Are You At Risk? 9 Signs You Need a Risk Assessment for a Business Continuity Plan
May 22, 2025
Downtime isn’t just inconvenient—it’s expensive. A report revealed that over 60% of outages result in losses of at least $100,000. And that’s just the starting point.
For many businesses, the actual cost climbs higher when you factor in missed sales, operational delays, recovery expenses, and long-term reputational damage.
That’s where business continuity risk assessment comes in. It gives you a clear view of where the cracks are—before they turn into something that halts your business.
In this guide, we’re going to walk through the signs that show your business needs a risk assessment for continuity. If any of them sound familiar, it’s time to rethink how prepared your organization really is.
What is a risk assessment for business continuity?
A risk assessment for business continuity is the process of identifying, evaluating, and prioritizing potential threats that could disrupt business operations.
It’s one of the core steps in creating a business continuity plan, allowing companies to prepare for disruptions before they happen.
The goal of a business continuity plan risk assessment is to keep the business running through any kind of disaster—natural, technical, or human-made.
Common business security risks that a risk assessment can find
A well-structured business continuity risk assessment process can uncover a wide range of threats. Some are easy to predict, while others only become visible through analysis. Here are common security risks that could be identified:
- Inadequate data backup procedures lead to permanent data loss
- An outdated disaster recovery plan that fails to cover current business functions
- Unsecured supplier networks are vulnerable to breach or disruption
- Cyberattacks targeting sensitive customer or financial data
- Unpatched software vulnerabilities across key business systems
- Dependence on a single critical vendor without redundancy
- Lack of continuity and recovery strategies for remote work scenarios
- Poor visibility into operational disruptions across departments
- Failure to evaluate third-party risk from contractors or partners
Identifying these threats early through a business continuity risk analysis allows for timely updates to the business continuity management system and helps avoid major operational downtime during a crisis.
9 signs you need a business continuity plan risk assessment
Not sure if your business is truly prepared for disruptions? These signs reveal where gaps in your business continuity plan may be hiding.
Sign #1 You don't know which business functions are critical
If you can’t clearly define your critical business functions, it’s a sign that you need a risk assessment for business continuity. These are the operations, systems, or services your business can’t run without—like sales platforms, customer support, inventory systems, or internal communications.
By evaluating the risks and potential impact of each function, you can prioritize them during a disaster.
This process also helps outline which areas need strong data backup plans, quicker recovery time objectives, or specific recovery strategies to keep the business operating during a crisis.
Sign #2 Your disaster recovery plan hasn't been updated in over a year
Technology changes fast—and so does your business. If your disaster recovery plan is still based on last year’s systems and vendors, it probably doesn’t reflect your current business environment.
An outdated business continuity risk assessment can be dangerous. It may miss newly added business functions, updated systems, or changes in your team’s structure.
Regularly assessing your risk and updating the plan ensures your disaster recovery strategy aligns with how your business actually operates today. It also ensures your business continuity plan includes current risks, like increased cyber threats or changes in the global supply chain.
Sign #3 Your business has grown or changed rapidly
When businesses grow fast—whether through new product launches, expanded teams, or tech adoption—their risk profile changes. What worked before might not be enough anymore.
If your operations have scaled but your business continuity risk analysis strategies haven’t, your business is more vulnerable to disruption.
A fresh business continuity plan risk assessment helps identify new weak points and ensures you have the right strategies in place. For example, if you’ve expanded your cloud infrastructure but haven’t updated your cybersecurity protocols, your data could be at serious risk.
Sign #4 You’ve switched suppliers or vendors recently
Any change in your supplier or vendor network should trigger a new business continuity risk assessment. Whether you’ve added new logistics providers, IT vendors, or cloud service partners, you’ve introduced new risk points into your operations.
Supplier issues are one of the leading causes of business disruption. A risk assessment ensures your new vendors are reliable and that you’ve developed continuity strategies in case they’re affected by a disaster or service outage.
It’s also important to evaluate if your new suppliers have their own disaster recovery plans in place—if they don’t, your business could feel the impact.
Sign #5 It’s been more than a year since your last risk assessment
If you haven’t conducted a risk assessment for business continuity in the past 12 months, you’re overdue. The business continuity management process should include scheduled reassessments to keep up with evolving threats.
