ISO/IEC 22301 BCMS
Business continuity management system
What is ISO/IEC 22301?
ISO/IEC 22301:2012 sets out the requirements for a business continuity management system (BCMS) and is considered the only credible framework for effective business continuity management in the world.
By creating a BCMS aligned with ISO 22301, organizations are best prepared for a disruptive incident.
Effective business continuity management means an organization can resume operations and return to ‘business as usual’ as quickly as possible after a disruptive incident (for example, a cyber attack or power failure).
An ISO 22301-aligned BCMS will include disaster recovery plans that focus on the recovery of specific operations, functions, sites, services or applications.
What is a Business Continuity Management System?
A BCMS is a comprehensive approach to organizational resilience. It enables organization to update, control and deploy effective plans, taking into account organizational contingencies and capabilities, as well as the business needs (product- and service-requirements).
A BCMS helps the business to cope with incidents affecting all of the organisation’s business-critical processes and activities, from the failure of a single server to the complete loss of a major facility.
Difference between business continuity management and disaster recovery
Disaster recovery management (DRM) usually takes place within the context of business continuity management. Disaster recovery plans are often relatively technical and will focus on the recovery of specific operations, functions, sites, services or applications. Best practice for disaster recovery is also set out in ISO/IEC 22301.
Business continuity management makes sure that a business can continue to function while recovering from the disaster. DRM, meanwhile, is a process of returning a business or organisation to a state of normality after a disastrous event. This will ordinarily incorporate business continuity, but the focus is on total recovery.
What is the difference between a business continuity plan and a BCMS?
A BCMS is a comprehensive approach to organisational resilience. It allows organisations to update, control and deploy effective plans, taking into account organisational contingencies, capabilities and business needs (product and service requirements).
BCMS
- Based on analysis
- Regularly tested
- Requires regular review and management
- Awareness organisation-wide, embedded in the culture and deployed throughout the business
Business Continuity Plan
- Based on guesswork
- Untested
- Can become outdated
- Lack of organisational awareness, deployed in a limited division of the organisation and not part of the culture
What are the benefits of business continuity management and ISO 22301?
- Optimally recover from a potentially damaging and disruptive incident.
- Protect your organisation’s turnover, profits and reputation due to improved resilience and preparedness.
- Achieve regulatory and governance requirements where business continuity management is a necessity.
- Reduce the cost of business interruption insurance cover based on actual analysis of your organisational risk exposure.
- Receive independently audited assurance that your business has established the necessary measures to respond to a potential disaster.
- Meet the demands of clients across the supply chain.
The business continuity management life-cycle
Implementing a BCMS aligned to ISO 22301 will include the following elements and supporting processes:
- Scope the project and develop the business case
- Get board commitment and secure the necessary budget
- Develop internal competence
- Undertake the development of documentation and documentation control
- Establish roles and responsibilities
- Undertake internal and external communications
- Establish staff awareness programmes
- Conduct a risk assessment
- Undertake a business impact analysis (BIA)
- Develop business continuity plans and strategy
- Conduct BCM testing
- Ongoing review and maintenance
- Get certified
Steps for Implementation of Business Continuity Management
- Micro level survey of the existing system
- Conduct awareness program to understand ISO 22301 system (top + middle + bottom level).
- Prepare the committees and policies related to business, continuity processes in the organization.
- Form a task force for each level of committee.
- Prepare documents of ISO 22301 certification.
- Implementation & train all personnel in the use of procedures & formats.
- Establish Business Continuity Management system models and implement it
- Ensure the system through first internal audit.
- Take corrective actions for non-conformities.
- Complete the ISO 22301 self assessment
- Take corrective actions on the non-conformities issues if any
Benefits of ISO 22301 Certification
ISO 22301 Certification with effective implementation ensures that a robust business continuity management system has been established and that internal staff members are fully aware of their role within the system, if an incident occur. Following are the key benefits of achieving ISO 22301 certification:
- Increase quality and efficiency: ISO 22301 system provides a framework which is based on ‘Plan, Do’ Check, ‘Act’ concept.
- Competitive Advantages: Ensure client confidence in your organization by ISO 22301 certification which is an internationally acknowledged standard.
- Improvements of Organizations: ISO 222301 business continuity management certification provides awareness of your entire organisation. This can helped you to gain new opportunities for improvement.
- Backup for Disruptions: In a disruption or an international disaster, your organisation will have a backup with business continuity processes in place to ensure the continued smooth running of your business. If any such disruption happens, backup of BCM system will help you to get up and moving fast and efficiently in order to ensure minimum disruptions to the services you offer.
- Cost Saving Certification: With reducing the cost of internal and external iso 22301 audits, and to improve financial performance and reduce business disruption insurance premiums, your organization will be able to reduce certification cost as compare to other standards.
Our experienced and expert business continuity management consultants will save you hours of uncertainty and trial and error, by providing your organisation with the core competences and support you need to implement a business continuity management system (BCMS), and/or achieve ISO 22301 certification in the shortest time-frame possible.