What Does Business Continuity Really Mean?

Business continuity might not be a term you are familiar with, but you should be.  In the ever-changing world of healthcare, maintaining day-to-day operations is critical.  Business continuity can be described as an organization’s ability to continue to sustain core functionality and provide products or services during a catastrophe.  As technology consultants, Compass Network Group can provide IT support and assist with business continuity planning that will protect specific assets and minimize downtime during an emergency event. 

We’d like to take some time to dive a little deeper into what business continuity really is and why it is so important.

If there is anything that has been made abundantly clear since the beginning of 2020, it is that an emergency can strike at any time.  Crisis can come in the form of a pandemic, a natural disaster like flooding or earthquake, and even more direct threats like a cyberattack.  When a downtime event occurs, it can negatively impact many aspects of your business.  Creating a business continuity plan can save time and money as well as mitigate any risk to the reputation your business has.

Having a strong business continuity plan in place before an event happens is essential to making sure things get back to normal as soon as possible.  Technology is integrated into almost every aspect of healthcare and having proper IT support can jumpstart your business’s continuity plan.  Not having adequate support will have a negative impact not only on your business but the patients you serve as well.  Working with technology consultants will ensure that you have a solid plan to get things back on track.

Your continuity plan should start out with determining the things that are vital to your business.  What data, tools, and technology are critical for day-to-day operations?  Do you have redundancies of your data backed up both on and offsite?  Do you have an inventory of the equipment that you need?  Is there a list of suppliers and vendors that you should contact when downtime occurs?  Are there any changes that need to take place with personnel or staff in your office?  All these things should be decided and documented in your plan.

You should also take time to do a risk assessment.  What are the potential points of failure in the event of an emergency?  What are the chances that a specific event happens and what impact would it have?  What is the timeline for recovery and what does the impact of downtime look like?  In the event of a natural disaster, do you have a different site to work from or plans for employees to work remotely?  Evaluating all these things will help frame your plan and how to recuperate from an event.

One of the last things that you should do once your plan is set is test things out.  While a real-world scenario may be difficult to replicate, it still can be beneficial to test your plan in a controlled setting so you can identify where things make sense or where they may need improvement.  This can help make you and your staff aware of what roles they need to play and how they should approach a situation when an event takes place.  This will also help build their confidence, so they are more prepared for the real thing.

Compass Network Group can assist with all aspects of business IT continuity and would be more than happy to discuss how we can help your business be prepared.  We offer a comprehensive suite of services backed by years of experience and knowledge.  We have specific knowledge of working with dental practices, orthodontists, surgeons, and other healthcare offices. 

Click here to schedule a discovery session with one of our IT experts to see how we can best serve you!