In case of emergency...

Tips for business continuity planning using ECM.

As we prepare for the increase in hurricanes during the next two months, like the recent Hurricane Bill, and heightened discussions about the flu pandemic, it seems like a good time to talk about business continuity planning.

Luckily, researchers have moderated this year’s Atlantic hurricane forecast, and since we’re headquartered in State College, Pennsylvania, we don't have to be too concerned about natural disasters like hurricanes, tsunamis, or earthquakes. Wherever you’re located, we hope you don’t need to worry about those things either. But, no matter your location, the recent pandemic flu outbreak must have made you think about whether your business could stay up and running in the event of an unforeseen catastrophe.

As the article Disaster and Pandemic Preparedness: A Manager’s Checklist points out, “Few businesses can survive without ready access to business-critical information. If a disaster results in social distancing, quarantine, or inability to access your place of business, the same measures that protect your staff and customers as individuals may make your business vulnerable, or even terminate it.”

The answer? A strong web-based enterprise content management (ECM) and workflow solution.

“By diagramming and documenting the details of each process, and then making sure that your data and documents are backed up and accessible, you ensure that business can continue 24/7 – no matter what happens,” explains the article Business Continuity Planning: Ensuring ‘Business as Usual’ When the Unusual Happens.

As the article demonstrates, the case for setting up a business continuity plan gets even stronger. “If you have made the move toward electronic data storage but have not yet automated your standard business processes, documenting your standard procedures also opens the door for increasing your efficiency.  When a continuity plan precedes a company’s move toward process automation, the primary tools are in place for mechanizing routine work.”

The bottom line:

ECM and a well-prepared business continuity plan can help prepare your business in the case of an emergency. By properly documenting and automating your critical processes, your business will develop the flexibility to not only survive, but actually succeed during a crisis.

Talk with us:

Let DocFinity imaging, BPM/Workflow, and document management software help you with your business continuity planning. Contact us today.

For more information or to schedule a demonstration, please Contact DocFinity now.