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ISO 22301:2019 – What’s changed for business continuity?

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ISO 22301 is the gold standard for business continuity management. ISO (the International Standards Organisation) released a new version of the standard in October 2019. In this article, we’ll take a look at what’s new, what’s changed, and what’s gibe away in the new revision.
Less prescription, more discretion

There are no new requirements in the 2019 revision. Organisations have more discretion as to what documents and procedures to include, so that organisations can build systems that reflect their needs.

The operational elements of the standard have been reordered and restructured, so there is a clearer understanding of the key requirements.

A number of discipline-specific business continuity terms have been modified to improve clarity and reflect current best practice.  With an eye on simplicity and consistency, these are now located mainly in Clause 8.

What do organisations need to do?

If your organisation is certifying for the first time, you’ll use the 2019 revision.  Currently certified organisations will migrate to the 2019 revision over the next three years.

What are the benefits of ISO 22301:2019? Knowing how you would cope as a business in the event of a major disruption; how you would continue to serve your customers, and how you would protect your staff, is a major benefit in its own right. The key benefits of a certified business continuity management system are:
– Inspiring trust from your customers and staff
– Building your reputation
– Being able to meet your legal, regulatory, and contractual requirements
– Reducing the cost of disruptions
– Enhancing your organisational resilience

Mind the gap

The risk of disruptions seems to be growing all the time with extreme weather events and cyber-attacks in the news on a regular basis.  Not to mention civil disorder and terrorism.  Your business probably has plans in place already, but how do they measure up to the ISO standard? What’s the gap?

Morton McCann can review your plans and procedures against the best practices in the standard and provide a set of recommendations on how to tighten up your business continuity plans. If you’d like to discuss these in more depth, complete the contact form, and we’ll call you back.