What is the BS 25999 business continuity management standard?
BS 25999 is applicable to any type of organisation, large or small, and within any industry sector. It is particularly important for organisations operating in high risk environments like utilities, financial services, oil and gas, transportation, telecom and food production, or where continued operation is critical, like in the public sector.
An organisation needs to take precautions and be prepared in order to continue business regardless of the nature of a challenge. Implementing business continuity management systems and standards, such as the BS 25999, enables your organisation to handle any situation.
BS 25999 is comprised by two parts:
- Part 1: A code of best practice recommendations for business continuity management, providing guidance for companies’ business continuity management systems
- Part 2: A specification providing requirements for business continuity management systems, based on business continuity management best practice. Certification to part two proves you have implemented a business continuity management system compliant with the requirements of the standard.
Why certify to BS 25999?
BS 25999 provides you with a powerful outline based on international best practices on how to manage business continuity.
Following certification, your organisation will be better equipped to:
- Safeguard key assets and maintain your reputation
- Identify impacts of operational disruption and crucial improvements
- Encourage cross-team collaboration
- Reap cost benefits from reduced insurance premiums
- Demonstrate commitment to key stakeholders
- Gain a competitive advantage against competitors in case of a major industrial crisis
- Keep your promises, even when facing a crisis, and maintain delivery of products or services
The business continuity management process helps create a clear understanding of how your organisation operates, and where failure might occur, and provides improvement points for your business processes. Additionally, applying business continuity management to your organisation can help you get a competitive advantage, benefit your reputation and contribute to continual business improvement.
Through the certification process you will:
- Obtain a better understanding of the organisation
- Implement a business continuity strategy with proper response tactics
- Maintain the continuity management plan through exercises and reviews into the organisational culture
- Learn how to embed the business continuity approach
In our audits we use our Risk Based Certification™ methodology, allowing us to tailor each audit to your unique needs. By focusing on the most significant business continuity management issues for your organisation, our audits help you identify and concentrate your efforts on key improvement areas while also checking compliance against BS 25999.
How DNV Business Assurance can help
DNV Business Assurance is an accredited third party certification body. We provide relevant training and certification services.
DNV Business Assurance is a gold partner with Business Continuity Institute (BCI), a leading organisation working to promote the art and science of business continuity management worldwide.