Business Continuity Planning Description and Framework

The term "Disaster Recovery" and "Business Continuity" are often used interchangeably. They are in fact, different but complementary components of a business's overall recovery and continuity planning. Whereas Disaster Recovery Planning (DRP) is concerned with the recovery of systems and infrastructure components, Business Continuity Planning has a larger scope - namely, the determination of which business components and functions need to be recovered - and those which can be ignored. This paper explores several of the key components of a business continuity planning effort. It also provides a high level framework for the creation, implementation, and maintenance of a Business Continuity Plan.