Whether your business is hit with a brief power outage or by a natural disaster, any kind of interruption to your organization’s productivity cuts into your profits. A business continuity plan (BCP) is critical to ensuring your organization stays open.

From CryptoLocker to WannaCry, ransomware has grown in sophistication and scope over the past few years. And given its widespread success with hackers, more ransomware attacks will likely be developed further into 2018. In anticipation of these attacks, many experts are saying that virtualized disaster recovery solutions may be the best way to defend against future ransomware.

Power outages, disasters and other disruptions happen. And thousands of businesses around the globe are affected by them every year, with lost profits ranging into the millions, if not billions. So how can your business protect itself and stay open when the unexpected strikes? Here are five common business continuity strategies that many companies rely on.