When a working plan is needed
You may be responding to an insurer's form, a client questionnaire, a regulator's question or a recent outage. Bring the actual request so we can separate a useful operational plan from evidence that a particular organisation requires.
We are IT and security specialists. We are not certified to ISO 22301 and do not audit against it. We recommend a short, tested plan for a small business, but you should check what your insurer and clients actually require rather than assume they will accept a particular document.
What is in the plan
| Deliverable | What you receive |
|---|---|
| Owner and key-staff workshop | Critical activities, tolerable downtime and data-loss targets |
| Dependency review | IT, cloud services, phones, internet, suppliers and key people |
| A few pages of practical instructions | Named roles, contact lists and step-by-step incident actions |
| Technical fallbacks | Independent backup, a second email route, phone diversion and tested restores, where agreed |
| Annual test and review | An exercise, recorded results, corrections and an updated plan |
Incidents the plan should cover
- Microsoft 365 or email unavailable
- Ransomware or a suspected account breach
- Loss of the office or an internet connection
- Phone service unavailable
- A key supplier failing
- A key person unavailable
Example recovery targets for a 15 person office
These are workshop examples only. They are not measured results or promised recovery times.
| Activity | Illustrative RTO | Illustrative RPO | What must be tested |
|---|---|---|---|
| Customer calls | Within one hour | Not applicable to live calls | Diversion to an approved independent number |
| Essential email access | Within two hours | Previous completed working day | Portal access, permissions and recent mail availability |
| Accounts records | Within one working day | Previous completed working day | Application restore and owner sign-off |
The workshop may produce different targets. Check capacity, backup frequency, access and costs before accepting them.
How we work together
- Use the free call to agree the problem and planning scope.
- Hold the workshop and review the dependencies.
- Write the plan and agree the required technical work.
- Run an exercise and schedule the annual review.
What we can do for you
We help you agree priorities, document workarounds and check the recovery arrangements. Continuity planning is quoted as a fixed fee after a free 30 minute call. The technical fallbacks use our standard prices.
| Technical fallback | From per month, plus VAT |
|---|---|
| Independent Microsoft 365 backup | £2.50 per user, included as standard in support agreements |
| Email filtering | £1.50 per user, not needed as an additional filter with Microsoft 365 Premium |
| Server backup with cloud failover | £35 per server |
| Desktop and laptop backup | £10 per device |
| Business phone system | £11 per user |
Monthly starting prices exclude VAT and use a 3 year term billed monthly. Shorter terms cost a little more. Your price and the actual fallback arrangements are confirmed in a written quote.
Questions about this service
Does a backup keep every service running?
No. Backup provides a recovery copy. Alternative access, replacement equipment, staff instructions and decisions are separate parts of a continuity plan.
Will you guarantee a recovery time?
We agree targets after reviewing the systems, dependencies and test results. A planning target or example is not a contractual recovery guarantee.
Is security monitoring an out-of-hours helpdesk?
No. Our security partner's analysts provide the contracted 24x7 account monitoring. Normal support hours are Monday to Friday, 08:30 to 17:30, excluding UK bank holidays.
Where should we start?
Call 01494 866668 for a free 30 minute planning conversation. Describe the activity you could least afford to lose and the arrangements already in place.
Free tools to help you prepare
Continuity tools
- Free business continuity plan template for small businesses
- How much does an hour of IT downtime cost your business?
- Find your single points of failure
Use these planning aids to prepare a conversation. Do not put passwords or confidential records in a worksheet.
Related information
Talk to us about your business
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