Step-by-Step: Creating an ISO 27001 Business Continuity Plan

Why Business Continuity Planning is Critical for ISO 27001

An ISO 27001 business continuity plan is your organization’s lifeline when disaster strikes. Think of it as a well-rehearsed playbook that protects your valuable information assets and keeps critical operations running when things go sideways. It’s not just another document to satisfy auditors—it’s a practical survival strategy for your business.

The heart of any effective ISO 27001 business continuity plan includes identifying your most critical business functions through careful impact analysis, assessing risks to those functions, developing recovery strategies with clear time objectives, documenting step-by-step procedures, and committing to regular testing. These elements work together to create resilience in your information security framework.

In today’s interconnected world, the cost of downtime is staggering. Small businesses can hemorrhage up to $10,000 per hour when systems fail, while larger enterprises might lose $5 million or more. These numbers aren’t just statistics—they represent real threats to your company’s survival. When you implement a proper ISO 27001 business continuity plan, you’re not just checking a compliance box; you’re protecting your company’s future.

What makes ISO 27001’s approach to business continuity unique is its laser focus on the CIA triad—maintaining the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of information during disruptions. When normal operations break down, your sensitive data becomes particularly vulnerable. Your plan must address how you’ll protect information from unauthorized access while ensuring it remains accurate and accessible to those who need it.

“The safety of people always comes first as the guiding principle in your business continuity policy.”

While many organizations have basic disaster recovery plans, ISO 27001 demands more. Your business continuity plan must bridge both immediate incident response and long-term operational maintenance. Auditors won’t just take your word that the plan works—they’ll want evidence that you’ve tested it within the past 12 months under realistic conditions. This testing requirement is what transforms theoretical plans into practical tools.

I’m Reade Taylor, and having worked as an IBM Internet Security Systems engineer, I’ve seen how proper ISO 27001 business continuity plans transform vulnerable organizations into resilient ones. At Cyber Command, we’ve helped countless businesses develop continuity strategies that not only satisfy certification requirements but genuinely protect their operations when they need it most.

What is an ISO 27001 Business Continuity Plan?

When your business faces unexpected disruptions, how quickly can you get back on your feet? This is where an ISO 27001 business continuity plan comes into play.

Think of your ISO 27001 business continuity plan as your organization’s roadmap for navigating through chaos. It’s a detailed set of procedures that guides your team on how to respond, recover, resume, and restore operations when things go sideways. This isn’t just another document gathering dust on a shelf—it’s a living strategy that’s central to your Information Security Management System (ISMS).

At its heart, this plan protects what security professionals call the CIA triad: the Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability of your critical information. When systems crash or disasters strike, maintaining these three pillars becomes both more challenging and more important than ever.

Many folks use “business continuity” and “disaster recovery” interchangeably, but they’re actually different pieces of the same puzzle:

Your Business Continuity Plan (BCP) focuses on keeping your critical business functions running during and after a disruption—like making sure your customer service team can still help clients even if your main office is flooded.

Your Disaster Recovery Plan (DRP) is more technical, concentrating specifically on getting your IT systems and infrastructure back online after a disaster—like restoring your servers after a power surge.

As one seasoned ISO auditor once told me, “The policy tells you what needs to happen when disaster strikes, not how to make it happen. The ‘how’ is where your detailed procedures come in.”

If you’re working toward ISO 27001 certification, having a well-structured business continuity plan isn’t optional—it’s a requirement. When auditors arrive, they’ll specifically check that your plan exists, has been tested recently, and includes appropriate information security safeguards throughout.

Why Business Continuity Matters for Information Security

While availability might seem like the obvious focus during a disruption (“let’s get the systems back online!”), your ISO 27001 business continuity plan must protect all three aspects of the CIA triad.

Picture these scenarios:
– Your team is scrambling to recover from a ransomware attack that’s encrypted your customer database
– A hurricane has damaged your primary data center
– Your head of IT security is unreachable during a major security incident

Each of these situations threatens not just system availability but potentially the integrity and confidentiality of your information as well. Without proper planning, organizations often make panic-driven decisions during crises that compromise security controls they’d never dream of bypassing under normal circumstances.

