No matter how carefully you plan, there will always be surprises. A lightning strike may damage sensitive equipment, or snow may fill the dish. There is only so much your station can do to prevent these things from happening, but with careful planning you can minimize the damage that results.
Business continuity planning (sometimes called disaster planning) helps make sure that your operation—delivering audio to your listeners—continues, or recovers as quickly as possible, in extraordinary circumstances.
A business continuity plan (BCP) is a document that contains all the information you need to get back on track in the event of a problem. Most plans address two sets of concerns:
- Technical backup: How can you recover smoothly from technical glitches?
- Communications: What communication will facilitate this recovery?