5 Ways an IT Business Continuity Plan Can Save Your Business

Published: April 27, 2023 | Updated: September 1, 2026

Chances are you’ve already thought about what happens in the aftermath of a business-disrupting disaster. 

Panic, recriminations, denials, a retro full of awkward silences. Maybe some minor policy changes. 

Short of knowing which stairwell to take in a fire, however, you probably don’t have a clear picture of what you’re supposed to do when faced with a disruption. Which explains this:

A business continuity plan, or BCP, can change that, but only if your IT and hosting teams are involved from the very beginning. Your data and your systems are the backbone of your organization, and with anything from cyberattacks to natural disasters able to take them out, it pays to have a plan. Literally. Per one 2024 study, The average cost-per-minute of an unplanned IT outage was $14,056 per minute.

Here’s how you can save your organization that money — and save yourself from the recriminations. 

What’s a Business Continuity Plan?

A business continuity plan isn’t about avoiding interruptions, impossible to do in today’s business environment. Instead, a BCP aims to prepare businesses to react to and recover from the unplanned disruptions that can’t be avoided. A good plan outlines how critical business functions will continue operating during a disruption, and how to restore full functionality over time. Done well, a BCP can protect your reputation and your revenue. 

A BCP should anticipate and plan for a range of events, including natural disasters, man-made disasters, utility failures, cybersecurity attacks, and intentional sabotage. The planning process involves identifying and prioritizing potential risks and impacts, developing strategies, identifying teams, assigning tasks, and testing, evaluating, and updating the plan on a recursive basis.

How to Bring Your IT Team and Hosting Providers into Business Continuity Planning

Some aspects of a BCP will be tactile and functional — who locks up the office, how are employees notified. For many businesses, however, the most vulnerable work happens in, on, and around computers. And yet, the team tasked with disaster recovery is rarely made up of technologists. 

One way to compensate is by bringing the technical team in on business continuity planning from the beginning. That way, you’ll get a clear picture of what you have and what’s at risk, and the peace of mind that comes with knowing your company is properly secured and backed up. 

Using a hosting provider can be an excellent solution for businesses looking for security without adding servers and headcount. Summit is a leading provider of cloud hosting solutions for businesses of all sizes, whether they’re looking to host a single application, like QuickBooks or Sage, or the whole business.

5 Benefits of Bringing IT Into Your Business Continuity Planning 

1. Remote Access Capabilities

With the remote workforce firmly a part of corporate America’s future, Summit’s remote access capabilities allow employees to access critical business applications and data from anywhere, at any time, while maintaining security. Remote access becomes even more important during a disruption, when employees may not be able to access the physical office.

2. Data Backup and Disaster Recovery

Summit’s services include regular data backups and disaster recovery as a service, ensuring that your critical business data is safe in the event of any disaster, whether natural, like a flood, or man-made, like a cyberattack. Imagine getting a ransom request for your data, only to know it’s safely backed up where hackers can’t touch it. 

3. Scalable Solutions

Summit’s cloud hosting solutions are scalable, meaning that you can easily add or remove users, storage, or processing power as your business needs change. It’s great for regular business growth, and for emergencies where needs may quickly change. 

4. Redundancy and Reliability

Summit’s cloud solutions are backed up and built for anything, ensuring that your critical business applications and data are always available when you need them. Summit’s data centers are equipped with redundant power and internet connections, backup generators, and advanced security features, ensuring maximum uptime and reliability.

5. Support and Expertise

Summit manages cloud solutions for businesses of all sizes. Whatever happens, there’s a good chance we’ve seen it before. Our stress-tested business continuity experts can provide guidance when you’re setting up your systems and during a disruption, so you can maintain seamless business operations.

Summit Can Help You Build a Better BCP

Summit’s cloud hosting solutions offer remote access capabilities, data backup and disaster recovery, scalability, redundancy and reliability, and expert support and guidance — everything you need to ensure your critical business applications and data are always available. 

By incorporating Summit’s services into your IT business continuity plan, you can gain all the benefits of resiliency without the costs and responsibilities of managing it internally.