What’s the worst thing that can happen to your business? If you don’t know, it’s worth thinking about the question for a few minutes, as it helps you focus on what risks your business may be facing. And I’m not talking about day-to-day mishaps, but the catastrophic ones that can kill or main your business.

These scenarios vary from business to business. In today’s world a lot of organisations are data driven, so the loss of their data could be catastrophic. Other organisations are less dependant on data, and more dependant on customer factors, whether it’s sentiment or footfall. Yet others are dependant on source materials and factors of production. The risks will vary from industry to industry, but not being aware of what they are can be disastrous.

If you know what the risks are, you can mitigate against them. Whether it’s a matter of investing in online backup solutions, or making sure you have reserves to cope with a downturn; or having alternative markets you can tap; measures can always be put in place to minimise the impact of one of the risks occurring. But you need to understand those risks to make sure you have the right mitigations in place. So, don your thinking cap, and make sure you’re looking at the big picture.