What does Business Impact Analysis (BIA) mean, and how is it used in Business Continuity Planning?
The goal of Business Continuity Planning is twofold, the management of risk and loss prevention. Loss may fall in many different categories such as direct loss of revenue, indirect loss of revenue due to a damaged reputation, indirect loss due to fines and penalties levied, and legal costs defending against other statutory, regulatory or fiduciary breach lawsuits. The questions asked during a Business Impact Analysis interview are used to objectively quantify what the pecking order should be when we create a list of critical business processes and the technology and other logistics needed to support them. Additionally, the list of critical business processes and technology is used as input to the Risk Assessment and Mitigation phase of the project.
