Business Continuity Management (BCM)

What Does Business Continuity Management (BCM) Mean?

Business continuity management (BCM) refers to the management of core conceptual resources that address future threats to a business and help business leaders handle the impacts of these threats. This term is in the same vein of others, like business continuity planning (BCP), where business leaders try to identify and address potential crises before they occur.

Techopedia Explains Business Continuity Management (BCM)

Many organizations and trade groups have participated in building business continuity management standards. Some offer certifications for this type of professional role. Others hold conventions or other forums where businesses meet to discuss ways to pursue this type of planning in the face of a range of possible crisis situations. In many cases, this type of planning is informed by actual past events. A good example is the Asian floods that threatened the supply chains of many large businesses with a global reach.

At its core, BCM works on the principle that good response systems can help businesses avoid some damage from theoretical events. This includes focusing on flexible supply chains and deploying good IT practices like data safeguards. Groups like the British Standards Institute (BSI) and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) have developed BCM standards to help businesses plan against future crises.