The financial stakes make this planning essential. When systems go down:

Small businesses typically lose $8,000-$10,000 per hour of downtime
Enterprise organizations can watch millions of dollars evaporate hourly
The damage to your reputation and customer relationships often exceeds these direct costs

Beyond these immediate financial impacts, your ISO 27001 business continuity plan strengthens your overall security posture by ensuring critical security controls remain operational during disruptions, preventing security shortcuts during recovery, maintaining data integrity through controlled recovery processes, and preserving confidentiality even in emergency operating modes.

As the IT director of a mid-sized financial services company told me after implementing their plan: “We thought this was just a checkbox for compliance. What shocked us was finding security gaps during our planning that we’d never even considered before. The process itself made us more secure—before we ever had to use the plan.”

Annex A Controls & 2022 Updates You Must Know

If you’re implementing an ISO 27001 business continuity plan, you need to understand the specific controls in Annex A that govern business continuity. The 2022 revision of ISO 27001 brought some significant changes to how these controls are organized and what they require.

In the 2013 version (which many organizations still use), business continuity was covered under Annex A.17, with two main subsets:
– A.17.1 Information Security Continuity (3 controls)
– A.17.2 Redundancies (1 control)

The 2022 revision took a fresh approach, reorganizing these controls into:
– Annex A 5.29: Information Security During Disruption
– Annex A 5.30: ICT Readiness for Business Continuity

This isn’t just a numbering change – it reflects a more integrated approach to business continuity. The new controls emphasize that information security must remain consistent during disruptions, and they recognize the critical role that technology platforms play in maintaining business operations.

As one of our clients put it: “The 2022 update finally acknowledges what IT teams have known for years – your business continuity is only as good as your technology continuity.”

Control 5.30 is entirely new in the 2022 standard with no equivalent in the 2013 version. This highlights how much more importance is now placed on ICT readiness for business continuity. If you’re planning to get certified under the 2022 standard, you’ll need to pay special attention to this area.

Drill-Down on Annex A.17.1 – Information Security Continuity

Whether you’re working with the 2013 or 2022 version, understanding the fundamentals of information security continuity is essential. Let’s look at what Annex A.17.1 requires:

A.17.1.1 Planning Information Security Continuity focuses on determining how you’ll maintain information security during disruptions. This means documenting specific requirements and recovery objectives, considering different types of disruptions, and integrating security continuity into your broader business continuity framework.

A.17.1.2 Implementing Information Security Continuity is where the rubber meets the road. You’ll need documented processes and procedures, clear responsibilities, defined triggers for escalation, and technical controls that support continuity.

One of our healthcare clients in Orlando learned this lesson the hard way when a hurricane threatened their operations. They had a general business continuity plan but hadn’t implemented specific information security measures. When they had to evacuate their primary location, they realized too late they hadn’t established secure remote access protocols for their clinical systems.

A.17.1.3 Verify, Review & Evaluate Information Security Continuity requires regular testing of your continuity controls. It’s not enough to have a plan – you need to verify it works, document the tests, and continuously improve based on the results.

Think of this control as the “trust but verify” component of your ISO 27001 business continuity plan. Without testing, your plan is just a theory.

Annex A.17.2 – Redundancies That Pass an Audit

The second part of Annex A.17 focuses on redundancies – specifically, control A.17.2.1 addresses the availability of information processing facilities. To pass an audit for this control, you need more than just backup systems.

First, you need sufficient redundancy – duplicate hardware, alternative processing sites, and comprehensive data backups. This redundancy should be aligned with your recovery time objectives (RTOs) identified in your business impact analysis.

Second, you must regularly test your redundant components. I can’t stress this enough – during an audit, if you can’t prove you’ve tested your failover systems within the last 12 months, you’ll likely fail this control.

A manufacturing client of ours learned this lesson when they failed their initial audit despite having excellent redundant systems. They simply couldn’t produce evidence that failover testing had occurred within the required timeframe. As I like to tell clients: “In ISO 27001, if it isn’t documented, it didn’t happen.”

Third, maintain equal or higher security levels for your redundant systems. It’s a common mistake to implement strong security on primary systems but neglect the same controls on backups. Your disaster recovery site should be at least as secure as your primary site.

