ISO 22301 is the international standard for business continuity management.
ISO 22301 Goes Further than just a Plan
Many organisations have a business continuity plan (BCP), but ISO 22301 takes this further by defining the requirements for a full business continuity management system (BCMS), including business impact analysis (BIA), continuity strategies and testing.
The standard, as with most ISO standards, is designed to be adaptable for all sizes and types of organisations.
Assent consultants have the experience and knowledge to build a BCMS to meet your specific needs.
Prioritising Business Activities
A key theme of ISO 22301 is identifying the purpose of your organisation; what are the critical products and services you exist to provide?
This is done through a business impact analysis exercise which will identify a number of metrics including Maximum Tolerable Period of Disruption (MTPD), Recovery Time Objective (RTO) and Recovery Point Objective (RPO).
Embedding ISO 22301 in Decision Making
Business continuity management to ISO 22301 is not a ‘set it and forget it’ system.
Business continuity needs to be considered in every business decision you make to ensure that you have considered the resources and arrangements you need in order to manage a disruptive event.
New products, locations and IT systems can all impact on your ability to continue and recover business operations in the event of a disaster if not managed properly.
Annex SL Framework
ISO 22301 follows the Annex SL structure which means it can easily be integrated with other ISO management systems.
Implementing ISO 22301
You may have noticed just from this article that there are a lot of acronyms and technical speak in the discipline of business continuity management.
However, utilising the services of a consultancy like Assent will help you understand and navigate these terms to ensure you build a management system that works for your organisation.
We have extensive experience of implementing ISO 22301 and can help you speed up the process while avoiding the pitfalls.
Contact Us to discuss your ISO 22301 Project.
ISO 22301 Certification
Your business continuity management system can be certified by a UKAS accredited certification body to demonstrate your commitment to business resilience.
This can be a benefit during tenders with clients, but also provides and impartial audit of your arrangements through which improvements can be identified.
Find out more about ISO 22301 certification.
