Business Continuity Plan vs. Disaster Relief Plan

When running a business, you need a plan of action for when disaster strikes. Business continuity and disaster relief plans effectively minimize revenue loss and allow you to maintain good customer relations during and after unplanned interruptions. This article outlines what business continuity and disaster relief plans are and why they’re a crucial part of any business’s emergency preparations.

What Is a Business Continuity Plan?

A business continuity plan (BCP) is a comprehensive plan outlining how a company will continue to operate in the event of a natural disaster. A complete BCP includes essential information about the business, such as any equipment, supplies, services or assets that an emergency could affect or damage. A BCP also uses a checklist to keep track of any backup locations that could keep the enterprise running during and after an emergency.

What Is a Disaster Relief Plan?

A Disaster Relief Plan (DRP) is all about minimizing a disaster’s effects on IT infrastructure and essential data. An effective DRP should include information about the primary service providers to contact, the backup IT systems, any alternative locations where work can resume and information on insurance policies. The purpose of a DRP is to find a way to get the business — and the IT it relies on — back up and running quickly.

Business Continuity Plans vs. Disaster Relief Plans

BCP and DRP both focus on minimizing revenue loss following a disaster. However, a BCP is a more comprehensive policy that covers multiple factors. You can think of a BCP as a broader strategy that often includes disaster relief measures.

A DRP focuses more on getting essential IT systems up and running immediately after an emergency. This plan typically includes steps to ensure a business can recover its data through IT support and backup systems.

Another main difference between these two relates to when they go into effect. The main concern of a BCP is to keep a business operational during a disaster, while a DRP focuses on restoring operations after a disaster. When using these plans together, a company ensures it has a solid and effective strategy for dealing with whatever life throws at it.

Learn More About Unlimited Restoration Today

Unlimited Restoration has provided companies with fast and reliable emergency response for property restoration services for over 25 years. We’re committed to helping your business resume operations as soon as possible with our 24/7 restoration support. Prepare your business for a natural disaster or other event before it hits. Contact us to schedule a meeting or to learn more about our services today!

Categories

icon-angle icon-bars icon-times