As organisations around the world trigger their business continuity plans (BCPs), they are beginning with an assessment of viability. While the majority of companies will have had an existing BCP in place, the threat of Covid-19 has been so unique that many BCPs globally have not been applicable or extensive enough to cope with the impact. While crisis management teams have been gathering multiple times a year to draw up scenarios and anticipate the impact of various forms of crisis, the current environment is offering a new challenge whose scale is so unprecedented that the current BCPs are not expansive enough to address the threat. In response, leaders are gathering in some cases twice daily to address the new challenge and update their BCPs accordingly.

Data scientists play a crucial role in this executive crisis management, providing continuous and detailed insights that support decision-making. Data can identify vulnerable areas of business now and going forwards, predict problem areas, analyze the efficacy of current plans and develop immediate response and future-proofing strategies to navigate the business through the storm of Covid19.

·        Working with leadership – communicating the need for data science as part of BCP planning

·        Kicking into action – assessing impact on business, customer behaviours, employee needs, productivity, etc

·        Impact modelling, scenario building and strengthening business risk mitigation efforts

·        Laying plans to bounce back faced with the lasting impact which will be seen on the economic environment

·        Confronting issues of confidentiality, integrity and availability of data