From new types of cyberattacks to rising weather-related disasters, the risks facing your business are always changing. Even small changes—like hiring remote staff, launching a new product, or opening a second location—can shift your risk landscape.
By regularly reviewing and updating your business continuity risk assessment, you stay ready for anything that could disrupt business operations.
Sign #6 Your employees don't know the plan
One of the most overlooked aspects of business continuity management is employee readiness. If your team doesn’t know what to do during an emergency, even the best-written business continuity plan will fail.
A thorough business continuity plan risk assessment helps pinpoint gaps in awareness, communication, and role responsibilities. It can also uncover where training is needed, especially when it comes to health and safety, cyberattack response, or recovery efforts after a disaster.
Preparedness starts with people, and a strong plan includes regular drills and team alignment to ensure everyone is on the same page.
Sign #7 You’ve experienced downtime in the last year
Any instance of operational downtime—whether caused by a system failure, human error, or external event—is a wake-up call. Even short disruptions can highlight major gaps in your business continuity risk analysis process.
After a disruption, it’s important to assess what went wrong and what could have been done differently.
Was the data backup process effective? Did the recovery strategy kick in fast enough? Were the right people informed in time? Answering these questions through a risk assessment can help your business prepare better and avoid future downtime.
Sign #8 You’re not sure if you meet industry compliance requirements
Uncertainty around compliance is a red flag. Many industries—especially those handling financial data, healthcare records, or critical infrastructure—are required to meet strict standards for data protection, disaster recovery, and operational resilience.
A risk assessment for business continuity helps you evaluate whether your business continuity plan aligns with these regulatory expectations. It also highlights gaps that could result in legal issues or fines.
Reviewing your business continuity management system through a compliance lens allows you to identify potential threats, assess risk transfer strategies, and ensure your risk management process meets industry-specific rules. This kind of evaluation is essential for maintaining both trust and uptime.
Sign #9 You don't have a documented risk management process
If your business doesn’t have a formal business continuity risk assessment process in place, it’s operating in the dark.
Documenting how you assess, evaluate, and manage risk is central to creating a comprehensive business continuity plan. Without it, your response during a crisis will likely be reactive—and chaotic.
A documented process allows you to consistently evaluate potential threats, analyze their likelihood and potential impact, and apply strategies to mitigate disruption.
It helps define how critical functions are prioritized, how recovery efforts are coordinated, and how the planning process is updated as the business evolves.
Having this process not only improves operational resilience but also ensures continuity of critical services, even when the unexpected hits.
How to conduct a business continuity risk assessment
A strong business continuity plan starts with a clear, structured business continuity plan risk assessment process. Here's how to do it.
Step 1: Identify critical business functions
The first step in the business continuity risk analysis process is identifying which business functions are critical to keeping the business running. These are the functions that must be restored first during any disruption.
This step involves evaluating the risks associated with business activities like customer service, payroll processing, inventory control, or IT systems.
Step 2: Conduct a business impact analysis
Once the critical business functions are identified, the next step is to carry out a business impact analysis (BIA). This process measures the potential impact of a disruption on those functions.
A proper BIA doesn’t just look at the obvious financial costs of downtime—it also examines reputational damage, legal implications, compliance risks, and supply chain disruption.
During this step, it’s important to assess both the likelihood and potential impact of hazards that could affect business continuity.
For instance, a cyberattack might halt operations for an e-commerce platform, while a natural disaster could prevent a logistics company from fulfilling deliveries.
Step 3: Identify and evaluate risks
The third step in the risk assessment for the business continuity process is identifying hazards that could disrupt business operations and evaluating the risk each one poses.
This includes threats like cyberattacks, natural disasters, pandemics, supply chain failures, and even utility outages. These are not just worst-case scenarios—they’re real risks that could strike any business, regardless of size or industry.
Risk analysis helps determine the probability of each threat occurring and the level of disruption it would cause.
Step 4: Assess current controls and gaps
After risks have been evaluated, businesses need to assess their current controls and recovery strategies.
This includes reviewing the effectiveness of their disaster recovery plan, data backup systems, supply chain strategies, and any prior recovery efforts. If these elements haven’t been tested recently or contain outdated information, they may not mitigate the risk as intended.
