A Business Impact Analysis (BIA) is a core component of business continuity planning. Its primary outcome is the identification of critical business functions and processes—those that are essential to the organization’s survival and need to be restored first after a disruption. This lays the groundwork for selecting appropriate recovery strategies and prioritizing resources.

A (Recovery strategies) are developed after identifying critical functions.

B (Mitigation alternatives) are part of risk treatment but not the direct result of BIA.

D (Replacement agreements) may be used later in continuity planning.