  • What do we do first?
  • How do we get the phones up and running?
  • Who’s going to answer the phones?
  • How do we get in touch with employees and customers?
  • Will our data be safe?
  • Who do we contact first?
  • How do we make a cup of tea?
  • Where are we all going to go?

Without a Business Continuity Plan (stored away from the premises) customers can find another supplier and staff can leave - soon there won’t be a business.  There is no such thing as sentiment in business.

Cowens will visit you to explain the process and, using the CrisisPro software system, take you through the Impact Analysis and Disaster Planning questionnaire, generate a report which will form the framework for your plan and discuss the results with you. If required, we can also offer further training and assistance to develop and monitor your plan.

As CrisisPro is an online solution it’s constantly upgraded and reviewed. Your results and supporting documentation are stored on a secure off site server for access and protection.

Business Interruption cover is essential to put much needed cash back into your business to get it back up and running as soon as possible.  Premises might need repair or even new premises found. Equipment might be needed and if staff are laid off and they find work elsewhere, new staff must be recruited.

Good organisation, the recovery of essential data and documents and the ability to tell customers with confidence that your company will soon be back in business is essential. So to stay in control during a crisis, you need to put together a plan.

If you already have a Business Continuity Plan in place, CrisisPro is a useful analysis tool to help check the adequacy of your plan. It can also offer the additional security of secure offsite storage of documentation and the optional Incident Management facilities.

Your facility can also be upgraded to include an online Incident Management area to help you communicate with your staff and management team, giving you a live facility on a secure server to monitor your progress in the event of your plan being invoked. It will produce a full report on how the plan operated giving you valuable feedback to strengthen your protection.

This is survival capability.

Find out now how the CrisisPro system can help you be prepared