2018 will see ever-increasing changes in the area of business continuity as part of the risk frameworks employed by organisations. With crystal ball at the ready, here are my views on what we can expect to see over the next 12 months:

Growing tension between state boundaries and ubiquitous technology

Although the debate in the UK (and indeed elsewhere) is very much on border issues (Brexit for market movement and various data privacy regulations), these boundaries become ever-more blurred in the face of the growing use of technology. The end result will be a distinct tension between almost opposing forces – globalisation of technology and nationalism of data/market political issues.

Cloud, cloud and more cloud

Even 12 months ago, there was a degree of corporate scepticism on the case for using cloud-services. For some, this bordered on mild ‘risk hysteria’. We have seen a sea-change in opinion latterly with cloud now being recognised in many instances as being as secure as internal solutions. This will only continue as the likes of Microsoft and Amazon continue to invest heavily in this area.

The continued growth of the virtual team

The observation that virtual teams will never be as effective as same-location teams is gradually being eroded. Next generations see virtual as the norm and this will permeate through all areas of business. Virtualisation doesn’t mean the narrow focus of home-working, but accessibility and mutual interactions from multiple locations, wherever they may be. There will be more of this, supported by smart technology.

Death of the BIA

The continued move away from traditional BC responses to an approach that is more relevant to the world that we live in. At the risk of paraphrasing Mark Twain (‘reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated’), the BIA will become an integral part of a wider solution, not standing in glorious isolation. Already, the vast majority of our new clients are embracing the single entity approach to BC management using software, rather than having separate documents.

Big data revolution

Data management in all of its guises will become the bedrock of core risk and BC activity. Understanding what’s happening in your organisation, where the potential gaps and threats are and what you can do to minimise risk and impact in all areas will be dictated in part by the ability to embrace the opportunities afforded by big data management. The smart organisations will be doing this sooner rather than later

In all of the above areas, there is one common factor – technology. It forms part of everything we do at home, at work and somewhere in between! Embrace it in a way that works for you and your organisation.

ClearView Continuity proudly sponsors the CIR Business Continuity Awards. For more information, click here.

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