Coronavirus pandemic has unexpectedly made businesses to sit back and re-jig their continuity.

No one thought that this pandemic would temporarily halt businesses pushing employees to opt for remote working. An important aspect which should not be missed is the important business lesson taught by this pandemic. Business Continuity Plan (BCP) has assumed supreme importance for the basic business functioning in case of unforeseen events like the coronavirus. Business continuity, an important aspect of disaster management requires companies to examine themselves, by identifying potential security gaps and collect important data, like technical server designs and contact information which is very vital in case of an emergency

In simple words, a full proof BCP plan assures that contingency plans and measures are in place for operational resiliency in case of any service interruptions, which may include-

•  A global pandemic

•  International threats

•  Human-made disaster

•  Natural disaster

•  Power outage

•  Password and information breaches

•  Cyberattacks

When it comes to business continuity, Software as a Service is a name to reckon with. SaaS provides a complete software solution to businesses letting them purchase services on a pay-as-you-go basis from a cloud service provider. SaaS facilitates businesses to rent and use apps for their organization and allows their workforce to connect to it over the Internet, usually with a web browser. An umbrella term consisting of PaaS (Platform as a Service), IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service), SaaS encapsulates-

•  SaaS- Hosted applications/apps

•  SaaS, PaaS- Development tools, database management, business analytics

•  SaaS, PaaS- Operating systems

•  SaaS, PaaS, IaaS- Servers and storage

•  SaaS, PaaS, IaaS – Networking firewalls/security

•  SaaS, PaaS, IaaS – Data center physical plant/building

The SaaS provider hosts all of the underlying infrastructure, app software and app data and middleware, in its data center and manages hardware and software following an appropriate service agreement with the business client. SaaS networks ensure the availability and security of the app and assure the highest levels of data security.

Popular SaaS offerings include email, calendars, and office tools. The common B2B examples of SaaS are Google Apps, Salesforce, Dropbox, MailChimp, ZenDesk, DocuSign, Slack, Hubspot which lets businesses access their software regularly for free or in exchange for a recurring fee.

Blueprint of a SaaS Business Continuity Plan

In the event of any crisis, SaaS enables enterprises to get up on their feet and start running with an app at a minimal upfront cost.

The SaaS Business Continuity Planning is best done at an early stage of the enterprise functioning. The severity of the calamity increases manifold when accompanied by poor procedures and/ or poor staff training.

Team readiness is an important aspect to be taken into account as well. By the time enterprises finish shifting their critical data and SaaS applications to the cloud, their IT team must be ready to take on their roles in the continuity framework.

Strategies for SaaS Business Continuity Plan

A good continuity strategy must be up-to-date with all the information needed by the enterprise in case of a disaster. Regular audit updates are a must. Here are the different strategies a business must not miss drafting its continuity plan-

Goal identification SaaS business continuity plan must take into account the business continuity objectives and long-term goals, detailing-

•  The details of the continuity plan

•  Departments/ Vertices covered

•  Success Factors

•  Budgetary allocations on business continuity- These include training, backups, and recovery

•  Team and Workforce Management

A well-prepared team is as important as a BCP plan itself. Businesses must have a handy list of every team member with their contact and emergency contact details. It is also good to create task-oriented teams based on different project requirements.

Business Impact Analysis

Business Impact Analysis (BIA) is an integral part of the business continuity plan. BIA collects vital information on the potential threats which the business may face and current security threats pointing towards potential loopholes.

Acting on Obstacles

No BCP will succeed if the business does not act on the pain points or obstacles in hand. This requires multiple departments, to come together and enlist a continuity plan exercise with their teams. Adopting rating to crucial business functions also does the trick, for instance on a scale of 1-10, 10 being the highest delivery managers can ask their team to rate the power backup solution if a natural disaster happens.

Prevention Plan

It is critical to list down preventive actions which a business must take before any unavoidable incident occurs. Like the COVID-19 lockdown, where the employees have to work from their homes.

Contingency Response

This plan involves the essential time also defined as the Recovery Point Objective (RPO) for an easy and quick recovery required to come back to normalcy. For instance, after the COVID-19 lockdown, every department must know how to re-start their work with social distancing protocols and updates for the higher-ups.

Training

A good Business Continuity plan is worthless if the employees are not trained for emergencies. Regular drills and training are important to test the strength and durability of the BCP preparing employees in the best way.

Business Continuity Plan (BCP) for Software as a Service (SaaS) is critical to seamless operations in case the enterprises work from/with the emerging markets or from a place that is supported by weak or incomplete internet infrastructure.

The SaaS pilot must begin with the non-critical applications. Though there is no panacea to guarantee SaaS BCP when the internet infrastructure is poor. However, to know the tolerant levels, enterprises must apply the concept of SLA (Service Level Agreement) as a part of their general Disaster Recovery (DR) drills.