Business Continuity
Overview
All businesses are threatened by unplanned disruptions to their operations. Business Continuity, at its core, is how Central Piedmont will continue operating when a disruption impacts our normal operating procedures.
The primary objective of business continuity is to develop strategies to recover, resume, and maintain all critical business functions as quickly as possible to minimize the impact of a disruption on the college. Generally speaking, it is all about resiliency.
Business Continuity Planning
For most Central Piedmont divisions and/or departments, service to our students and community would be impacted if our critical functions and systems were disrupted for a period of time. Through business continuity planning and preparation, we can enhance both our capacity to maintain critical functions during a disruption as well as our capability to quickly resume business processes after a disruption. The goal of business continuity planning is to enable Central Piedmont to continue our mission despite disruptions.
Business continuity planning is a proactive approach to strengthen our understanding of the connections between critical processes and how a disruption will impact those processes across the college. Through planning, we develop a Continuity of Operations Plan which includes a predetermined strategy outlining how the college will continue (or resume), restore, and recover critical processes in the event of a business disruption. We house our Business Continuity Plans in Central Piedmont Ready (Kuali) where departments can create and manage their continuity plans. Access the Central Piedmont Ready site (dedicated login required).
Stages of Business Continuity Planning
- Risk Assessment
- Business Impact Analysis
- Plan Development
- Testing and Validation
- Plan Approval
Central Piedmont Enterprise-Wide Business Continuity Plan
Central Piedmont is committed to business continuity management and the resilience of its campus operations. Central Piedmont defines business continuity management as the implementation of plans and tools in response to the business impact analysis undertaken of its operational and administrative functions.
The overriding objectives of the Business Continuity Plan are to serve the needs of Central Piedmont’s students, employees, faculty, and the community; to preserve value; and to ensure the safety of people. It will detail the Central Piedmont overall response and recovery structure, departmental/ functional roles and responsibilities, and the resources required to minimize the impact of an unplanned or anticipated disruption to Central Piedmont and its operations. Additionally, this document details the procedures that will be carried out by individual departments/functions in the event of any disruption. The Business Continuity Plan also provides for training, exercising, and plan maintenance.
The Business Continuity Plan is organized to allow one to quickly determine the appropriate actions and activities necessary to recover. It is a combination of checklists, reference documents, and training aids. The various recovery strategies and procedures should be reviewed and followed based on the circumstances of the incident and approved by the department's senior leadership team and the Business Continuity and Emergency Management department.