As 2014 draws to a close, companies need to be aware of the trends occurring throughout the business continuity space. Like each year before it, 2015 will bring some changes to this area of operations, and companies that are aware of the prominent themes for the year will be able to optimize their improvements to their continuity of operations planning.

According to Continuity Central, there were several key themes for business continuity discussed that the recent Crisis Management Conference in London addressed. Some of the most important take-aways are:

Coherence – Beyond creating a strategy, ensuring it is well understood by all employees is an equally critical part of continuity of operations. A coherent plan will be easier to execute and more successful and people will be able to accomplish the necessary tasks more efficiently.

Communication – Communication is almost always an important theme of continuity planning each year, due to innovations in enterprise communications capabilities and the essential nature of keeping employees informed of disaster risks and business strategies.

Learning – Learning from mistakes and crises from previous years is a central theme for continuity planning this coming year. From identifying important lessons through post-incident review to ensuring those lessons are implemented through change, learning is vital to a successful business continuity plan.

In order to optimize a continuity of operations plan, firms may consider hiring business continuity consultants to assist with integrating these themes and ensuring every potential risk is properly considered and prepared for. From a natural disaster to a data center crash, when a crisis strikes having a plan ready is 50 percent of the fight to recovery.