What is the difference and similarity between business continuity planning (BCP) and disaster recovery planning (DRP)?
Both BCP and DRP activities help prepare an organization for a contingency operations. And they both intend to keep operations running continuously despite of emergency situations and recover business functions as quick as possible if a disruption occurs. Their main difference is that while BCP activities are strategically focused, DRP tends to focus more on tactical and describes technical or IT related activities.
Business continuity planning (BCP) and disaster recovery planning (DRP) are very interrelated programs with a common business objective. However, the two disciplines have their own differences and areas of specializations to be precise. Unlike business continuity plan (BCP), DRP is primarily an IT function established to ensure that critical IT systems are available to support critical business functions and units. Moreover, BCP focuses on keeping critical business processes and requirements functioning throughout the disastrous situation. Whereas DRP focuses on recovering or rebuilding damaged organizational assets to restore and recover business operations into its primary sites. However, the primary output of both BCP and DRP programs is to have improve business resilience before, during and after disastrous or emergency situations.
Before developing BCP and DRP, the personnel involved in the process should have deep understanding about the business processes of the organization, the IT and information systems supporting the businesses and the interdependencies among each of these assets. This can be accomplished by close examinations of the business processes and information systems with the objective of seeking processes and systems improvement opportunities to achieve business resilience and fewer unplanned outages.
The two (BCP and DRP) are instrumental in improving business resilience whether a disaster strikes or not. When disasters disrupt normal business operations, organizations activate their business continuity and disaster recovery procedures to undertake damage assessment, salvage, restoration, and recovery activities until businesses are returned to normal operations. The presence of BCP and DRP procedures by itself is a good indication that an organization follows prudent-man-of-rules to its long-term viability and reputation by minimizing the impact of natural and manmade disasters.