Operational Resilience Core Component [3]: Business Continuity Management
Business Continuity (BC) Management is a holistic management process for identifying potential impacts from threats and developing response plans.
The key objective is to increase an organisation’s resilience to business disruptions and minimise the impact of such disruptions.
Potential threats can endanger the continuity of Information Technology (IT) infrastructures, as well as the continuity of business and supply chain processes.
The result of applying the BCM Planning Methodology is a response or recovery plan that will minimize the debilitating impact of threats to allow the continuity of the various business processes.
While Business Continuity Management primarily focuses on maintaining business functions during crises, operational resilience expands this approach by integrating BCM strategies into a broader framework.
Operational resilience encompasses continuity, adaptability, innovation, and the capacity to thrive in a changing and challenging environment. BCM is vital to this larger resilience strategy, ensuring essential functions can continue despite disruptions.
Business Continuity Management (BCM) and operational resilience share a strong relationship as both focus on ensuring an organization's ability to withstand disruptions and maintain essential functions. Here's how they are related:
Complementary Objectives
BCM aims to ensure the continuity of critical business functions during and after disruptions, focusing on preparedness, response, recovery, and restoration.
Operational resilience shares similar objectives but takes a broader approach, encompassing not only continuity but also adaptability and the ability to thrive in the face of various disruptions.
Integration within the Resilience Framework
BCM is a core component of operational resilience. It involves developing plans, strategies, and protocols to ensure the continuation of key operations during crises.
In the broader context of operational resilience, BCM is a crucial element in maintaining continuity and mitigating the impact of disruptions.
Risk Identification and Mitigation
BCM and operational resilience involve identifying risks and vulnerabilities that could disrupt operations. BCM focuses explicitly on mitigating these risks to ensure business continuity.
At the same time, operational resilience extends this by addressing a more comprehensive range of risks beyond continuity, including adaptive strategies to unforeseen events.
Response and Recovery
BCM emphasizes structured response and recovery plans to restore operations efficiently following a disruption.
Operational resilience integrates these plans while considering the organization's ability to adapt, innovate, and continue functioning under varying stress or challenges.
Testing and Improvement
BCM frequently involves testing and exercising continuity plans to ensure their effectiveness. This aligns with the continuous improvement aspect of operational resilience, where organizations constantly evaluate and enhance their strategies for continuity, adaptability, and overall resilience.
Incorporating Resilience into Operations
Operational resilience goes beyond the scope of BCM by embedding resilience principles into everyday operations.
It involves fostering a culture of resilience, where the organization is agile, adaptable, and capable of maintaining essential functions despite unexpected disruptions.
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