Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery - Do you know your ROI?

Developing ROI for Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery: A Strategic Imperative

Risks to businesses are multiplying — everything from cyber-attacks and technological failures, to natural disasters. Having a strong Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery (BC/DR) plan is more than just a safety net, it's an investment IN strategy. Nevertheless, calculating the ROI for BC/DR is not always easy. This blog post will provide insights on why BC/DR is so important, what it takes to show a return you can monetize, and some specific steps in illustrating its value for stakeholders.

Understanding the Importance of BC/DR

Business Continuity (BC) ensures that essential functions can continue during and after a disaster. Disaster Recovery (DR) focuses on restoring IT and operations to normal after a disruption. Together, BC/DR strategies are crucial for:

1. Minimizing Downtime: Ensuring critical business functions remain operational during disruptions.

2. Protecting Data: Safeguarding sensitive information from loss or corruption.

3. Maintaining Customer Trust: Demonstrating reliability and resilience to customers and partners.

4. Compliance: Meeting legal and regulatory requirements related to data protection and operational resilience.

Factors in Developing ROI for BC/DR

Developing ROI for BC/DR involves assessing the potential costs of disruptions against the benefits of implementing a comprehensive strategy. Key factors include:

1. Cost of Downtime: 

2. Risk Assessment: 

3. Recovery Time Objectives (RTO) and Recovery Point Objectives (RPO): 

4. Implementation and Maintenance Costs

5. Insurance Premium Reductions: 

Steps to Demonstrate ROI for BC/DR

1. Quantify Potential Losses:

2. Evaluate Cost Savings:

3. Regulatory Compliance:

4. Analyze Investment Costs:

5. Create a Cost-Benefit Analysis:

6. Develop a Business Case:

7. Executive Summary: 

Conclusion

A critical component of achieving executive buy-in and organizational resilience is the development of ROI for Business Continuity & Disaster Recovery. Establishing quantitative loss estimates, weigh-up the cost savings and develop a compelling business case to clarify investments in BC/DR. In a world of disruptions, DR/BC is no longer an expense but a strategic line item that can shield your business from failure and preserve customer confidence over time. It takes a lot of time and resources to setup a proper BC/DR plan, let C10 Consulting help!