Business Continuity is a vast and often overwhelming subject which, in the main, has been adopted by the IT Department. At its most basic level it encompasses everything involved in keeping a business up and running during a disaster. Or depending on your business requirements, everything involved in getting the business operational within a set period of time after a disaster. Before looking into all of this, it is necessary to assess the potential risks affecting your business, the likelihood they will occur and the disruption they could cause. This will aid you in deciding what level of protection is required and may help in determining some realistic Recovery Time and Recovery Point Objectives, (RTO & RPO). The cost associated with the loss of a particular business function, be it IT related or not, or the perceived cost of lost reputation or potential revenue.