Business continuity strategy report template

DCMS Business Continuity Planning for Sponsored Bodies

Template for Business Continuity Strategy Report

A suggested template for the business continuity strategy report is as follows.

1. MANAGEMENT SUMMARY

1.1

Introduction

1.2

Approach (Method of Working)

(summary of)

1.3

Business Requirements for Recovery

(summary of)

1.3.1

Key Business Priorities

1.3.2

Summary of Recovery Requirements by Location

(by Business Area)

Introduction

Location ‘x’

Locations ‘y’

etc.

1.4

Recommended Strategy

(summary of)

1.4.1

Personnel

Introduction

Transport Failure

Staff Shortages

Payment Authorisation (if relevant)

Staff Welfare

Space

Furniture and Office Equipment

IT Infrastructure

E-mail Service

Access to Information Stored Electronically

IT

Service ‘

a

’ (e.g. payments

)

IT Service (b) (e.g. payroll)

IT Support Service

‘

c

’ (e.g.

outsourced IT)

IT Support Service

‘d’ (e.g. helpdesk)

etc.

Inter Organisation Building Communications

Other External Data Communications

1.4.4

Voice Communications

Fixed Line (Internal (Private) and PSTN (Public)) Telephone Services

1.4.2

Accommodation

1.4.3

IT

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DCMS Business Continuity Planning for Sponsored Bodies

Template for Business Continuity Strategy Report

Mobile Telephone Services

(if relevant)

Pagers

(if relevant)

Facsimile Machines

(if relevant)

1.4.5

Other Non-IT [

Equipment, Facilities, Services, Collections, etc

.

- enter

as appropriate

]

For example:

Collection ‘x’

Collection ‘y’

Key Non-IT equipment (or facilit

y or service) ‘w’

1.5

Business Continuity Organisation

(summary of)

1.6

Supporting Measures

1

and Preparatory Actions

(summary of)

2. INTRODUCTION

2.1

Background

2.2

Terms of Reference

2.3

Approach

2.4

Contents of this report

2.5

Acknowledgements

3. BUSINESS REQUIREMENTS FOR RECOVERY

3.1

Background

3.2

Disaster and Failure Scenarios

The main disaster and failure scenario areas that were considered when

identifying the business requirements for recovery, and the related business

continuity strategy for [

insert name of organisation

], are identified in the

following sub-sections.

3.2.1 IT and Data Communications Services Failure

3.2.1.1

[

insert name of organisation

] IT General Applications

One or more of the general applications could fail, such as [

insert names of

general applications, e.g. Windows, Word xxxx, Excel, Outlook and Oracle

].

3.2.1.2

[

insert name of organisation

]

IT Bespoke Applications

The main bespoke applications are [

insert names of bespoke applications

].

One or more of these applications could fail.

1

Including logistical elements.

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DCMS Business Continuity Planning for Sponsored Bodies

Template for Business Continuity Strategy Report

3.2.1.3

[

insert name of organisation

]

Building LAN

x

The local area networks comprise a range of components [

insert names of

components, e.g. file servers, hubs, routers, switches, network interface cards,

associated cabling

]

,

and could fail or be destroyed (e.g. through a fire in a

patch room or the building generally). In addition, PCs could also fail or be

destroyed.

3.2.1.4

[

insert name of organisation

] Building LAN

y

As for section 3.2.1.3 above.

3.2.1.5 Inter

(

[

insert name of organisation

] Building Communications

[

insert name of organisation

] is reliant on the [

insert

name

] service link

between the [

insert number

] main buildings for information interchange. This

link could be interrupted, destroyed (e.g. by a fire in a patch room/network

services intake room) or the [

insert

name

] service itself could fail.

3.2.1.6 [

insert name of third party service

] Service

a

[

insert name of third party service provider

]

provides a service for [

insert name

of organisation

]

for the [

insert description of purpose of service, e.g. payment

of supplier/contractor invoices

]. The [

insert name of third party service

]

could fail/be unavailable due to:

?

a failure/disaster at either [

insert name of organisation

]

or [

insert name of

third party service provider

]

’s premi

ses or

(if relevant)

over the link

between them,

?

breakdown of the [

insert name of third party service provider

]

contract (e.g.

contractual dispute between [

insert name of third party service provider

]

and [

insert name of organisation

].

[

insert name of organisation

]

needs to be sure that the [

insert name of third

party service provider

] business continuity plan is complete and usable, and

that it is commensurate with [

insert name of organisation

]

business needs.

However, even with a good plan in place and tested, the availability of the

[

insert name of third party service provider

] service cannot be taken as being

guaranteed, and thus this has to be taken into account in determining

business continuity strategy for [

insert name of organisation

]. Further, the

efficient use of the [

insert name of third party service provider

] service by

[

insert name of organisation

]

depends on the continued availability of the

[

insert name of supplied system

] system within [

insert name of organisation

]

and

(if relevant)

the communications infrastructure to [

insert name of third

party service provider

].

3.2.1.7 [

insert name of third party

service] Service

b

As for section 3.2.1.6 above.

3.2.1.8 [

insert name of supplier of support service/helpdesk

] IT Support

Service

[

insert name of supplier of support service/helpdesk

]

is responsible for

the [

adjust sentence as relevant to the contract, e.g. management,

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DCMS Business Continuity Planning for Sponsored Bodies

Template for Business Continuity Strategy Report

procurement, installation and cabling

] of [

insert name of organisation

]

’s IT

systems. [

insert name of supplier of support service/helpdesk

]

provides

support from within [

insert name of organisation

]

at [

insert name of location

],

and

(if relevant)

there is a link from [

insert name of supplier of support

service/helpdesk

]

at [

insert name of organisation

]

to [

insert name of

supplier of support service/helpdesk

] at [

insert name of location

] over a

[

insert name of type of link

] link for management support (

if relevant

- albeit

from a single PC in [

insert name of location

] not connected to the [

insert name

of organisation

]

network).

The [

insert name of supplier of support service/helpdesk

] IT support

service could fail/be unavailable due to:

?

a communications failure at either [

insert name of organisation

]

or [

insert

name of supplier of support service/helpdesk

] locations or over the link

between them,

?

unavailability of [

insert name of supplier of support service/helpdesk

]

staff at either [

insert name of organisation

]

or [

insert name of supplier of

support service/helpdesk

] premises,

?

breakdown of the [

insert name of supplier of support service/helpdesk

]

contract (e.g. contractual dispute between [

insert name of supplier of

support service/helpdesk

] and [

insert name of organisation

]).

3.2.1.9 Other External Communications Services

Other external communications services are:

[

insert list, e.g.

?

for remote access to [

insert name of organisation

]

e-mail,

?

Internet:

?

to the Internet for [

insert name of organisation

]

staff going out,

?

to [

insert name of service

] in order to make changes to the [

insert name

of organisation

]

public web site,

?

to/from Internet for e-mail.]

Any of these external communications services could fail.

3.2.2 Voice (and Fax) Communications

A number of voice networks are used by [

insert name of organisation

]

any

one of which could fail. Further, as well as for the networks themselves,

partial/total failure or destruction of the various communications components

needs to be considered, such as PABXs, facsimile machines, mobile

telephones and pagers. Thus, the issues that need to be considered in the

context of voice communications are:

?

communications between [

insert name of organisation

]

locations over

(enter name)

private exchange,

?

communications over the PSTN,

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