Finally, document your redundancy capabilities clearly. Your documentation should state which systems have redundancy, where the redundant components are located, and how they’re activated.

By understanding these controls and implementing them properly, you’ll not only pass your ISO 27001 audit but also build genuine resilience into your organization’s information security program. For more information about building a comprehensive approach, check out our Business Continuity page.

ISO 27001 vs ISO 22301: How They Work Together

When it comes to keeping your business running during a crisis, ISO 27001 isn’t the only standard in town. There’s actually a dedicated standard specifically for business continuity management systems (BCMS): ISO 22301. Understanding how these two standards complement each other can significantly strengthen your approach to business continuity.

Think of it this way: ISO 27001 business continuity plan requirements focus primarily on protecting information during disruptions, while ISO 22301 provides a comprehensive framework for all aspects of business continuity.

The good news is that both standards are built on the same High-Level Structure (HLS), which means they fit together like puzzle pieces. This alignment allows you to implement both standards without duplicating your efforts – a real time-saver!

I love how one ISO implementation consultant put it: “ISO 27001 tells you that you need business continuity for information security, while ISO 22301 tells you exactly how to do business continuity properly.” That sums it up perfectly.

Leveraging ISO 22301 for a Stronger ISMS

You don’t necessarily need to pursue dual certification to benefit from ISO 22301’s methodologies. Many of our clients at Cyber Command have incorporated elements from ISO 22301 to strengthen their ISO 27001 business continuity plans with impressive results.

Here’s how ISO 22301 can beef up your ISO 27001 implementation:

Business Impact Analysis (BIA) Methodology

ISO 22301 offers a structured approach to analyzing potential business impacts that goes beyond what ISO 27001 requires. This methodology helps you identify critical business functions, understand their dependencies, establish maximum tolerable periods of disruption, and determine what resources you’ll need for recovery. The result? A much clearer picture of what needs to be protected and how quickly.

Recovery Prioritization Framework

When disaster strikes, you need to know what to recover first. ISO 22301 provides clear guidance on setting Recovery Time Objectives (RTOs) and Recovery Point Objectives (RPOs), prioritizing recovery activities based on time sensitivity, and balancing resources across multiple recovery needs. This framework ensures you’re focusing on what matters most when time is of the essence.

Governance Roles and Responsibilities

During a crisis, confusion about who’s responsible for what can be disastrous. ISO 22301 defines specific roles for strategic decision-making, tactical implementation of recovery procedures, operational execution, and stakeholder communication. This clarity can make all the difference when you’re working to restore normal operations.

We recently worked with a healthcare provider in Orlando who integrated ISO 22301 methodologies into their ISO 27001 business continuity plan. The result? They reduced their recovery time by 60%! That’s the difference between being down for a day versus being down for less than half a day – a huge improvement that directly impacts patient care.

For organizations looking to develop truly resilient information security practices, we recommend exploring the Business Continuity Lifecycle to understand how these complementary standards can work together to protect your business when it matters most.

Step-by-Step Guide to Building Your ISO 27001 Business Continuity Plan

Let’s face it—creating an ISO 27001 business continuity plan can feel overwhelming at first. But breaking it down into manageable steps makes the process much more approachable. After helping dozens of Florida businesses develop their continuity plans, we’ve refined this process into eight clear steps that work consistently well:

1. Secure top management support
2. Define policy and scope
3. Conduct a business impact analysis
4. Perform an information security risk assessment
5. Develop continuity strategies and redundancies
6. Document your business continuity plan
7. Implement training and awareness programs
8. Test and update your plan regularly

This isn’t just a one-and-done project. One of our clients put it perfectly: “We thought we’d be done after certification, but we quickly realized that business continuity is something we need to keep evolving as our business changes.” That’s exactly right—business continuity is an ongoing journey of improvement, not a destination.

Step 1 – Secure Top-Management Support

Your ISO 27001 business continuity plan simply won’t get off the ground without leadership backing it. I’ve seen well-designed plans gather dust because executives weren’t fully on board.

