When an incident paralyzes operations, the first question that arises is: "How long can we stay offline?". This answer defines the real impact of a failure and separates companies that recover quickly from those that collapse.
The business continuity plan (BCP) is the document that guides how the company should react to situations that compromise operations—from infrastructure failures to cyberattacks, system unavailability, or data loss. It serves not only to react but to ensure that the business continues even when something fails.
Despite being a well-established concept, many companies still treat the continuity plan as a bureaucratic requirement. The document exists, but it has never been tested. And when the unexpected happens, it turns out that the plan was not a guide, but a hypothesis.
Why a business continuity plan is indispensable.
Business continuity is one of the pillars of corporate governance. No matter the size of the company, every organization that depends on technology needs to know what to do when something stops working.
A well-structured continuity plan organizes roles, responsibilities, and decision flows. It defines what is a priority, which resources need to be recovered first, and the maximum acceptable downtime. This time is known as RTO (Recovery Time Objective), and it helps to determine the effort required to restore operations.
The plan also establishes RPO (Recovery Point Objective), which determines how much data can be lost without compromising the business. These two parameters—time and data—are the basis of any resilience strategy.
When these indicators are not defined, the reaction is disorganized. Each area tries to solve a piece of the problem, and downtime multiplies.
How to develop a business continuity plan
A Business Continuity Plan (BCP) begins with a diagnosis. It's necessary to map the company's critical processes, identify dependencies, and understand what keeps each operation running. This step is called Business Impact Analysis (BIA).
The analysis identifies which processes cannot be stopped and which can withstand some downtime. It also reveals hidden vulnerabilities, such as integrations without redundancy, unreplicated data, or systems hosted in locations without access control.
After the BIA comes the definition of continuity strategies. This is when the decision is made on how each process will be maintained or restored. This may include:
Cloud data replication;
Server redundancy;
Use of regularly tested backups;
Contingency plans for connectivity and power;
Support agreements with critical vendors.
All of this needs to be documented, with designated responsibilities and updated contact information. A detailed plan is useless if it doesn't indicate who triggers each step or where essential information is stored.
Finally, the plan must include a communication procedure. In crisis situations, clarity about who speaks, to whom, and how often is as important as technical recovery.
When to test the business continuity plan
The most common mistake is creating the plan and then leaving it unused. The document loses its validity the moment the environment changes—and environments change all the time. A new integration, a migrated server, or a system update can completely alter the recovery flow.
Therefore, periodic testing is the most important part of the Business Continuity Plan (BCP). It confirms whether the defined controls work and whether the teams know what to do.
Companies with mature business continuity typically test their plans at least once a year or whenever there are significant changes in the structure. There are different ways to test:
Tabletop simulation: teams review procedures in a controlled meeting, verifying that everyone knows their roles.
Partial technical test: a portion of the environment is shut down in a planned manner to validate response time.
Full test: the environment is shut down in a controlled manner and the plan is executed in its entirety, measuring times, failures, and communication.
The test needs to be documented, with results recorded and lessons learned. The goal is not only to confirm what worked, but also to identify what still needs adjustment.
The importance of constant review and updating.
A business continuity plan is a living document. It must grow with the company and changes in the IT environment. With each new system implemented, supplier contracted, or policy revised, the plan needs to be updated.
Revision ensures that contacts are correct, backups are synchronized, and contingency strategies remain valid. Without this update, the plan loses relevance, and the company returns to square one.
Furthermore, maintaining a revision history creates traceability—an important requirement in audits and certifications such as ISO 22301 and ISO 27001. This documentation also facilitates organizational learning, showing how the company has evolved in operational maturity.
How STWBrasil supports the construction and testing of the plan.
STWBrasil specializes in creating, reviewing, and validating business continuity plans with a technical and methodological focus. The consultancy begins with a detailed analysis of the environment and the degree of technological dependence of each process. From this, recovery parameters and controls that support the operation are defined.
The process includes practical tests, simulations, and documented recommendations. Each step is accompanied by evidence demonstrating the effectiveness of the controls and the company's level of preparedness to respond to incidents.
With the support of continuity consultants and cloud and DLP solutions, the organization has a validated structure ready to operate even in the face of failures, losses, or attacks.
Conclusion
Having a business continuity plan is different from actually having continuity. The difference lies in validation. The document needs to work when the pressure is greatest and time is the scarcest resource.
Companies that periodically test, document, and review their strategies operate with confidence based on evidence, not expectation.
We implement and test your ability to continue operating in the face of failures, losses, or attacks.
