The CMI 2013 Business Continuity Management Survey
I am very pleased to contribute to the publication of the CMI Business Continuity Report, which this year focuses on the disruptive impact extreme weather can have on British Businesses.
Most readers of this report will have experienced for themselves some of the problems caused by the significant snowfall that has hit the UK over the last three years and will not be surprised by its finding that winter weather has caused widespread disruption to businesses across the country. The report also shows that many of the organisations surveyed felt the impact of this disruption financially – and in an economic climate when few if any business could afford it. The report begins to put a figure on the cost of that disruption, with a concerning proportion of businesses suffering costs of more than £10,000 as a result of this year’s snow alone.
But what I find heartening is the report’s clear message that effective business continuity planning improved the resilience of businesses to the disruption of harsh weather. Companies with robust plans in place recovered more quickly from the effects of extreme weather, contributing to the improved resilience of their company, their community and to the overall resilience of UK plc.
Of course, resilience planning is not just about being prepared for the impact of extreme weather: I’m sure our fellow sponsors, the Business Continuity Institute and the British Standards Institution, will join CCS in welcoming the report’s finding that the adoption of business continuity planning to mitigate a range of potentially disruptive – and costly – risks, continues to grow. Their work in continuing to
promote BCM to businesses and organisations across the UK helps us enormously to meet our commitment to support all companies, but especially SMEs, improve their resilience to disruption.
I would therefore like to finish by urging companies who have yet to protect their essential activities to do so before winter 2013. A good start would be to make use of the recently published Business Continuity for Dummies Guide, which demonstrates that, even for the smallest firms, business continuity is achievable.