To gain meaningful support, you’ll need leadership to do more than just sign off on a document. They need to actively demonstrate commitment by allocating proper resources, approving the continuity policy, participating in key decisions, and supporting testing activities.

One approach that works wonderfully is conducting a brief tabletop exercise with your executive team. We did this with a skeptical CEO in Tampa who afterward told us, “I had no idea how quickly a seemingly minor IT issue could escalate to threaten our entire operation.” Sometimes seeing is believing!

When presenting to leadership, frame business continuity as a strategic business issue—not just an IT concern. Hard data on downtime costs specific to your industry can be persuasive, as can information about regulatory requirements that affect your business.

Step 2 – Define Policy & Scope

Your business continuity policy doesn’t need to be a novel—in fact, the best ones are typically just 2-3 pages. What it does need to do is clearly establish:

• The purpose and objectives of your continuity efforts
• Which parts of the organization are covered
• Who’s responsible for what
• References to related policies and standards
• Version control information

Focus on what needs to be done, not detailed instructions on how to do it. As one of our ISO 27001 implementation specialists always reminds clients: “The principle of the business continuity policy is that the safety of people always comes first.”

When defining your scope, consider everything from geographic locations to business functions, information systems, supply chain dependencies, and regulatory requirements.

One manufacturing client in Central Florida initially focused only on production systems in their scope. During our implementation work together, they realized that their customer service systems were equally critical to maintaining operations during a disruption. Expanding the scope early saved them from significant gaps in their planning.

Step 3 – Conduct a Business Impact Analysis

If there’s a foundation stone for your ISO 27001 business continuity plan, it’s the Business Impact Analysis (BIA). This critical step identifies which functions your organization simply can’t live without and how quickly they need to be restored.

A thorough BIA identifies your critical business functions and the information assets supporting them. It determines how disruption would impact you over time—financially, operationally, and reputation-wise. Most importantly, it establishes your recovery objectives:

• Recovery Time Objective (RTO): How long you can function without a system
• Recovery Point Objective (RPO): How much data loss you can tolerate

Be sure to involve representatives from all business areas when conducting your BIA. I’ve seen too many organizations make the mistake of letting IT handle this alone, missing critical business insights in the process.

One of our retail clients in Orlando initially set aggressive RTOs for all their systems, wanting everything back online within hours. During implementation, they finded their resources simply couldn’t support simultaneous recovery of everything. By prioritizing based on actual business impact, they developed a more realistic and effective plan.

Step 4 – Perform an Information Security Risk Assessment

While your BIA tells you what needs to be recovered and how quickly, a risk assessment helps you understand what could cause disruptions in the first place—and how to prevent or mitigate those scenarios.

For an effective ISO 27001 business continuity plan, your risk assessment should identify potential threats like natural disasters, technical failures, human actions (both accidental and malicious), and external factors like supply chain issues or power outages.

Next, assess vulnerabilities that could be exploited, evaluate the likelihood and impact of each scenario, and determine your risk treatment options:

• Risk reduction: Implementing controls to minimize impact
• Risk transfer: Using insurance or third-party services
• Risk avoidance: Eliminating the risky activity altogether
• Risk acceptance: For low-impact or low-likelihood scenarios

Here in Florida, where hurricane threats are significant, we’ve helped many clients develop specific continuity controls for weather-related disruptions. One financial services firm realized through their risk assessment that they had excessive infrastructure concentration in a flood-prone area. They implemented a geographically dispersed approach that has since saved them during two major storms.

Step 5 – Develop Continuity Strategies & Redundancies

Now comes the creative part—developing strategies to maintain or quickly restore your critical functions. These strategies should align with the RTOs and RPOs you defined during your BIA.

For your people, consider cross-training staff for key roles, documenting critical procedures, establishing work-from-home capabilities, and identifying alternate work locations.

For technology, look at implementing high-availability systems, establishing robust data backup processes, using cloud services for redundancy, and deploying alternate communication systems.

Don’t forget about facilities—identify alternate work sites, implement power backup solutions, establish agreements with recovery site providers, and ensure physical security at all locations.

Finally, address supplier continuity by identifying alternate sources for critical services, including continuity requirements in your contracts, reviewing supplier plans, and developing manual workarounds.

