Don’t Settle for Less: Adaptive Business Impact Analysis (BIA) with the ServiceNow?

The ServiceNow Configuration Management Database (CMDB) and the Common Service Data Model (CSDM)

The ServiceNow CSDM opens the door for the definition of the real-time and adaptive enterprise, where capabilities, products, processes, services, and offerings are linked to all elements associated with people, process, and technology. 

The ServiceNow surveying tools provide users with the ability to define, collect, and manage the elements associated with a BIA campaign, so business continuity teams can use surveying instruments to collect BIA elements. And if you are a SurveyMonkey fan, their surveys are now also available in ServiceNow. 

Business continuity teams can then associate the BIA metrics collected (Loss of Revenue; Customer Service; Brand, Image, and Reputation; Penalties, Fines, and Sanctions; Legal/Regulatory Requirements; and Increase to Operating Expenses) with any Configuration Item (CI) such as Product, Service, Process, or Capability within the CSDM.

Old School Thinking

Unfortunately, many advocate capturing BIA metrics against the Governance and Compliance (GRC) data structure, which takes a compliance view of business continuity. This approach continues the trend of making the BIA and business continuity a “compliance-driven function,” instead of integrating it into the enterprise strategy, operations, and value-creation functions. 

Adaptive and Real-Time BIA

I advocate using business continuity work as a contribution to the day-to-day organizational value creation, not just during disasters or for compliance. The closer business continuity teams can integrate their BIA with the elements associated with strategy, decision making, and operational activities, the more they can educate the culture of the enterprise as it relates to availability and further allows for the BIA perspective to be used in the daily considerations of service and product delivery. This proximity and sharing of data elements with the ServiceNow service elements (IT Service Management (ITSM), IT Operations Management (ITOM), IT Business Management (ITBM), and others) can enhance readiness and availability as teams become aligned with the business continuity perspective driven by the BIA.

Additionally, the BIA can also go beyond a disaster or compliance-driven approach to a new approach where the BIA can provide real-time readiness, fostering an adaptive environment. This proximity to operations allows for the BIA to adjust seasonally against the demands of the business, adaptive to revenue or competition. A real-time approach also allows for a more fluid and adaptive collection of the BIA data around changes in the people, process, and technology aspects of the business, ensuring an evergreen strategy.

No More BIA Report

No more printing of the doorstop called “the BIA report.” It is obsolete, it is static, it is void of changes in the environment, and it is compliance myopic.

We need to advocate for a dynamic approach that will allow us to pivot based on the day-to-day realities affecting our businesses. For example, quick BIA surveys that incorporate COVID-19 factors can be integrated into all aspects of the delivery of products and services as defined by the CSDM. These surveys can be adapted to monitor the business continuity vitals of the company and provide all management levels with decision-making indicators that secure business continuity.

This is the power of the CSDM. Let’s not bury the BIA results as part of a compliance governance structure like the GRC module—let’s integrate the BIA and business continuity into the core of product and service delivery so that we are constantly aware of our corporate resiliency and business continuity.