By: Makeia Jackson
May 27, 2020
Business Continuity & Disaster Recovery Planning
By: Makeia Jackson
May 27, 2020
Every business should have a Business Continuity Plan (BCP) and a Disaster Recovery Plan (DRP). These plans are essential to keeping a business in operation during interruptions such as natural disasters, breaches, and pandemics. According to FEMA, roughly 40 to 60 percent of small businesses never reopen their doors following a major incident1, because there was no BCP or DRP in place. Whether you’re a small business or a Fortune 500, you must have a BCP and DRP in place, and regular maintenance and testing are needed to survive the unknown.
Ken Underhill, the instructor of the Business Continuity & Disaster Recovery Planning course, does an exceptional job explaining what a BCP and DRP are and the difference between the two. In this course, the instructor discusses the importance of a business impact analysis (BIA), the five layers of risk, and how to perform a risk assessment effectively.
Having a BCP and a DRP in place is like a life jacket: it will save the business from drowning when an interruption in operation occurs. No one can foresee every disaster that will happen, but having strategies helps mitigate the risks. Many people misunderstand the roles that insurance, BCPs, and DRPs play in the success of continuing business operations during a disruption. Many think that having insurance replaces a BCP and DRP, but that is far from the truth. They all are needed for a business to stay in operation. At a high level, insurance covers the damages that have occurred financially, whereas a BCP and DRP are strategies put in place to continue operations during and after a disaster.
There are no prerequisites for this course, but having a familiarity with conventional IT and cybersecurity terminology is a plus.
For those who are in an executive role or interested in being in a supervisory role one day, it is highly recommended to watch the videos and participate in the labs. This course is also great for those individuals responsible for creating and maintaining the BCP and DRP.
After completing this course, students should be able to:
- Explain the parts of a BCP.
- Explain the parts of a DRP.
- Create a BCP and DRP.
This intermediate course provides over 3 hours of instructions and labs. Following the instructional videos, there will be two (2) self-guided hands-on labs:
- Creation of BCP and DRP
- Analyze and Update a Company BCP/BIA/DRP/CIRP.
Learners will be required to complete a BCP and DRP in the Creation of BCP and DRP lab. Upon completion of this lab, students should be:
- Able to successfully create a BCP.
- Able to successfully create a DRP.
Those who complete the course will become familiar with BCP, BIA, DRP, and Computer Incident Response Plan (CIRP) documentation during Analyze and Update a Company BCP/BIA/DRP/CIRP lab. Upon completion of this lab, students should be able to:
- Perform a gap analysis using the provided BCP, BIAs, and DRP.
- Make any necessary corrections/additions to the DRP.
After the student has completed the entire course, they will receive 4 CEU/CPE and a certificate of completion. Business Continuity & Disaster Recovery Planning is an excellent course for anyone who wants a solid understanding of what BCPs and DRPs are and how to create them.
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