Business continuity planning is not just a new buzz-phrase. It's a vital tool for any business operating today. But what exactly is it?

In the simplest terms, business continuity planning means anticipating a loss of data caused by an unforeseen event like a fire, earthquake, employee error or attack on your computer systems - and being prepared to recover as quickly as possible.

Still not sure you need a business continuity plan? Consider these real world examples:

• An employee downloads a shareware game - and with it, a virus that erases the data on every hard drive in your office.
• A malicious hacker infiltrates your system and destroys your customer data file.
• The server containing your inventory and accounts receivable files crashes. When you try to reboot, you discover that your data is scrambled - or the hard drive is fried.
• Your top salesperson closes a very large deal and enters all the details onto a laptop computer. On the way back into the office, the laptop is stolen.
• A pipe bursts, causing a minor flood that destroys four desktop computers. The computers were connected to each other and shared duplicate information, so you thought you were safe. But the vital data on their hard drives isn't replicated anywhere.
• A cascading power outage hits your entire province. Or a kid with a computer, too much time and not enough supervision, writes a program that causes thousands of other computers on the Internet to repeatedly "hit" your Website, overwhelming it and denying service to your customers. Either way, for two full days, your customers can't reach you online. Rather than try to do business with you by phone, they discover that your biggest competitor is still online.

We could provide many other examples of the risks every business faces, every single day. Some are minor. Others could literally cause you to close your doors, perhaps permanently. That's why TELUS works with companies of all sizes to help create and implement effective business continuity plans. In fact, we have already defined a clear path that your business can follow.

Best of all, planning for the continuity of your business doesn't have to deplete scarce resources, leaving you with little energy to implement the new measures. With our help, you can do it now.

Start by protecting your data

The first step is to create an inventory of the information that resides on your computers. Define the data that is vital to your business and pinpoint its exact location. Then take steps to ensure its safety. For example, TELUS Desktop Backup Service regularly, automatically and affordably backs up all your critical data to a safe location off your premises. No matter what happens to your physical location or your systems, you will always be able to access your backed-up data from anywhere in the world - from your home, a customer or supplier's office in another country, or from temporary premises while your physical location is being rebuilt. All you need is an Internet connection.

Once your basic back-ups have been taken care of, you can consider other solutions. For example, instead of keeping your most important data on your own premises, a TELUS Hosting Solution will allow you to house it in a building designed with full security measures, protecting it from the consequences of threats like viruses, hackers, power outages, terrorism and natural disasters. Our intelligent Internet Data Centres are monitored around the clock and built to be completely fail-safe.

• Make sure you, your employees and customers always have access to your systems.
  For people who work from home, for road warriors like the salesperson with the laptop in the example above, and for those occasions when you're visiting a customer and need confidential information from the office, you want to consider a TELUS Virtual Private Network (VPN). A VPN creates a secure "tunnel" that connects you to your data via the Internet. It uses the latest available authentication and encryption technologies - automatically updated at no additional cost to you - enabling you to communicate reliably and securely, without exposing your company or your data to risk.
• Keeping everyone informed.
  Whether you already have one or ask TELUS to design it for you, a Website can help ensure that your business stays in business. You can use it to post vital messages to employees, suppliers and customers, updating them on your progress in getting back into business.
  
  Of course, you may never need to act on any aspect of your business continuity plan. But in today's highly competitive business climate, operating without a plan would be like taking your family on a looping roller-coaster without any safety straps. Quite simply, you cannot afford to take the risk.