If your business cannot service your customer base,
your competitors will move in and take over.

Business Continuity Planning looks beyond the scope of Disaster Recovery Planning to
develop procedures and make arrangements for situations which have far-reaching effects on the organisation: 

·     If you were to suffer a disaster event such as your office being destroyed by fire,
    do you have documented plans and procedures in place for alternate accommodation
    for your office staff?

·      Do you have an agreement in place with appropriate hardware/software companies
    to deliver interim and/or replacement equipment within a prescribed timeframe to minimise
    disruption to your day-to-day operations?

·      What are the essential processes and business needs of your organisation to keep your
    stock moving, your receivables coming in and your creditors paid on time?

Planning Methodology:

Our structured business continuity planning methodology provides a systematic approach as well as important checkpoints in the process. It also ensures that quality standards are met and that the needs of small, medium-size and large businesses are addressed. Refer to the diagram and high-level description of our approach below for details:

Our approach is to :

a) Deliver Presentations At Organised Functions (businesses of all sizes):

Work with professional organisations and Chambers Of Commerce (and others) to educate businesses on the need for preparing an effective Plan. We deliver these presentations free of charge as guest speakers at breakfast, luncheon and/or dinner meetings.

b) BCP Overview Workshop (businesses of all sizes):

We encourage businesses to attend our Business Continuity Overview Workshops which describe the steps involved in preparing a Plan as well as how to ensure buy-in and commitment from Senior Management on this critical requirement. These half-day workshops can be conducted in a location that is convenient for the attendees and cost $495.00 per business (max. 2 people per business). The Workshop requires a minimum of eight attendees.

c) BCP Planning Workshop (small- and medium-sized businesses, large optional):

In the Planning Workshops we provide attendees with a generic Business Continuity Plan "template". We have templates that have been tailored to meet the requirements of businesses in certain industries. The objective is to assist businesses prepare their BCP in a classroom environment where issues can be discussed but individual requirements are identified for the particular needs of each business. At the end of the workshop attendees should have a properly-constructed document with many of the issues identified and with "homework" identified to help them complete their individual Plans. The one-day BCP Planning Workshop is conducted in a convenient location for the attendees at a cost of $795.00 per person. The Workshop requires a minimum of six attendees and the maximum size class is set at twelve to ensure interaction and maximum benefit.

d) Business Impact Analysis (medium-size and large businesses):

These size businesses tend to have separate departments, divisions and other functional segregation of processes that are unique to each business. For this reason we work with these organisations on a one-on-one basis. We need to identify and understand the critical resources and processes involved in each of the functional areas of your organisation. The key objective is to produce a credible statement of requirements with minimum time imposition on key personnel. The Business Impact Analysis will identify the critical resources and processes that will allow the business to continue operations and the relative priority of each. This exercise is performed on a quote basis.

e) Develop BCP Strategy And Document (medium-size and large businesses):

Using the results of the Business Impact Analysis, we concentrate only on the confirmed critical resources and processes to develop recovery strategies, supported by cost/benefit analyses. Although we can suggest "typical" solutions, we do not profess to know the business' local environment and therefore need input from appropriate knowledgeable individuals within the organisation. The key components of the Plan will cover organisational structure, disaster assessment, escalation mechanism, notification procedures, control centres and both technical- and business-focused recovery procedures. This exercise is performed on a quote basis.

f) BCP Certification Review (businesses of all sizes):

For those businesses who believe they have a BCP in place can request our assistance in reviewing their document for apparent weaknesses, to help build scenarios in order to test their BCP and general consultative input, as required. This work is performed on a quote basis.

g) One-on-One Consulting Support (businesses of all sizes):

Some businesses may wish to adopt the above approach to build their BCP but may wish to utilise our services on an individual basis for confidentiality, competitive edge or whatever reason. This work is performed on a quote basis.

Our senior management consultants work with your key inhouse resources to tailor the following requirements of your organisation:

·         Identifying Business Continuity Planning requirements and supporting business rationale;

·         Making recommendations as to the best and most cost-effective disaster recovery solutions; and

·         The development, testing and implementation of a business continuity program that best supports
      your strategic goals.

Our Disaster Recovery Planning clients include all levels of government and private sector organisations in a variety of industries, large and small.

Useful Documents:

The following documents can be downloaded as required. They contain important information that may help you determine whether your business can benefit from this service

The documents are in either MS-Word format or in PDF format. If you wish to review the documents that are in PDF format you will need to have Acrobat Reader software installed on your download computer. If you do not have this software you can download it for free by clicking on the icon here.      

Useful Websites:

The following websites provide additional information that may affect you and/or help you manage your business:

Memuta can help your management team prepare a Business Continuity Plan, tailored to the needs of your organisation, that will enable you and your staff to immediately assign priorities and execute procedures to get your business operational again as quickly as possible.

 Disaster Recovery & Business Continuity Planning • Protect Your Business