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It’s unfortunate that more organizations do not include business continuity (BC) as a regular permanent line item in their annual budgets. However, as companies hash out their budgets for 2025, there are steps BC practitioners can take to increase their chances of getting the funds they need to protect their organizations.
[Related on MHA Consulting: How To Pitch Your Business Continuity Plan To Management and The Board]
Business Continuity: A Budgetary Afterthought
It’s budget season again, the time of year when other departments receive their regular annual funding allocations, and the BC program waits to see if it will get a few crumbs.
I wish it were otherwise.
The unfortunate reality is that it’s rare to find an organization that has a full-time budget item for BC. Most other departments have line items that are guaranteed to be in the budget from year to year, even if the amounts fluctuate.
In contrast, BC tends to be a budgetary afterthought, with funding for resilience typically awarded on an ad hoc basis. In addition, any money that is allocated for BC has the unfortunate habit of being taken away if unmet needs arise elsewhere.
The Costs of Budgeting for Resilience on an Ad Hoc Basis
Failing to include BC as a regular budgetary line item makes it nearly impossible to establish and maintain a rational, effective BC program. Without reliable funding, BC efforts become sporadic responses rather than consistent, strategic initiatives. This lack of structure results in gaps in preparedness, increasing a company’s vulnerability to disaster.
In BC—as in life—drifting without a clear direction leaves one at the mercy of the wind. Operating without a committed BC budget significantly increases the organization’s residual risk, leaving it exposed to the whole range of potential disruptions, from cyberattacks to natural disasters and everything in between. When business continuity is treated as an afterthought rather than as a proactive, funded strategy, the organization’s resilience is essentially left to chance.
Waiting on the Senior Leadership
Ultimately, the decision to include business continuity as a regular budgetary item rests in the hands of senior leadership. It’s a strategic commitment that goes beyond the influence of front-line BC practitioners.
For now, securing regular budgeting for resilience is a long-term goal that the BC community must collectively work toward over the coming years. The rest of this blog will discuss things BC professionals can do in the near term to help them obtain the resources they need to protect their organizations.
How to Obtain the Right Resources to Protect your Organization
Become an Advocate to Secure Funding in 2025
While securing BC as a permanent budget item may be a long-term goal, there are things BC practitioners can do right now to try to obtain the funding they need for 2025. In short, they must embrace the role of advocate and become proactive in making their case to the people with budgeting authority.
For many BC practitioners, the idea of pushing for funding may feel uncomfortable; however, it’s essential if they hope to build an effective BC program. BC pros need to embrace the role of advocate, educator, and fighter. They need to make a case for the resources they need to protect the organization, even if this requires stepping out of their comfort zone. Since companies are currently finalizing their budgets, this is the perfect time to make your voice heard.
Prepare, Tell a Story, and Be Succinct
To advocate effectively, BC practitioners must prepare thoroughly and be equipped with the right information to present a clear, compelling case. This means having a succinct, data-driven argument that speaks directly to senior leadership’s priorities.
Practitioners should aim to tell a story that highlights the organization’s vulnerabilities, referencing real incidents, audit findings, customer requirements, or gaps exposed in a current-state assessment. The goal is to be brief but impactful—think: “Here are three reasons we need $100,000 to safeguard our operations.”
Be Persistent and Strategic in Asking for Funding
Most BC professionals simply take what they’re given, but that approach won’t drive meaningful change. Practitioners need to be persistent: if you ask for $200,000 and are turned down, counter with, “What about $100,000?” If that’s rejected, then try for $50,000. In addition, BC pros should leverage any champions or steering committees they have, using these allies to gain internal support.
Having a structured, strategic conversation with senior executives can make the difference between securing the funds needed to build resilience in 2025 or receiving an inadequate sum or one that might subsequently be taken away and given to another department.
Determine How Much Money You Need
To figure out how much funding to request, start by understanding the gaps in your programs. This means reviewing documents such as past incidents, customer requirements, audits, current state assessments, the business impact analysis (BIA), and threat and risk assessments. These resources will reveal where your current continuity program falls short. Knowing your most significant vulnerabilities will give you a clear sense of what needs to be addressed urgently in 2025.
Particularly important are any gaps that exist between what the BIA requires and what IT can actually deliver. For example, if the BIA shows that a certain critical business system must be restored within 24 hours to avoid a significant impact, but IT requires five days to restore that system, this is a gap that requires prompt attention. Use this information to determine your budget request and explain it to senior management.
Making Tough Choices and Conducting a Regular Review
Here are a couple of additional items that are important when it comes to budgeting for resilience. First, if you don’t secure the full amount you requested, you'll need to make a strategic decision on how to allocate the resources you do receive. Be prepared to make tough choices to get the most protection possible with the budget you have.
Second, if BC ever does become a regular line item in your company’s budget, you should treat determining your needs as an ongoing process rather than a one-time exercise. Regularly review your program—not just annually but throughout the year—to assess what’s working and what gaps remain. Continuously refining your program ensures it evolves with the organization’s changing risks and priorities.
Budgeting for Resilience in 2025
Everyone in BC hopes that, in the future, resilience funding will become a regular line item in every organization’s budget. In the meantime, BC practitioners need to be especially proactive and energetic about securing the funding they need.
Now is the time to determine how much you’ll need to budget for resilience in 2025. It’s also the time to make a compelling case to management about why those funds are essential to protect the organization and its stakeholders.
Further Reading
- Know Your Gaps: Manage Residual Risk to Keep Your Company Safe
- Finding an Executive Sponsor for Your BCM Program: A Date with an Angel
- How To Pitch Your Business Continuity Plan To Management and The Board
- Aligning Business Recovery Efforts with IT Disaster Recovery
- What’s Up, Doc? When and How to Perform a Current State Assessment
- No Respect: The Occasionally Frustrating Truth About Life as a BCM Professional
Michael Herrera
Michael Herrera is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of MHA. In his role, Michael provides global leadership to the entire set of industry practices and horizontal capabilities within MHA. Under his leadership, MHA has become a leading provider of Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery services to organizations on a global level. He is also the founder of BCMMETRICS, a leading cloud based tool designed to assess business continuity compliance and residual risk. Michael is a well-known and sought after speaker on Business Continuity issues at local and national contingency planner chapter meetings and conferences. Prior to founding MHA, he was a Regional VP for Bank of America, where he was responsible for Business Continuity across the southwest region.