A healthcare provider we worked with in Orlando implemented a hybrid cloud strategy that allowed them to quickly fail over critical patient systems during a localized outage. Their ISO 27001 business continuity plan documented both the technical configuration and the procedural steps needed to activate the failover—and it paid off when they experienced an unexpected power issue last year.

Step 6 – Documenting Your ISO 27001 Business Continuity Plan

When disaster strikes, clear documentation becomes invaluable. Your plan should be well-structured and readily accessible to those who need it during a crisis.

Include sections covering introduction and purpose, scope and assumptions, roles and responsibilities, activation criteria, emergency response procedures, communication protocols, recovery procedures, resource requirements, and return-to-normal operations. Helpful appendices might contain contact lists, checklists, and technical procedures.

Write your plan using clear, straightforward language that can be understood during high-stress situations. The person reading it might be doing so by flashlight during an emergency! Use checklists, flowcharts, and diagrams where they help clarify complex procedures.

One manufacturing client we worked with created a tiered documentation approach with a high-level plan for executives, functional recovery plans for department managers, and detailed technical procedures for IT staff. This approach ensured everyone had the information they needed without being overwhelmed by irrelevant details.

Step 7 – Training & Awareness

Even the most brilliantly documented ISO 27001 business continuity plan will fail if your team doesn’t understand their roles or know how to execute the procedures. Training isn’t just a checkbox for ISO 27001 compliance—it’s essential for real-world effectiveness.

For all staff, provide general awareness of the continuity policy, how to recognize and report potential disruptions, basic emergency procedures, and where to find information during a crisis.

Continuity team members need more detailed role-specific training, hands-on practice with recovery procedures, decision-making guidance, and communication protocols.

Management requires training on strategic decision-making during disruptions, crisis communication with stakeholders, resource allocation during recovery, and legal considerations.

A financial services client in Orlando created a simple “emergency response card” that all employees carried with their ID badges. This card contained basic response instructions and key contact information, ensuring critical information was available even if systems were down. Simple solutions like this can make a big difference when seconds count.

Step 8 – Testing & Updating Your ISO 27001 Business Continuity Plan

As the old saying goes, “An untested plan is just a theory.” Regular testing isn’t just an ISO 27001 requirement—it’s essential for effective continuity planning.

Testing approaches range from simple desk-based reviews and walkthrough exercises to functional testing of specific components and full-scale simulations that mimic actual disruptions. For ISO 27001 compliance, you must conduct tests at planned intervals (at least annually), document results and lessons learned, update the plan based on findings, and maintain evidence for audits.

One of our financial sector clients conducts quarterly tabletop exercises, semi-annual component tests, and an annual full-scale simulation. This progressive approach builds confidence while identifying improvement opportunities at each stage.

Business and technology changes can impact your continuity plan. Establish a formal review process triggered by organizational changes, new systems, supplier changes, lessons from tests or actual incidents, and at minimum, annual reviews.

At Cyber Command, we’ve seen how a well-tested Business Continuity Plan can make the difference between a minor hiccup and a major disaster. Our Orlando-based team has helped businesses across Florida develop and test plans that have proven their worth during hurricanes, power outages, and cyber incidents.

Proving Compliance: Testing, Audits & Common Pitfalls

When the time comes for your ISO 27001 certification audit, your business continuity plan will be under the microscope. Auditors aren’t just checking a box—they’re looking for real evidence that your plan works and protects your information assets during disruptions.

In my years helping Florida businesses prepare for these audits, I’ve seen what catches an auditor’s attention. They’ll carefully examine your documentation, looking for a formal business continuity policy and detailed procedures that specifically address information security during disruptions. But having paperwork isn’t enough—they want to see implementation evidence. Have you assigned specific roles? Allocated resources? Can you show the process actually working?

Testing is perhaps the most critical element auditors evaluate. If you can’t provide documentation showing your plan has been tested within the last 12 months, you’ll likely face a nonconformity. These test results should show not just that you went through the motions, but that you reviewed the outcomes and made improvements based on what you learned.

As Lindy Cameron, CEO of the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre, aptly observed: “…many [organizations] have no incident response plans, or ever test their cyber defenses.” This common gap often becomes painfully obvious during an audit.