Inadequate business continuity risk assessment can lead to major oversights—such as failing to include remote work infrastructure in the continuity and recovery strategies.
Step 5: Develop or update the business continuity plan
Using the findings from the earlier steps in business continuity risk analysis, the next move is to develop or update the business continuity plan.
The plan should include the hazards identified, outline the steps to mitigate all the risks, and describe how the business will respond to and recover from disruptions.
It should address each critical function and specify recovery time objectives (RTOs) and recovery point objectives (RPOs).
Step 6: Test, review, and update regularly
Even the most well-written business continuity plan risk assessment plan can fall short if it’s not regularly tested and updated.
The final step is to run tests that simulate real-world scenarios—such as a system outage, a supply chain disruption, or a health and safety incident.
These tests help assess how well the plan works under pressure and where improvements are needed.
Ready to assess the risks that could disrupt your business?
If you’re unsure where your business stands when it comes to resilience and disaster preparedness, now is the time to act.
Whether it's outdated systems, supply chain disruption, or cybersecurity threats, every business faces risks that could interrupt operations—and cost far more than just revenue.
Sterling Technology Solutions offers a thorough risk assessment for business continuity that helps you identify potential threats, evaluate business functions, and implement strategies to mitigate the risk.
Don’t let inadequate business continuity risk analysis become the reason your business can’t recover from a disaster.
Book your business continuity risk assessment today with us and take the first step toward keeping your business running—no matter what happens.
Frequently asked questions
What is a risk assessment, and how does it support a business continuity plan?
A business continuity plan risk assessment identifies the potential threats that could disrupt business operations, helping companies create a strong business continuity plan.
This process involves evaluating the likelihood and potential impact of various events, allowing businesses to mitigate the risk and prepare for operational disruptions.
By understanding what could go wrong, the business can maintain services during a crisis and reduce the chance of business failure.
Why is a business impact analysis important in the business continuity planning process?
A business impact analysis (BIA) is essential to the business continuity planning process because it helps evaluate how each part of the business would be affected by a disruption.
It uncovers the critical business functions that are most critical to the business and estimates how long the business can go without them.
This analysis helps prioritize recovery actions, protect key business assets, and develop an effective business continuity plan.
What are the steps in the risk assessment process for business continuity?
The risk assessment process for business continuity involves five key steps:
- Process of identifying critical functions within the business
- Process of analyzing potential hazards
- Conducting a business continuity risk assessment
- Reviewing existing recovery strategies and controls
- Creating a plan to mitigate all the risks
This structured approach ensures the business continuity risk analysis management system is based on real threats that could disrupt business operations and outlines how to recover from a disaster effectively.
What are some common threats to your business continuity?
Common threats to your business include cyberattacks, natural disasters, pandemic outbreaks, and supply chain disruptions. These events can lead to downtime, data loss, and even business disruption if not addressed properly.
A thorough risk assessment for business continuity allows organizations to understand which hazards could impact their business and build continuity and recovery strategies to keep the business running.
How can businesses mitigate the risk of operational downtime?
To mitigate the risk of operational downtime, companies must assess their data backup systems, implement a disaster recovery plan, and regularly review and update their management system.
Businesses should also evaluate their risk management process, prepare for potential threats, and ensure the plan includes the hazards relevant to their industry.
Planning for recovery efforts and building operational resilience into every part of the organization helps keep the business stable under pressure.
What happens if you have an inadequate business continuity plan risk assessment?
An inadequate business continuity risk assessment can result in serious consequences such as extended downtime, health and safety risks, or failure to resume critical business operations.
Without a clear risk analysis, businesses might overlook potential risks within their overall business environment.
This lack of preparation increases the chances of disruption and reduces the effectiveness of strategies to mitigate those risks. It also undermines confidence in the business continuity management efforts.
Why should businesses assess their suppliers during continuity planning?
Suppliers play a key role in many business activities, and their disruptions can affect your supply chain.
During a risk assessment for business continuity planning, it’s important to identify and evaluate third-party risks, especially when developing a comprehensive business continuity plan. Any failure in the supplier network could delay deliveries, create operational downtime, or stop production altogether.
To manage this, businesses must build risk management strategies that cover supply chain stability, including alternative sources and risk transfer methods.
