ISO 22301 is an international standard for business continuity management (BCM). It provides a framework for organizations to establish, implement, maintain, and continually improve a business continuity management system (BCMS). The goal of ISO 22301 is to help organizations ensure that they can continue operating during and after disruptive incidents, such as natural disasters, technological failures, or human-induced crises, and quickly recover to normal operations.
The standard outlines requirements for implementing a comprehensive business continuity management system, including:
- Understanding the organization: Identifying the scope of the BCMS, understanding the organization’s context, and determining relevant interested parties and their requirements.
- Leadership and commitment: Establishing policies, assigning responsibilities, and ensuring top management commitment to business continuity objectives.
- Planning: Developing a business continuity strategy, conducting a business impact analysis (BIA), assessing risks, and establishing business continuity objectives and plans.
- Support: Providing resources, competency, awareness, and communication channels necessary for effective business continuity management.
- Operation: Implementing and operating the BCMS, including implementing business continuity procedures, establishing a communication plan, and managing changes effectively.
- Performance evaluation: Monitoring, measuring, analyzing, and evaluating the performance of the BCMS through internal audits, management reviews, and corrective actions.
- Improvement: Continually improving the effectiveness of the BCMS based on performance evaluation results, changing circumstances, and lessons learned from incidents.