What is a business impact analysis (BIA) and how can it benefit my disaster recovery (DR) plan?

What is a business impact analysis (BIA) and how can it benefit my disaster recovery (DR) plan?

What is a business impact analysis (BIA) and how can it benefit my disaster recovery (DR) plan?

    Requires Free Membership to View

    Login

    When you register for SearchDisasterRecovery.com, you’ll also receive targeted emails from my team of award-winning editorial writers. As you know, an interruption can threaten your organization at any time – and it’s our goal to ensure you’re armed with the right tips and information to help you ensure a swift recovery.

    Rich Castagna, Editorial Director

    By submitting your registration information to SearchDisasterRecovery.com you agree to receive email communications from TechTarget and TechTarget partners. We encourage you to read our Privacy Policy which contains important disclosures about how we collect and use your registration and other information. If you reside outside of the United States, by submitting this registration information you consent to having your personal data transferred to and processed in the United States. Your use of SearchDisasterRecovery.com is governed by our Terms of Use. You may contact us at webmaster@TechTarget.com.

The main focus of a disaster recovery (DR) plan is the technology, while a business impact analysis (BIA) should focus on the business process and the people who perform the process. A BIA defines the priorities of business function and how soon they are required, what dependencies they may have, as well as required staff levels. The BIA also defines what timeframes are required for personnel, data etc. A DR plan provides the technology needed for the operation, and a BIA contains the list of processes required, dependencies of the process, staff levels required and associated time frames of these requirements.

Some departments may have different priorities within their own functions. The business impact analysis helps define the business process recovery, interaction between departments, dependencies of departments and required staff levels to perform these functions. Often when compiling a business impact analysis, the first reaction is "everything is priority 1", then as the processes get defined, the BIA gets broken down into a manageable and more accurate list. Also keep in mind that it is important to periodically review your BIA to determine if it accurately reflects your current business focus.

This was first published in December 2009

Back to top