The role of business continuity and disaster recovery plans is constantly changing. Here are three recent trends to consider when planning for your company:

Natural disasters have increased

According to the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), the number of natural disasters have increased steadily since the 1970s. The amount of natural disasters between 2000 and 2009 was triple that of those between 1980 and 1989, 80 percent of which the NEJM said were caused by climate related events. 

As these numbers rise, it becomes increasingly more important for companies to prepare for natural disasters. While there's nothing that can be done to prevent a natural disaster, there are steps that can be made to mitigate the effects of one in the workplace. 

Cyber attacks are on the rise

Today's news is littered with reports of businesses of all sizes suffering data breaches and losing customer information. According to McAfee, this is due to a number of reasons, including, a steady growth in malware and spam, the increasing knowledge of unlisted internet pages as a haven for cyber criminals called the Deep Web and an increase in the use of digital currencies like Bitcoin to maintain anonymity. 

As we wrote earlier in the month, there is now a legal precedent for holding companies liable for data breaches. Plans must include robust procedures and policies for preventing and mitigating the effects of data loss.

Consider disruptions as the norm

Business interruptions are no longer outlying events. With these increases, businesses can no longer afford to consider disruptions as a rare occurrence. Business continuity and disaster recovery planning needs to be apart of the everyday processes in the corporate world. Doing so will make your company ready to face even the worst of situations. 

Proper continuity planning requires a lot of time and resources, and business continuity consultants can help create a cohesive plan to help in any possible scenario.