Business Impact Analysis (BIA)

Fundamental to undertaking any business continuity planning is the ability to understand what makes your organisation tick. This means taking an in depth look at the products or services that are crucial to keeping your business going and if you had to do without them for any length of time, understanding what the implications of their loss would be to the organisation. 

There are any number of threats which if they materialise could have a significant impact on an organisation’s ability to maintain continuity of business which in turn could have financial and reputational repercussions.

The business impact analysis, or BIA, is the cornerstone of any business continuity project. It is the process used to determine the impacts on the organisation arising from an adverse situation and the recovery requirements of the organisation’s functions, operations and services. This information provides the input to the remaining phases of a business continuity project to ensure that the subsequently developed plans and recovery strategies meet the organisation’s needs.

Ideally the results of the BIA should be presented to senior management and their agreement sought as to the relative recovery priorities and recovery requirements of the various parts of the organisation.