Business Continuity Awareness Week is a timely opportunity to review continuity plans, test response strategies, and strengthen organizational resilience.
Blog
May 15, 2026
Key Takeaways
- Business Continuity Awareness Week 2026 takes place May 18–22 and focuses on organizational resilience
- It’s a timely opportunity to review and test business continuity plans
- Common gaps might include outdated plans, untested scenarios, and unclear communication workflows
- Even small actions like engaging leadership can help improve preparedness
Business Continuity Awareness Week is right around the corner, taking place this year from May 18–22, 2026. For organizations of all sizes, it’s an opportunity to step back, assess resilience, and strengthen the plans that keep operations running during disruptions.
From cyber incidents and supply chain breakdowns to severe weather and workforce disruptions, business-related risks are evolving quickly. Business Continuity Awareness Week is a timely reminder that business continuity planning should be an ongoing priority.
What Is Business Continuity Awareness Week?
Business Continuity Awareness Week is a global initiative designed to raise awareness of business continuity planning (BCP) and organizational resilience. It encourages companies to evaluate how well they can respond to unexpected events and continue delivering critical services.
The goal of Business Continuity Awareness Week is simple: help organizations move from reactive responses toward proactive preparedness.
Why Business Continuity Awareness Week Matters in 2026
The risk landscape continues to shift. Many organizations have some form of business continuity planning in place, but not all test or update those plans regularly. That gap may create exposure when the stakes are high.
Key drivers making Business Continuity Awareness Week especially relevant this year include:
- Increasing cyber threats: Ransomware and system outages may halt operations instantly
- Supply chain volatility: Disruptions may cascade across vendors and partners
- Severe weather events: Climate-related risks can be unpredictable
- Workforce disruption: Labor shortages and remote work dependencies may introduce new vulnerabilities
This awareness week provides a defined moment to revisit these risks and help ensure plans align with current realities.
Business Continuity as a Competitive Advantage
While business continuity planning is often viewed through a risk management lens, it also may have strategic value. Organizations that can maintain operations during disruptions may be better positioned to:
- Help ensure the safety of employees and the public
- Help retain customer trust
- Help protect revenue streams
- Potentially respond faster than competitors
- Help meet contractual obligations
- Help strengthen long-term resilience
In this sense, Business Continuity Awareness Week is about helping build operational strength.
What a Well-Developed Business Continuity Plan Might Include
If you’re using Business Continuity Awareness Week as a checkpoint, consider focusing on the fundamentals. While business continuity needs vary by organization, a well-developed business continuity plan may include considerations such as:
1. Business Impact Analysis (BIA)
Identify critical functions and determine how disruptions would affect operations, revenue, and customers.
2. Risk Assessment
Evaluate potential threats, from cyber incidents to natural disasters, and prioritize based on likelihood and impact.
3. Response Strategies
Define how your organization will maintain or quickly resume critical operations. This could include backup systems, alternate suppliers, or remote work protocols.
4. Communication Plans
Establish clear internal and external communication channels. Employees, customers, and partners should have access to timely, accurate information during disruptions.
5. Testing and Training.
Plans are only effective if they work in practice. Regular testing, such as simulations, may help identify any gaps.
Business continuity is not static. As your organization evolves, your plans should evolve with it.
Business continuity is not static. As your organization evolves, your plans should evolve with it.
How to Participate in Business Continuity Awareness Week
You don’t need a large business continuity plan initiative to make Business Continuity Awareness Week valuable. Even small steps may help strengthen resilience.
Consider these practical actions:
Review your existing plan: When was it last updated? Does it reflect current risks? Do you have the right business insurance coverages in place for your risk exposure? Acrisure clients should review existing insurance coverages with their client advisor to help evaluate whether they are appropriate for the potential hazards and operational risks facing their business. Policies businesses may wish to review with their advisor might include business interruption insurance, commercial property coverage, inland marine insurance, cyber insurance, and key person insurance.
Run a tabletop exercise: Simulate a disruption scenario and walk through your response.
Engage leadership: Help ensure decision-makers understand their roles during an incident. Are leaders cross-trained? Consider what happens if you have a person in charge of a certain function and that person is not available.
Audit third-party dependencies: Vendors and partners may be a potential point of vulnerability.
Educate employees: Awareness across the organization may help improve response effectiveness.
Even dedicating a few hours during the week may surface meaningful business continuity planning insights. For a helpful related article, visit: Don’t Wait for Disaster: Build Your Emergency Response and Recovery Program Now.
Common Areas Organizations May Evaluate
During Business Continuity Awareness Week, different organizations may identify similar challenges:
- Plans that exist but haven’t been operationally tested
- Outdated contact lists or communication workflows, and a lack of backup communication systems and plans
- Overreliance on a single vendor or system
- Lack of clarity around decision-making authority
- Limited alignment between IT disaster recovery and broader business continuity, and limited protection of core systems and applications in a crisis scenario
Identifying these gaps may help organizations prioritize areas for improvement.
Make Business Continuity an Ongoing Priority
Awareness weeks can be useful catalysts, but resilience typically requires consistency. After Business Continuity Awareness Week ends, consider setting a cadence for:
- Quarterly business continuity plan reviews
- Annual testing exercises
- Ongoing risk monitoring
- Cross-functional coordination between departments
Business continuity is not static. As your organization evolves, your plans should evolve with it.
Final Thoughts
Business Continuity Awareness Week 2026 (May 18–22) is an opportunity to pause, evaluate, and work to strengthen your organization’s readiness for disruption. Whether you’re refining an existing plan or starting from scratch, the key is to take action.
Preparedness doesn’t eliminate risk, but it may help determine how well your organization can recover from it.
Acrisure can help!
Reach out to an Acrisure client advisor to get started with reviewing your insurance coverage. Or request a business insurance quote online.
Acrisure’s risk management services and safety programs are designed to help you make informed decisions about managing exposures across your operation. Explore Acrisure Risk Resources now.
This content is for general informational purposes only. Preparedness strategies, operational risks, and insurance needs will vary based on each organization’s specific circumstances.
Insights
