How to Adapt and Build Resilience as a Modern Business

In today’s uncertain world, the ability to bounce back and stay in control is more important than ever. From widespread economic crises to cyber attacks and natural disasters, quick recovery in adverse situations is an essential element of success.

Business resilience is the ability to create systems of prevention, the capacity to cope in a crisis, and the process of recovering quickly when times get tough. Defined by flexibility, and agility, business resilience is the key ingredient in every long-term success story.

THE IMPORTANCE OF BUSINESS CONTINUITY PLANNING

Building a future-ready organisation requires foresight, experience, and technical expertise. From fires and floods to security breaches and global pandemics, resilience is about adapting internal processes and retaining control in situations that initially seem beyond control. Resilient businesses are realistic, prepared, and measured in how they respond to adverse situations.

Instead of attempting to remove uncertainty, the smart and realistic alternative involves comprehensive planning and preparation. Business resilience helps to ensure continuity in order to prevent or manage potential threats. While threats can differ widely between locations and industry sectors, the business continuity planning life cycle is circular and applicable for all potential situations:

•Analysis of current systems and risks

•Design of potential solutions

•Implementation measures

•Testing and acceptance

•Maintenance of systems

•Further analysis, and so on

These stages are often summarized as the 6 Rs: reduce, response, recover, resume, restore, return. By being aware of potential threats and setting up systems to manage different risk scenarios, businesses can adapt and refine their processes in response to the wider world.

WHAT DO RESILIENT COMPANIES LOOK LIKE?

Resilient companies are both insightful and practical. While intelligence is needed to define and measure risk, industry expertise is also required to transform insights into working recovery and management systems. It’s important to build, adapt, and innovate business models in order to ensure the continuity of services and stay ahead of the competition. Technology has a huge role to play in this context, with smart network infrastructure and security systems helping to ensure operational flexibility and integrity in the face of change.

Modern businesses rely on secure access to data and applications to create value. And to ensure ongoing productivity in adverse situations, these assets and systems need to be secured and managed effectively. From robust backup solutions to cloud-based storage solutions and flexible supply chains, resilient companies are aware of potential risks and able to cope with changes if and when they occur.

In order to respond quickly and effectively in crisis situations, the following attributes are essential:

A strong and supportive team – Without insightful leadership and a unified team, resilience is unlikely. Strength from the top is needed to support analysis and monitoring efforts, while flexibility from staff is a must to ensure continuity in difficult situations.

The ability to identify risks early – The ability to recognise emerging threats, create mitigation strategies, and manage different scenarios is crucial. Early threat identification is key to long-term survival.

Strength through flexibility and agility – The opportunity to change paths quickly is integral to business success. Being staunch is not enough — business strength in the modern age is about adopting a flexible business shape and an agile mindset.

5 STEPS TO BECOME A MORE RESILIENT ORGANISATION

To future-proof your organisation, it’s important to be aware of your current security and operational stance and make efforts to improve the situation. From a sole trader to a large multinational, the following five steps are critical to stay ahead of the curve:

Engage strong leadership – Build a team that’s capable of inspiring change.

Build expert networks – Work with leading technology providers and continuity experts.

Identify potential risks – Go hard early with detailed “what-if” analysis.

Manage scenarios accordingly – Manage risk through graduated scenarios across the organisation.

Document and improve – Measure successes and failures to thrive in the face of change.

To become a more resilient organisation, please contact Nexon to start the conversation.

Nexon can help to reduce risk, minimise costs, and create enduring business value in an uncertain world.