If you’ve served in the U.S. military or known someone who has, you’ve likely heard of the “7 Ps.” Used by military instructors and unit leaders to maintain combat readiness at all times (or spouted off when things don’t go quite as planned), the acronym reveals a general truth about all Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) too. Even without all 7 Ps, the message is clear:
Proper Planning and Preparation Prevents Poor Performance.
For centuries, military service members have realized the gravity of this truth, understanding that adequate planning can be the difference between life and death in the field. This adage also holds true for the business world, where developing an effective business continuity plan before challenges arise can spell success or failure of a business.
Like the military, companies must maintain operational readiness at all times to be successful, particularly in the face of unpredictable business disruptions. Natural disasters, cyberattacks, global pandemics: the last few years have demonstrated how important it is to have a comprehensive business continuity plan integrated into a company’s ERP solution.
Prior Planning
Business continuity means having a plan to deal with difficult situations to continue functioning with as little disruption as possible. By developing an effective business continuity plan, organizations can identify and analyze potential threats to predict their impact on day-to-day operations.
A business continuity plan allows companies to mitigate potential threats by establishing clear procedures, policies, and response plans that secure the business-critical functions in worst-case scenarios.
While the process may be time-consuming and require an investment of resources to achieve, an effective business continuity plan will ensure that the business proceeds under any circumstances.
What to Look for in a Business Continuity Plan
Not all business continuity plans are created equal. Developing the right continuity plan for a company depends on the individual needs of a business, but there are some general guidelines for what to look for when selecting the right continuity plan:
Image-Based Data Backups – image-based data backups dramatically reduce the amount of time spent backing up critical data, copying entire machines at once instead of slowly proceeding file-by-file. With image-based data backups, admins can complete system restorations in a matter of minutes instead of taking hours or days.
Backup Validation – it is not enough to have a system for creating backups; companies need to know that these backups will be ready when they need them. Quality business continuity solutions should automatically test backup data to verify its reliability. By validating every backup, business continuity solutions provide practical insurance that critical information is always secured and readily accessible.
Upgradeability – business continuity solutions should provide an easy opportunity for upgrade without the risk of losing any backup information in the process. Companies should demand flexibility in a continuity solution as the threats facing businesses continue to evolve over time. Quality business continuity solutions should be adaptable, integrating upgrades regularly to keep up with the pace of innovation.
Sage Cloud-based ERP Solutions for Business Continuity
Investing in the right ERP solution is a critical step in effective business continuity planning. Cloud-based solutions in particular, like Sage Business X3, can play a crucial role in threat mitigation by eliminating risks posed in the event of on-site business infrastructure failures. By integrating highly functional remote ERP software applications into a comprehensive business continuity plan, cloud-based ERP software solutions ensure that critical business functions can carry on from anywhere, at any time.
The Business Continuity Plan Takeaway
Effective business continuity plans are absolutely critical for businesses. When haphazardly addressed, it becomes a matter of when not if disaster will strike – it will. Consulting with continuity experts and investing in modern Sage ERP solutions tailored for your business will ensure that you will be ready when it does.
When you need business stability, a Sage ERP accounting solution helps you understand and manage what’s important. With easy integrations, you can analyze crucial business metrics for real-time visibility into the state of your business.
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