Passing the ISO 27001 Audit First Time

Want to avoid the stress of follow-up audits? Focus on these key areas to get it right the first time:

Your scope definition needs crystal clarity. Auditors check that your business continuity plan aligns with your overall ISMS scope and covers all critical information assets. Vague boundaries lead to audit findings.

Documentation quality matters tremendously. Beyond having the right documents, they need to be clear, consistent, and current. One manufacturing client in Orlando failed their initial audit simply because their documentation used inconsistent terminology and lacked proper version control—simple fixes that could have saved them thousands in re-audit fees.

Your testing evidence should tell a complete story. Maintain detailed records that show what you tested, who participated, what scenarios you simulated, what you finded, and—most importantly—what you did about any issues you found. Think of this documentation as telling the story of your continuous improvement journey.

Management involvement isn’t optional. Auditors look for evidence that leadership has reviewed and approved your ISO 27001 business continuity plan and actively participates in testing and improvement activities. Without this, auditors question whether the organization is truly committed to business continuity.

Finally, show clear alignment with your risk assessment. Your continuity plans should directly address the specific risks you’ve identified. One healthcare provider we worked with created a simple mapping document that connected each continuity measure to specific risks—a approach that impressed their auditor and streamlined the audit process.

Avoid These Common Errors

After helping dozens of organizations achieve ISO 27001 certification, I’ve noticed some recurring pitfalls that trip up even well-prepared companies:

Skipping the Business Impact Analysis is like building a house without a foundation. Without a proper BIA, your recovery priorities will likely be misaligned with actual business needs, and resource allocation will be inefficient. One financial services client proudly showed me their detailed recovery procedures for systems that, as it turned out, had minimal impact on their critical operations. Meanwhile, truly essential systems had minimal recovery documentation.

Outdated plans are surprisingly common. Your business evolves constantly—new systems, organizational changes, lessons from tests—and your continuity plan needs to evolve with it. An auditor will quickly spot a plan that’s gathering dust.

Missing test logs are an automatic red flag. As one auditor bluntly told a client: “If it isn’t documented, it didn’t happen.” No matter how rigorous your testing program, without documentation, it’s worthless from a compliance perspective.

Untested redundancies create a false sense of security. Having backup systems and data is meaningless if you haven’t confirmed they’ll work when needed. One Orlando retail client finded during a test that their backup data was complete but in a format their recovery systems couldn’t process—a critical flaw they might have finded too late in a real emergency.

Inconsistent security controls between primary and backup environments are easy to overlook. Your disaster recovery environment needs the same level of protection as your production environment—something many organizations miss when focusing on just getting systems back online.

Lack of management approval signals governance problems to auditors. One technology company had a technically brilliant continuity strategy but failed their audit because they couldn’t demonstrate that leadership had formally reviewed and approved it.

The most successful organizations view their ISO 27001 business continuity plan not just as a compliance requirement but as a valuable business tool. When properly implemented, tested, and maintained, these plans provide genuine resilience that protects both information security and business operations when disruptions inevitably occur.

Frequently Asked Questions about ISO 27001 Business Continuity

What’s the difference between business continuity and disaster recovery?

I get this question all the time when helping clients with their ISO 27001 business continuity plans. While they’re related, they serve different purposes.

Think of business continuity as the big picture approach. It’s about keeping your entire organization running during a disruption – not just technology, but people and processes too. It answers questions like: “How will our staff work if they can’t access the office?” or “How will we communicate with customers if our primary systems are down?”

Disaster recovery, on the other hand, is more focused. It’s the technical subset of business continuity that deals specifically with restoring your IT systems and data after something goes wrong. This might include server recovery procedures, database restoration steps, or network reconfiguration plans.

For ISO 27001 compliance, you need both – but with a specific emphasis on protecting information security throughout the disruption and recovery process. Your plan needs to address not just getting systems back online, but ensuring they remain secure while you do it.

How often should we test the plan to satisfy ISO 27001?

ISO 27001 requires testing at “planned intervals,” which is deliberately vague because different organizations have different needs. That said, annual testing is the absolute minimum if you want to pass your certification audit.

