A new report written by Denis Žiga from Controllit AG presents the results of a survey of business continuity professionals looking at how business continuity has performed in helping their organizations manage COVID-19 pandemic impacts.
The anonymous online survey generated 104 responses from business continuity professionals in 19 different countries and the key findings included:
Despite established maturity, half of all participants see weaknesses in their implemented plans
The survey found that three-quarters of all companies with an established business continuity management system (BCMS) had tested pandemic relevant scenarios prior to the COVID-19 outbreak and regularly test their BCMS using different types of tests. However, more than half of business continuity plans are not fully implemented in every area of the business or contain gaps.
There is optimization potential in almost every company
Overall, 81 percent of those responding to the survey identified potential for optimization in their BCMS as a result of the pandemic. Trending areas where change is anticipated include a more intensive examination of service providers and suppliers, and the need to question the required resources in much greater detail in the context of business impact analyses.
The time to request additional resources is right
The survey also shows that now may be the right time to have additional resources approved by the top management with overall budgetary responsibility, as this group is currently highly aware of the need for business continuity. However, top management needs to be clearly shown where the difficulties within the BCMS lie and what the advantage is of solving these problems quickly and sustainably.
Read the full survey report (PDF).
