Gartner Insights Abstract

How to Perform a Business Impact Analysis

Published: 06 May 2024

Summary

The BIA is not only the vital building block for BCM and DR; it is the “center of the universe” for resilience and business value. This research helps security and risk management leaders understand who should be involved when performing a BIA, the steps to take and pitfalls to avoid.

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Overview

Key Findings
  • Every business function thinks it is the most important operation within its organization. This results in unreasonable resilience and recovery expectations.

  • Organizations struggle to define the scope or criticality levels of a business impact analysis (BIA), which often leads to unusable or inaccurate recovery requirements and priorities.

  • Organizations underestimate the level of executive support and time required to successfully perform a BIA.

  • Most organizations no longer perform against applications for an application assigned tier, but rather at a business function level to ensure an end-to-end view of what is critical.

  • Best practices suggest that the BIA should be jointly sponsored and conducted

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Analysts:

Ron Blair Belinda Wilson David Gregory

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