As we begin the new year it is important to reflect on 2020 and the challenges many businesses have faced.

The Covid-19 pandemic has and will continue to throw curveballs at companies in every sector, so it's essential to be prepared for what may lie ahead.

Many organisations will have already laid out their business plans for 2021, but one of the key areas to focus on going forward is business continuity and disaster recovery planning.

Having a thorough plan of action will ensure you are prepared to face challenges head-on and overcome them.

Here's how best to plan and prepare for business continuity and disaster recovery, with help from global experts in operational resilience, SES.

Critical applications are essential for businesses

How has the pandemic affected critical applications?

Whether it's finance software, customer relationship management systems or stock control, every business relies on at least one critical application to complete essential business functions.

Companies are largely dependant on their third party applications to perform day-to-day tasks. Unfortunately the Covid-19 pandemic has posed problems and uncertainty with how critical apps and data are protected, supported and accessed from home.

Businesses may consider investing in new applications, but this proves time consuming and costly, especially if your original applications were customised or bespoke. It’s also important to consider the impact to your business in the meantime with no access to your critical applications and data.

Thankfully there are effective steps businesses can take to minimise the damage and disruption these scenarios cause.

Software Escrow Agreements provide assurance and continuity

What is Software Escrow and how can it help businesses?

Software Escrow protects businesses against ‘what if’ scenarios and puts them in control of third party software investment. The third party agreement is designed to protect businesses' critical applications and data, offering assurance and continuity for their investments.

Having Software Escrow Agreements permit an independent specialist to hold and test a copy of your applications source code to ensure it is accurate, complete and together with relevant data can be swiftly redeployed in the event of a failure.

In the event of supplier failure, all material required for the successful redeployment of the application can be accessed through the Escrow agreement, guarding against service disruption and providing continuity of service.

SES’s Software Escrow Agreements are designed to be flexible and protect businesses' against every possible outcome. Whether you have one application or many, if they are hosted in the cloud or installed on-premise at your site, SES can provide the best protection to suit your business needs.

Will Sharp, managing director of SES, said: "We have seen a significant uptake in the number of clients adopting Software Escrow protection within their business during the COVID 19 pandemic. Software Escrow protects against a myriad of unforeseen scenarios and ideally should be a standard aspect of all organisation's business continuity strategies."

Cyber security is more important than ever during the pandemic

How can business protect themselves against cyber threats?

Businesses in any sector are accustomed to cyber threats and the Covid-19 pandemic is no different. In fact, the coronavirus crisis has caused a rise in cybercriminals attacking business' networks and systems with 2020 seeing a rise in phishing threats.

This means it is more important that ever to have cyber security in place, and SES has a selection of services designed to protect each business' critical assets.

SES recommends starting by implementing regular Vulnerability Assessments and performing Penetration Testing each year, and after each major version change. This will help to identify any weaknesses in security, notice threats which already exist in systems and networks, and understand the paths a cybercriminal could take to breach your business - enabling you to eliminate vulnerabilities.

Due to the rise in phishing threats, Phishing Assessments are also advised as they provide employees with the knowledge to identify potential phishing threats and remove them before they can cause series damage and disruption.

Finally, substantial Incident Response planning is a comprehensive action plan businesses can follow if a cybercriminal is able to bypass defences and gain access to their systems and networks. It allows you to quickly identify, contain, eradicate and remediate the threat.

The NHS are one of SES' clients

What companies has SES helped?

SES has worked with over 2,500 companies in 40 countries providing tailored protection to suit each businesses' needs. Among its clients is the NHS, which required help with protecting its critical software applications which were contracted to a third-party developer.

SES proposed a Software Escrow Solution to ensure the application deposited in Escrow was complete, accurate and could be redeployed effectively in the event of supplier failure.

A spokesperson for the NHS said: "Protecting our most critical applications is very important to the continuity and operation of our organisation. Utilising the comprehensive Escrow services available by SES will not only secure our software in Escrow but ensure it is tested and useable in the event we ever need to call on it.

"SES ensured a clean, cost-effective and professional service which provides the right protection for us for the future."

Managing director of SES, Will Sharp

Find out how SES can help your business today

From Software Escrow solutions right through to Cyber Security protection and Data Profiling services, SES is a global expert in operational resilience.

Staff are specialists in helping businesses to mitigate threats to business continuity and maximise disaster recovery, ensuring businesses have an effective strategy in place to tackle challenges prior to them occurring.

To get in touch and speak to one of their specialists email enquiries@ses-escrow.co.uk or call 0161 488 1400.