IT Service Continuity Management

Impact Analysis

Proper IT Service Continuity Management first of all requires you to determine the impact an interruption on IT services may have on the business.

Today, almost all companies, large and small, depend to a greater or lesser extent on IT services. It is therefore to be expected that if these IT services are interrupted it will affect almost all aspects of the business. However, it is clear that there are strategic IT services on whose continuity the survival of the business may depend, and others that "simply" increase the productivity of the sales and work force.

The greater the impact associated with the interruption of a particular service, the greater the effort that needs to be devoted to prevention. In those cases where the "solution can wait" there is the option to rely entirely on recovery plans.

Several parameters have to be looked at by ITSCM when analysing IT services:

• Consequences of the interruption of service on the business:
• Loss of profits.
• Loss of market share.
• Damage to brand image.
• Other side effects.
• How long you can wait before restoring service without having an impact on business processes.
• Commitments under SLAs.

Depending on these factors, a balance will need to be struck between prevention and recovery, bearing in mind the financial costs of each.