There is no mistaking it! Business continuity is, without a doubt, directly linked to an organisation’s sustainability.

Unexpected (and often unplanned for) downtime, capacity and resource issues and social, political, economic or supply disruptions are just some of the factors that can create havoc. Not only for the business in real-time but, often, potentially leading to a longer-term negative impact.

Unfilled or delayed orders and a drop in service levels are ‘understandable’ to a point due to business interruptions. But they place unnecessary pressure on a business existing in a society that sees consumer demands constantly rising and consumer tolerance only prepared to stretch so far.

For those not involved in the B2C space, similar interruptions pose an equal challenge and threat. Costly downtime, decreased productivity and unexpected expenses all directly impact the bottom line.

So often, many businesses (particularly small to medium) find themselves at the mercy of factors seemingly outside their control.

But all is not lost! There is a way to ensure that the necessary resources and systems are in place to secure continuous daily operations. Combine that with longer term planning to ensure future business continuity and you will ensure business survival.

 

Plan. Plan. Plan.

Put measures in place today to ensure seamless business operations tomorrow. Should capacity and resources allow, ensure the correct building blocks are in place upfront to allow your business to seamlessly cope and manage tomorrow’s demands and future growth.

An example is well thought out and planned web and application development. If that is planned for, then seamless integration and business continuity down the line becomes very possible in the face of a changing business landscape.

 

Innovation

A cornerstone of South African culture and business, innovation in isolation is not necessarily a guarantee for success. As important as innovation is the need to ensure your innovation has a solid technology backing. Technology that enables your ‘industry or business vision’ to be supported and executed upon.

 

IT and Security Management

IT and security management will mean different things to different companies. Ranging from high end encryption across the financial industry through to the protection of data essential to all businesses.

Irrespective of the business need, it remains a key consideration and focus. As vital as the protection of one’s information assets from external threats and ransomware, so too is the security of one’s IP and data – the lifeblood of a business – from internal risk and/ or the potential removal of information and files.

 

Merging the old and the new

Whilst ‘digital transformation’ is no longer a ‘buzz’ word and, in fact, is almost yesteryear, it remains a stark reminder of the possible disruption that new trends can create. Again, the best possible way to circumvent any potential negative knock-on effects is to have the correct resources in place to monitor, evaluate and assess the impact that new technologies and trends could have on your business (and operations) irrespective of industry.

 

Load shedding

Although largely unavoidable, and probably here to stay for at least the foreseeable future, load shedding provides an excellent example of some unique South African challenges that are known to create havoc.

As frustrating and inconvenient as it continues to be, there are several cost-effective solutions available not only to minimise load shedding disruptions but, so too, across other potential ‘South African downtime’ scenarios.

 

Lockdown

Our reality has changed! A few months ago, the world looked and felt very different with full office blocks and bustling open plan environments. The reality of remote working has brought with it not only the positive aspects of minimal commuting and increased productivity, but also the challenges of connectivity issues, lack of access to essential tools and work/ home life balance, to name but a few.

For those companies who saw the signs early on in 2020 and put the correct measures in place, business continued almost uninterrupted. However, for many, the first few months were a struggle with some of its challenges still felt.

 

Talk

For all businesses, the opportunity exists to build strategic partnerships and relationships with suppliers who understand the reality of business continuity in the South African landscape, particularly from a technology perspective.

Good strategic partners are able to guide businesses on the necessary tools and solutions to help them navigate these challenges and place them in a position of business continuity (and sustainability), regardless of today and tomorrow’s challenges.

The challenges of 2020 have become lessons in surviving constant change. It might be the perfect time to be working with strategic partners who have walked through all of those changes, integrated them into their toolkits and are ready and willing to share their knowledge.