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<p>Business impact analysis is key to developing an effective and comprehensive business continuity and disaster recovery plan.</p>
<p>The business impact analysis (<a href=”https://www.techtarget.com/searchstorage/definition/business-impact-analysis”>BIA</a>) process involves identifying all potential threats and vulnerabilities to the business in the event of a disaster, accident, emergency or other unplanned circumstances. It also involves uncovering the most critical components of the business — the systems, people and technology the business could not run without.</p>
<p>This analysis often serves as the foundation for a business continuity and disaster recovery (BCDR) plan. A BCDR plan should back up and restore the essential functions of the business to keep it running and minimize disruptions, even in the face of a disaster. BIA helps identify those essential functions, quantify the effects of unplanned events and prioritize the components that must be replaced or recovered first.</p>
<p>However, IT teams may not know where to start with a BIA project. What data should they collect? What tasks should they perform? How can they transform analysis into tactical execution? That’s where a business impact analysis checklist comes into play.</p>
<p>Below, learn why a checklist matters, how to prepare for BIA, what to include in a checklist and how to turn the insights into actionable next steps.</p>
<section class=”section main-article-chapter” data-menu-title=”Why a business impact analysis checklist matters”>
<h2 class=”section-title”><i class=”icon” data-icon=”1″></i>Why a business impact analysis checklist matters</h2>
<p>A business continuity checklist, while not mandatory, is incredibly valuable to the BIA process. The process can be complex, with many moving parts, especially as it often <a href=”https://www.techtarget.com/searchdisasterrecovery/tutorial/Business-impact-analysis-questionnaire-template”>involves gathering information</a> across an entire organization.</p>
<p>The checklist must consider, and possibly interview or survey, every department, team and individual — and even third-party partners and vendors. In addition, it must document every workflow, process and component that comprises the business’s infrastructure.</p>
<p>That’s a lot of information to collect and organize, and missing one data point could mean overlooking a critical dependency during a disaster. A BIA checklist can help lay out all BIA steps in a simplified, easily digestible format. It can also help itemize every required task and align those tasks with their owners. This makes it easier to track progress at a high level and peer deeper into bottlenecks if progress stalls.</p>
<p>It’s not all about organization and clarity, though. A checklist can also showcase the strategy behind BIA.</p>
<p>Many organizations are becoming outcome-driven, measuring success by impact. A BIA checklist can make it clear that everyone in the organization is involved and needs to do their part to protect the business and its people in any scenario. This underlines the strategy behind BIA, its effects and outcome.</p>
<p>Finally, the current threat landscape is more complex and sophisticated than ever, in part due <a href=”https://www.techtarget.com/searchsecurity/feature/AI-powered-attacks-What-CISOSs-need-to-know-now”>to AI-assisted cyberattacks</a>.</p>
<p>But even as AI supercharges the efforts of bad actors, businesses also have to compete with increasing global and local <a href=”https://www.techtarget.com/sustainability/tip/Build-a-comprehensive-supply-chain-traceability-checklist”>supply chain vulnerabilities</a> and more frequent and extreme natural disasters due to the rising impacts of climate change. Inadequate BIA will only worsen the financial and operational consequences of an unplanned event.</p>
<p>Organizations of all sizes across industries should invest in <a href=”https://www.techtarget.com/searchdisasterrecovery/definition/disaster-recovery-plan”>disaster recovery planning</a>, because it’s not a matter of if a disaster will happen but when. Being prepared can help the company recover quickly and minimize the aftereffects, no matter the circumstance.</p>
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<section class=”section main-article-chapter” data-menu-title=”Pre-BIA preparation”>
<h2 class=”section-title”><i class=”icon” data-icon=”1″></i>Pre-BIA preparation</h2>
<p>Before building a BIA checklist, teams should tackle the following tasks:</p>
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<li><b>Secure executive support.</b> BIA requires comprehensive exams of th
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