The days of winging your data security are over.
With just about all of your business being conducted online in one way or another, and with so much of your data stored online, it only takes one attack or system breakdown to close your doors. It might sound like we are being a little dramatic, but this is the reality of most modern business.
The good news is that all of this can be avoided if you have a concrete business continuity plan, one that you have properly thought out and taken the time to test.
The Significance of Testing Your BCP
No business is safe until it has a business continue plan in place.
A business continuity plan that hasn’t been tested carries a lot of risk because you only need a business continuity plan to be effective once the worst has happened. Everything you do up to the point of needing the plan to kick in is preparation.
The potential consequences of not testing a business continuity plan can be dire, especially for smaller businesses already functioning on limited resources. Some of these consequences include financial losses, reputational damage when important data is leaked, and legal or regulatory implications that no company wants to have to face.
The regular testing of your plan will ensure that should something unforeseen happen, the plan will keep your business protected and operational.
One example of a big upset due to less than perfect business continuity preparations is when the Irish Healthcare system experienced a brutal ransom ware attack back in 2021. With luck, the IT team was able to stop the attack before things got really nasty, but not before over $100 million worth of damage was done.
The Types of Business Continuity Plan Testing
Just as there are various types of business continuity plans, there is also more than one way to test a plan.
The most common types of business continuity plan testing include tabletop exercises, functional testing, and full scale testing.
- Tabletop Exercises
This testing involves the various stakeholders coming together to discuss a hypothetical situation with or without implementing the expected responses as laid out in the plan. This sort of testing is ideal when new people are getting involved and when the plan needs to be reviewed. Some of the benefits of tabletop testing include promotion of communication and teamwork, finding potential gaps, and assessing how familiar the team is with the plan.
- Functional Testing
With functional testing, the teams and departments included in the plan will actually do what the plan states during a scenario simulation. The purpose of this kind of testing is that it gives you the chance to test whether or not the plan is going to be practical enough to work. Some of the benefits include seeing how functional the plan is, identifying possible issues, and giving the team some hands on experience.
- Full Scale Testing
This process is the most in depth and it puts the team into a real life situation that requires the full implementation of the plan. This sort of testing should be done on an annual basis to really check if the plan will work as intended. The benefits of doing full scale testing include real life assessments of effectiveness, identifying where improvements can be made, and observing how the team and the plan respond to the crisis.
How to Properly Test Your Business Continuity Plan
To ensure the proper testing of your plan, following a structured approach is necessary.
You can begin by developing a clear testing plan that outlines the entire process and then define the objectives and scope of the test, by specifying what you aim to achieve and which aspects of the plan you’ll evaluate.
You will need to assemble a dedicated team with well-defined roles and responsibilities. The team should be the same people who would be involved in a real life scenario.
After that the fun begins, as you will simulate real-world scenarios, including natural disasters, cyber-attacks, and supply chain disruptions, to gauge the plan’s effectiveness.
Throughout the testing process, the communication and coordination among team members to replicate real-life crisis management needs to be scrutinised as this will be an important part of the plan’s success.
After completing the test, the collective team should thoroughly evaluate the results to identify weaknesses and areas for improvement.
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A big part of business continuity plans relies on having effective IT structures in place, including data backups. At 24/7 IT Services in London, our team specialises in creating unique and effective business continuity plans. You can contact us today for more information.
