Business Continuity Analyst
IT
SmartSuite for the Business Continuity Analyst
The Business Continuity Analyst supports the resilience program with data collection, test coordination, reporting and performance analysis. They aggregate BIA data, test results and plan updates, run notifications for testing cycles and build dashboards of recovery times and readiness.
Reports to:
What you own
The Business Continuity Analyst supports the resilience program with data collection, test coordination, reporting and performance analysis.
- Collect and validate BIA data and plan updates
- Coordinate testing cycles, notifications and assignments
- Aggregate test results and track completion
- Maintain the dependency and asset data behind plans
- Build dashboards of recovery times, compliance rates and maturity
- Prepare program reporting for the resilience lead
At a glance
The GRC processes this role owns, touches and depends on.
Owns
accountable for the process
Touches
contributes or approves
Depends on
consumes its output
How the GRC processes connect
Three lines of defence set the frame; the chain shows where each process hands off to the next. Colours follow the Business Continuity Analyst: navy is owned, blue is touched, grey is depended on.
- First lineThe business and its control ownersRun the processes, own the controls, fix the issues
- Second lineRisk, compliance and the domain programmesSet the frameworks, assess, monitor and advise
- Third lineInternal auditIndependent assurance to the board and audit committee
Reporting lines
Who this role reports to, who reports to them, and the peers they work with most.
How SmartSuite supports the Business Continuity Analyst
The resilience program depends on you for BIA data, coordinated testing cycles and the readiness numbers the Business Continuity Manager reports upward. SmartSuite gives a Business Continuity Analyst one system for BIA records, test results and plan updates, with notifications that run the testing calendar and dashboards that turn results into recovery-time and readiness measures.
Keep BIA data and plan records current
Business Impact Analysis (BIA) forms give every business function the same fields for recovery objectives and dependencies, so validation is a comparison rather than a rewrite of each submission.
Operational Resilience suiteServices map to the processes, systems, facilities, vendors and teams they rely on, so when an asset changes you can see which plans and BIAs need an update.
Operational Resilience suiteEach plan revision is kept with its reviewer and date, so you can show which plans are overdue for review and which changed after the last exercise.
Operational Resilience suiteRun testing cycles with plan owners
Exercise tasks go to Recovery Plan Owners automatically with reminders, so the Resilience Testing Lead's schedule runs without you chasing each participant by email.
Operational Resilience suiteOutcomes, participant engagement and completion are recorded against each exercise, giving you a running completion rate rather than a reconciliation at the end of the cycle.
Operational Resilience suiteFollow-ups and plan gaps found in testing become Issues Management records with owners and dates, so the next cycle can show which gaps closed and which are still open.
Operational Resilience suiteReport readiness the resilience lead can take upward
Dashboards read recovery times, review compliance and readiness metrics from the BIA and test records, so the figures the Business Continuity Manager reports are the same ones you maintain.
Operational Resilience suiteBecause each cycle's results are kept, you can show maturity moving across quarters and across business units, which the Risk Analyst can set beside the risk register.
Operational Resilience suiteFull histories of BIAs, tests, reviews and ownership changes are retained, so when an examiner samples a plan or an exercise, the evidence is already in order.
Operational Resilience suiteOperational resilience. Aggregates BIA data, test results and plan updates in a unified system and manages notifications and assignments for testing cycles.
Issues and actions. Tracks testing follow-ups and plan gaps with owners and dates.
Reporting. Creates dashboards showing recovery times, compliance rates and maturity benchmarks.
Products this role uses most
Industry reference
ISO 22301:2019 requires a business impact analysis process, documented continuity plans and an exercise and testing program whose results are retained, which is the analyst's workload. The BCI Good Practice Guidelines describe the BIA method and the metrics, such as recovery time objectives and maximum tolerable periods of disruption, that the analyst tracks.
Regulators sample the records: FFIEC examiners and DORA supervisors in financial services, CMS surveyors checking emergency-preparedness testing in healthcare, FEMA continuity assessments in the public sector, and SOC 2 auditors reviewing availability evidence at technology providers.
Related roles
Business Continuity Manager
See the roleExplore Further
Guides and definitions from the GRC Knowledge Center and the What-is glossary, chosen for this role.
Frequently asked questions
The Business Continuity Analyst does the data work behind the resilience program: collecting and validating BIA data and plan updates, coordinating testing cycles with their notifications and assignments, aggregating test results and tracking completion, maintaining the dependency and asset data behind plans and building dashboards of recovery times, compliance rates and maturity. They prepare program reporting for the resilience lead. In SmartSuite that data sits in Operational Resilience and Business Impact Analysis (BIA).
SmartSuite aggregates BIA data, test results and plan updates in one system and manages the notifications and assignments for each testing cycle, so the analyst sets up the cycle once and the plan owners receive their tasks and reminders. Completion is tracked as results come in, which means the analyst can see who has tested, who is late and which results need review rather than reconciling replies from a mailbox.
Follow-ups from tests and gaps found in plans are logged in Issues Management with an owner and a date, and tracked to closure. The analyst can show the Recovery Plan Owner what their plan is missing and the Resilience Testing Lead which test outcomes still have open actions, and the resilience lead sees the whole list without asking. Closed items leave a record that the gap was found and fixed before the next cycle.
SmartSuite creates dashboards from the recorded BIA and test data showing recovery times, compliance rates and maturity benchmarks. Because the dashboards read from the same records the analyst maintains, they update as results arrive; the analyst's work shifts from assembling figures to validating the data behind them and explaining movements. The Business Continuity Manager uses the same dashboards for readiness reporting, so the two never work from different numbers.
Start with the BIA data you already hold for business functions, the current plans and their owners and the last cycle of test results; Business Impact Analysis (BIA) holds the impact data and Operational Resilience the plans and tests. The dependency and asset data behind plans can be added as it is validated. New customers can start with SmartSuite Onboarding, a guided four-week program around one or two priority workflows, such as the first testing cycle. The Risk Analyst can read the same records for the risks the BIAs relate to.