Continuity management

Continuity management refers to processes for improving security of supply whereby a company, organisation or public operator:

• identifies business threats, risks, disruptions and dependencies
• assesses the impacts of the threats on the organisation and its operator network
• organises and implements operating procedures in the event of disruptions
• ensures the ability of critical partners to function during disruptions
• protects its business interests and value-creation capacity.

Continuity management creates operating procedures for severe disruptions. It is usually a voluntary activity, but in some industries, Finnish legislation obligates organisations to ensure the continuity of their operations in different circumstances.

Good practices are shared and learned in exercises

The systematic development of continuity management allows organisations to reduce outage costs, improve the capacity of relevant personnel to act in the event of disruptions, make cooperation during disruptions more efficient and reduce post-incident recovery times.

The development of continuity management is a continuous activity that requires organisations to take into account not only their own operations, but also the capacity of their partner and subcontracting networks to operate during disruptions. Preparing for sudden disruptions in advance allows organisations to minimise the costs and damage caused by disruptions.

As regards security of supply, continuity management is carried out in practice in a networked manner with companies and organisations participating in the National Emergency Supply Organisation’s industry-specific pools to develop their own preparedness by way of sharing practices, learning from one another and engaging in joint exercises.