Why this matters

Disruption isn't a hypothetical. Cyber attacks, fires, floods, power outages, a key supplier failing, or simply a critical member of staff being unexpectedly unavailable can all bring normal operations to a halt with no warning.

The cost of being unprepared shows up in several ways: direct financial loss from downtime, damage to customer trust and reputation, potential breach of contractual or regulatory obligations to clients, and, in the worst cases, the disruption becoming the reason the organisation doesn't survive at all. Planning in advance is dramatically cheaper, and more effective, than improvising during the disruption itself.