Business continuity management tends to be perceived by leadership in general as a cost center whose only value is loss avoidance. It is no surprise, therefore, that business continuity rarely has a seat at the executive decision-making table.
It is time for that to change. Consider what business continuity has to offer at the strategic level! You centralize key data from all across the organization, you have relationships with every department, and you have mapped out all the critical processes of the organization including where they are located, what technologies they rely on, which people and vendors they involve, and how they are interdependent. With this wealth of information in hand, it is time to work your way into the strategic decision-making process.
You deserve a seat at the table because you have the data, knowledge, and insight – the information foundation – to be a major contributor to business decisions on a day-to-day basis, not just when the company is in crisis mode. For example:
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If your company is closing down a facility, you can instantly provide information about what operations take place there, what technology is housed there, and what critical processes could be disrupted during the course of a move.
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If your company is upgrading IT storage, you can identify which servers the old storage frame is connected to and which processes it supports, thereby avoiding a negative impact on enterprise operations.
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If your company is considering a contract with a new vendor, you can provide information regarding the recovery time objectives and service level agreements that are needed for the various business processes the vendor would interact with, which will assist procurement in negotiating the best contract.
Remember, knowledge is power! Business continuity has immense knowledge at its fingertips through the information foundation it manages. That knowledge can be a game-changer for the company. Take or create opportunities to demonstrate that you can have a positive effect on other areas of the business, and you will win a seat at the table!
Find out more on how to build a business continuity culture by reading the white paper 8 Steps to Building an Engaging Business Continuity Management Culture.
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