Depending on your particular business and level of risk, every brand will have different primary threats to business as usual. That’s why risk assessments prior to assembling a business plan can be so helpful.

While you’ll need to have a plan in place for every possible outcome, the following threats are the most common business disruptors to watch.

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1. Global pandemics

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Pandemics can throw a wrench in your business plans from all angles and directions. With citizens forced to stay home and do as much work from there as possible, to increased demand for certain items, and decreased supply due to manufacturer shut-downs or disruptions across the supply chain.

One of the most important plans to put in place if you fear a pandemic is how your people will communicate with each other and conduct necessary business offsite. It’s also important to have options when it comes to supply in case your supply chain is disrupted.

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2. Natural disasters

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A weather-related — tornados, hurricanes, tsunamis, etc. — or other natural phenomena like earthquakes, wildfires, and volcanic eruptions. Some of these disasters are difficult to predict and can onset in seconds. They could cause grave damage to physical structures and anything inside, as well as disrupt supply chains through affected areas.

3. Utility outages

 

A loss of power generation, communication lines, or water shutoffs can cause severe disruption to day-to-day operations, potentially damaging physical assets, and losing productivity and service.

 

4. Cybersecurity

 

A cyberattack (cybersecurity) is any computer-based attack on a technical asset. Examples of cyberattacks include ransomware attacks, data theft, SQL injections, and distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks. At best, your technical infrastructure will be at limited functionality until the issue is resolved. At worst, if you don’t have a data backup, you could potentially lose access to all your business data.