In practice, I recommend a more nuanced approach based on your specific situation:

For critical systems that simply can’t go down, test quarterly. If you’re in a highly regulated industry like healthcare or financial services, semi-annual testing is prudent. And if your environment changes frequently – perhaps you’re deploying new systems every few months – you should test after each significant change.

Different components of your plan can also have different testing schedules. Many of our Orlando clients test their communication procedures quarterly, verify their backup restoration monthly, and run full-scale simulations annually.

The key for ISO 27001 compliance is documentation – your auditor will want to see evidence that testing occurred within the past 12 months, what was tested, what issues were found, and how you addressed them.

Who owns the ISO 27001 business continuity policy?

This is where many organizations stumble. While IT often drives the process, ISO 27001 business continuity plans need clear ownership at the executive level.

Ultimate accountability always rests with senior management. Your CEO or executive team must approve the policy and commit resources to implement it. Without this top-level support, business continuity efforts often fizzle out or become “shelf documents” that nobody follows.

In day-to-day practice, most organizations assign operational responsibility to specific roles:

A senior executive (often the CIO, CISO, or COO) typically owns the policy itself. They approve it, champion it to the rest of the organization, and make sure it aligns with business goals.

The actual development and maintenance of the plan usually falls to someone like a Business Continuity Manager or Information Security Manager. This person coordinates the details – running the business impact analysis, documenting procedures, organizing tests, and updating the plan.

Implementation responsibility is then distributed across the organization. IT handles technical recovery, facilities management takes care of physical locations, and department heads manage business function recovery.

The most successful ISO 27001 business continuity plans I’ve seen clearly document these roles and responsibilities. When everyone knows exactly what they’re supposed to do – both during planning and during an actual disruption – recovery happens much more smoothly.

Conclusion

Creating an effective ISO 27001 business continuity plan is about far more than just ticking compliance boxes—it’s about building true organizational resilience that stands up when you need it most. Throughout this guide, we’ve walked through the essential steps to develop a plan that not only satisfies ISO 27001 requirements but genuinely protects your critical information assets during those inevitable bumps in the road.

After helping dozens of Florida businesses implement their continuity plans, I’ve seen how this process transforms organizations. One Orlando healthcare client told me, “We started this just wanting to pass our audit, but we ended up with something that’s now fundamental to how we operate.”

Remember these five key takeaways as you move forward:

Business continuity is a journey, not a destination. Your plan must evolve alongside your organization—new systems, new staff, new threats all require ongoing attention. The businesses that treat continuity planning as a living process rather than a static document are the ones that truly build resilience.

Integration makes everything stronger. When your business continuity plan works hand-in-hand with your overall Information Security Management System and leverages standards like ISO 22301, you create a seamless approach to security and resilience that’s greater than the sum of its parts.

Testing isn’t just about checking a box—it’s about building confidence. One Tampa client finded during their first full simulation that their backup systems worked perfectly, but nobody knew how to access them remotely! Without regular testing, you simply can’t know if your plan will work when needed—and you definitely won’t pass your ISO 27001 audit.

Documentation is your safety net. Clear, accessible procedures ensure everyone knows exactly what to do during a disruption. As one client put it: “During a crisis is not the time to be figuring things out—it’s the time to follow the plan we already created.” Good documentation also provides the evidence trail you need for certification.

Leadership commitment makes or breaks your efforts. Without genuine support from the top, business continuity planning becomes an uphill battle for resources, attention, and implementation. When leadership truly commits, the entire organization follows suit.

At Cyber Command, we understand the unique challenges Florida businesses face when implementing an ISO 27001 business continuity plan. From hurricane preparedness to ransomware protection, our team of certified experts brings both technical expertise and practical business understanding to every client relationship.

We’ve helped growing businesses across Orlando and throughout Florida develop, implement, and test continuity plans that align with their specific business objectives while satisfying ISO 27001 requirements. And with our genuine 24/7/365 support, you can be confident that help is always available when you need it most—not just during business hours.

Don’t wait for a disruption to test your resilience. Contact Cyber Command today to learn how we can help you develop an ISO 27001 business continuity plan that not only protects your business but supports your growth objectives for years to come.