Senior leadership’s role in endorsing resilience has become increasingly crucial, as those leaders set strategy and the ‘risk tolerance’ of a business. That’s according to the Business Continuity Institute (BCI) report ‘A Year in the World of Resilience Report for 2024’, sponsored by the risk management software vendor Riskonnect.
As for priorities, managers have several, in the cyber and physical worlds – cyber resilience – especially with artificial intelligence (AI) integration – has become top management’s primary focus, followed closely by regulatory compliance, the document suggests. According to those surveyed for the report, in some workplaces business continuity (BC) and resilience practitioners regularly collaborate with a range of related departments towards the formation of a ‘resilience umbrella’, for some. That’s typically for risk management and cyber, possibly in sectors such as finance that face having to comply with operational resilience legislation, the report suggests. While management interest in crisis response is described in the report as a good thing, it does add that ‘top management control over the response in a crisis isn’t necessarily a good thing. It can make for slow decision making’, or even a ‘culture of fear’.
While some are wary still about artificial intelligence (AI) – unsure whether AI is a ‘resilience enabler or disabler’ – the main areas of application for those who are adopting AI are cybersecurity, the creation of scenarios for training and exercising, and data mining.
In a foreword to the document, the BCI’s thought leadership manager Maria Florencia Lombardero Garcia said that AI has been a standout topic for 2024, as practitioners increasingly explored its potential to enhance resilience. She said: “From scenario-building for training and data analysis to bolstering cybersecurity, AI applications are proving to be valuable tools. While more practitioners are making up their minds about AI’s role in organisations, particularly within BC and resilience practices, most professionals are taking a wait and see approach to AI.”
Budgets
Most respondents to the BCI survey feel that budgets will remain the same in 2025, as a result of an uncertain economic outlook. Cyber resilience was cited particularly as a possible area for increased investment.
Challenges
Geopolitical hazards emerged as a critical risk this year, with global economic uncertainty being the most frequently cited concern among practitioners. Political instability caused by numerous elections, wars and conflicts, and increasing climate related events all contributed to a challenging risk landscape, the report stated.
Regulation
The report noted an increase in resilience regulations, in particularly those related to critical national infrastructure. Many sectors are affected – energy and utilities, communications, financial services and healthcare, to name only some. A European Union Directive on the ‘Resilience of Critical Entities’ came into
effect on January 16, 2023, whereby member states had until October 2024, to implement national legislation to incorporate the Directive. This seeks to enhance the resilience of critical entities against various threats, such as natural disasters, terrorist attacks, insider threats, sabotage, and public health emergencies.
You can freely download the report, and others by the BCI, if you sign up; you don’t have to be a BCI member. Visit https://www.thebci.org/.
