Business Continuity Planning in Indian Perspective

Disasters never ring a bell before its arrival; it just arrives and destroys everything that comes in its way. Whether it is natural (Earthquakes, Cyclone) or manmade (System Failures, War), it doesn’t matter. For a growing economy like India where the various sectors of Industry are giving stiff competition to their global counterparts, it becomes a necessity for the Indian companies to be ready for any unforeseen eventuality. The global clients wants that today’s companies must have not only a secure data backup plan but also a workable and efficient Business Continuity Plan in place. In such a scenario, it is an essential requirement for all globally competing organizations, interested in safeguarding their data, to pay extra attention to have a Business Continuity Plan in place. In Indian perspective, where probability of both types of disasters are same whether it is natural or manmade (e.g. recent Bihar floods and Mumbai terrorists attack), the necessity for implementing a business continuity plan is increasing day-by-day. The inauspicious event like 26/11 gives a wakeup call to Indian business community. At present different organizations are implementing DR plans and BC plans for their smooth and uninterrupted services in case of such types of disasters. There are five major sectors operating in India – Banking, FSI (Financial services and insurance), TMT (Technology, Media and Telecommunications), Manufacturing and Others (includes Educational Institutions, NonGovernment Organizations and Research Institutes etc). The work done here focuses on a comparative analysis of all these sectors based on several surveys conducted by different groups. On the basis of this analysis, a methodology for effective Business Continuity Management is developed. The paper discusses on the need for BCM and a model is presented to design, implement, operationalize and asses Business Continuity Plan along with its Outsourcing Issues.