Risk Assessment is one of the most important steps of preparing business continuity and DR plan.
Why is this critical for a business?
A comprehensive risk assessment helps an organization understand the kind of threats it can be exposed to, the possible extent of damage and therefore the required steps for damage control.
A good Risk Analysis and Assessment helps throw insight into how each functional area of a business would be impacted in the event of a disaster and therefore, it also helps in prioritizing recovery plans based on the criticality of the functions.
Listing out disasters is a challenging task, the list will never seem to be comprehensive enough and it will need constant updating. The risk assessment process is to pre-determine the possible scenarios of disaster and then steps that the organization will take to recovery in the event of each.
Another important role Risk Assessment performs is coming up with the worst-case scenario your business could possibly face. It helps the business evaluate the extent of damage and think through the recovery process in the event of this worst-case scenario.
Risk Assessment may also involve testing procedures, which must be conducted in a proper method and environment for measuring the results effectively covering every possible mishap you can think of for your business.
5 Steps to an Effective Risk Assessment Process:
- Identify the risks, and the potential damage it could cause. Go through different scenarios to understand the extent of damage such incidents have caused in the past.
- Establish facts as to what might be harmed and how. Try to determine what kind of harm might be caused to each of these factors in the event of a disaster, and in the event of a worst-case scenario.
- Evaluate the risks and get a fix on precautionary measures.
- Document all the analyses and deductions in detail and all the inferences from the Risk Assessment exercise
- Review the Risk Assessment plan periodically and make the necessary updates.
Conclusion:
Risk Assessment is probably the most important part of planning business continuity in the event of a disaster. The greater it covers risks, types and solutions in detail, the better prepared your business is when disaster strikes.