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Top 3 Focus Areas for Business Continuity Professionals in 2022
Top 3 Focus Areas for Business Continuity Professionals in 2022

February 21, 2022

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Business Continuity Planning (BCP) has existed for many years, and we must acknowledge that it continues to evolve year after year, and especially evidently during the ongoing pandemic. Many organizations in the current COVID-19 crisis have adapted quickly to a hybrid working model which has amplified the need for broader business resiliency. With the pandemic’s lockdowns and remote working, we must improve and intensify the spotlight on the following three areas in the year ahead, that we anticipate will persistently impact the continuity of businesses:

  • Cyber security: The pandemic has forced many to work from home, school from home, and accelerated the ongoing digitization of our society, from online banking and e-commerce to the way we communicate with one another in our daily lives (video calls and social media). This means organisations will face new and existing digital and cyber vulnerabilities. As we head into 2022, there is, unfortunately, no sign of this letting up. This will therefore continue to be a focus area for BCP professionals. A meticulous review of incident response plans, disaster recovery plans, cyber related crisis exercises, third party application risk assessments are some of the prudent measures we recommend our clients.
  • Climate change: The international spotlight has been shining on climate action and the risks that climate change brings, more so now than ever before. The increasing frequency and severity of weather-related events, such as floods, wilderness fires, tsunamis and hurricanes have the potential to cause long-term disruption, with a high cost of recovery. All of these have adverse impact on economic stability and should reflect high on the risk registers and radar of BCP professionals.
  • Burnout and mental health issues: Leaders are also human, with a need for downtime to reset and unwind. A burnt-out leader will make poor decisions, not challenge assumptions, and could make ill-informed decisions in a crisis. We have been recommending that leaders today should disabuse themselves of the notion that they must project a steadfast, strong and indifferent image to the world all the time. The new normal demands leaders who are much more personal and compassionate. Organizations need to promote the concept of overall wellbeing even among leaders, as they will be better equipped to manage a crisis and ensure continuity when they feel recharged. BCP professionals will need to build in relevant redundancies within crisis management structures to maintain operational effectiveness over long and persistent disruptions.

As we begin 2022, we encourage you to reflect on the year that has past and take learnings from it. For instance, if you faced challenges in your business continuity process in 2021, look back at where and what could have been done better, and use this learning and continuous improvement as an important tool in your arsenal for the next challenge in 2022.

We have unpacked that BCP is just not about the risk assessment, business impact analysis and crisis management plans, but it is all about achieving comprehensive resiliency. Leaders at the helm of affairs must accept that the future continues to be unpredictable, the landscape of the pandemic can change overnight, and a new crisis may appear, and unforeseen events can occur. Therefore, preparedness through repeated practice and stimulation exercises will remain key to business resiliency in the years to come. At Control Risks, we are helping our clients not only in identifying the focus areas for their business in 2022, but also providing effective recommendations to ensure they are always a step ahead in managing whatever that might come their way.

About the author

Samir Macwana, Head of Business Continuity for South Asia


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