Business continuity plan

A documented plan for keeping essential business operations running, or restoring them quickly, during and after a disruption such as a cyberattack, outage or natural disaster.

A business continuity plan looks beyond technology. It identifies your most critical activities, the people and systems they depend on, and how you will keep serving clients if something goes wrong. It covers questions like where staff will work, how you will communicate and which manual workarounds you can use while systems are down.

Alberta businesses face a range of disruptions, including wildfire evacuations, floods, severe storms, long power or internet outages and cyber incidents. A business that has thought through these scenarios in advance can make faster, calmer decisions and may recover far sooner than one that improvises. Lenders, larger clients and insurers increasingly ask whether such a plan exists.

Practical tip: start small. List your five most important business functions, note what each depends on, and decide how long you could tolerate each being unavailable. Store a copy of the plan and key contact lists somewhere you can reach even if your office and email are down.