What Is BCP?
Business Continuity Plan (BCP) is a comprehensive strategic document that defines how an organization will continue its operations in the event of an unexpected incident — a natural disaster, cyberattack, power outage, loss of key personnel, or supply chain disruption — that disrupts normal operations.
BCP is not merely a technical recovery plan; it is an organizational preparedness framework encompassing people, processes, and technology.
BCP vs. DRP — What's the Difference?
The two terms are often confused:
Concept | Scope | Focus |
|---|---|---|
BCP (Business Continuity Plan) | All organizational operations | Continuity of critical business processes |
DRP (Disaster Recovery Plan) | IT infrastructure | Recovery of systems and data |
DRP is a component of BCP. IT systems must be recovered to sustain business processes; however, BCP is not limited to technical recovery alone — human resources, communications, supply chain, and customer relations are all within the scope of the plan.
Key Concepts: RTO and RPO
Two critical objectives form the foundation of BCP and DRP planning:
RTO (Recovery Time Objective)
The maximum acceptable time within which a system or process must be brought back online after an outage. For example: RTO = 4 hours for the ERP system means it must be operational within 4 hours of the disruption.
RPO (Recovery Point Objective)
The maximum acceptable amount of data loss at the time of the disruption. For example: RPO = 1 hour means that losing up to the last 1 hour of data is acceptable. RPO directly determines backup frequency.
Steps to Develop a BCP
1. Business Impact Analysis (BIA)
First, the critical business processes are identified, along with the impact of each process being disrupted:
Which processes generate revenue or involve legal obligations?
What does it mean if each process is down for 1 hour, 4 hours, 1 day, or 1 week?
What are the dependent systems and suppliers?
BIA results determine the RTO and RPO targets and recovery priorities.
2. Risk Assessment
Organization-specific threat scenarios are identified:
Natural disasters (earthquake, flood, fire)
Cyberattacks (ransomware, DDoS)
Infrastructure failures (power outage, internet outage)
Supplier failures
Loss of key personnel (illness, resignation)
3. Recovery Strategies
An alternative method of operation is defined for each threat scenario:
Backup data center / DR site: A secondary site takes over when the primary data center goes offline
Cloud backup: Critical systems are replicated to a cloud environment (Azure, AWS)
Remote work: All employees can work via VPN when office access is disrupted
Manual procedures: Documented procedures for running critical processes manually during system outages
4. Communication Plan
Who communicates with whom, and how, during an emergency?
Crisis management team and role assignments
Internal communications (employees, management)
External communications (customers, suppliers, regulatory bodies)
Backup communication channels (if email systems are offline)
5. Testing and Drills
A plan can look perfect on paper but be unworkable in practice. Regular testing is mandatory:
Test Type | Frequency | Scope |
|---|---|---|
Tabletop exercise | Twice a year | Scenario-based discussion |
Partial test | Once a year | Real recovery of specific systems |
Full disaster recovery test | Once every 2 years | Full DR site activation |
BCP Requirements for IT Infrastructure
Backup Architecture
The 3-2-1 backup rule is the foundation of BCP: 3 copies, on 2 different media types, with 1 offsite copy. To protect against ransomware scenarios, it is critical that at least one copy is offline (air-gapped) or immutable.
High Availability (HA)
Single points of failure must be eliminated for critical systems. Continuous service is ensured through server virtualization, load balancing, and clustering.
Redundant Connectivity
A secondary connection (different ISP, 4G/5G failover) that activates when the primary internet link goes down must be planned.
Compliance and Legal Requirements
Preparing a BCP is not only an operational necessity; it is also mandated by numerous standards and regulations:
ISO 22301: Business Continuity Management System standard
ISO 27001: Annex A.17 — Business continuity from an information security perspective
BDDK / SPK: Business continuity regulations for the financial sector
Cyber insurance: Most insurers require an up-to-date and tested BCP as a condition of coverage
Conclusion
Business continuity planning is a systematic answer to the question: "What do we do if something goes wrong?" Being prepared for every scenario — from a minor data center failure to a major natural disaster — protects the organization's reputation, customer trust, and revenue. As NRC Sistem, we provide consulting and implementation services for BCP and DRP development, RTO/RPO analysis, backup architecture design, and disaster recovery testing.