When discussing Service Design I am often asked the purpose and value of a Business Impact Assessment (BIA). The purpose of a BIA is to quantify the impact to the business that the loss of a service would have. It is a valuable source of input when trying to ascertain the business needs, impacts and risks that the organization may face in the delivery of services. The Business Impact Assessment is an essential element of the overall business continuity process. It identifies the most important services to the organization and therefore will help to define the overall strategy for risk reduction and disaster recovery. At a more granular level these assessments enable the mapping of critical service applications and technology components to critical business processes. It is an invaluable input for Continuity Strategy, Availability Design, and Capacity Management. The BIA’s strategic purpose is to show which parts of the business will be most affected by a major incident