How important is business continuity for businesses?
It’s absolutely vital. Businesses are vulnerable to threats of all kinds, including fires, building damage, earthquakes, server thefts, system hacks, malware and viruses. Just one debilitating attack of this sort could be enough to halt activity completely. In fact, according to statistics issued by London Resilience, 25 per cent of businesses don’t reopen after suffering a serious issue of this kind. Of those that do attempt to try again, 80 per cent go out of business and 75 per cent fail within three years of the disaster. These statistics show just how important it is to have a viable contingency plan in place.
Do businesses think that a disaster will never happen to them?
Absolutely, especially in Malta where we feel lulled into a false sense of security that nothing bad ever happens here. Many business owners also think they’re safe because they have back-ups in place or an IT disaster plan. But what if the threats or failures go beyond that? It’s not just large-scale threats like tsunamis that need to raise an eyebrow – a potentially serious threat to your business could be anything from a burst water pipe splashing all over your back-up system, to a fire that wipes out every hard copy version you own. And yes, it could happen to you. The best option is to always be prepared.
What are the main risks for businesses?
It all boils down to loss of data, reputation and business. We all know the rule of thumb that if we can’t service our clients, they will go elsewhere, and a serious setback could lead straight to that. In some cases, as little as two days of disruption could set you back months when it comes to reassuring your clients that you are on track and able to meet their requirements.
What business continuity services do you offer?
PwC offers a range of consultancy, planning, support and implementation services for companies that are keen to protect all aspects of their business should the worst happen. Additionally, we offer various IT services to companies so as to assist them in the implementation of business continuity plans. These are extremely useful whatever the sector, nature, level and size of the business concerned.
What will the training offered by PwC focus on?
We will be supporting organisations in the development of their business continuity management, a concept that has grown incredibly popular in recent years, and especially since the likes of the 9/11 terror attacks. We hold workshops and introductory sessions for interested parties, but we also offer a proper programme of BCI training, including a Business Continuity Institute public training course. This five-day programme also prepares attendees to sit the BCI Certificate examination, if desired.
Can business continuity be tailor-made according to size and type of business?
Definitely. It’s important for businesses to acknowledge that, whatever their size, they need to have a plan B in place should the worst happen. As a result we can tailor strategies to suit businesses, no matter how small and simple, or large and complex they may be. The more protection required, the more facilities can be added in to fit the bill.
Information provided by Marcel Cutajar, PwC. For more information, call Mr Cutajar on 2010 3500 or e-mail marcel.cutajar@mt.pwc.com.