SAMA · ISO 22301 · ISO 22398

BCM that actually runs when systems fail.

Native ISO 22301 §8.4.4 plans, phased recovery, and a §8.5 activation log that captures every invocation. The BCM platform built to be invoked, not just authored.

app.bcmstack.com / dashboard
12
Open risks
38
BIA processes
9
BCPs approved
4/12
Annual tests
Risk by category
SAMA coverage
50% SAMA coverage

Mapped to SAMA BCM, ISO 22301 and ISO 22398

The lifecycle is mapped to every framework GCC regulators audit against

SAMA BCM
ISO 22301
ISO 22398
NCA ECC
Qatar NIA
CBB · NESA
The BCM lifecycle

Govern. Analyse. Design. Implement. Validate. Improve.

BCMStack covers the full ISO 22301 / SAMA BCM Framework lifecycle in one workspace. Every stage feeds the next — and the audit log threads through all six.

1

Govern

BCM policy, charter, committee & programme management.

SAMA §5
2

Analyse

Risk assessment + Business Impact Analysis with configurable matrix.

ISO 22301 §8.2
3

Design

Continuity strategies, recovery options, IT-DR architecture choices.

ISO 22301 §8.3
4

Implement

BCPs, DRPs, recovery activities, communications & supplier playbooks.

ISO 22301 §8.4
5

Validate

ISO 22398 exercises, awareness & training, internal audit.

SAMA §8
6

Improve

Improvement actions, management review, SAMA regulatory submissions.

SAMA §11

The full BCM lifecycle in one workspace — 14 days from contract to first BIA approved.

Watch the 3-minute walkthrough: tenant provisioning, BCM committee setup, BIA wizard, BCP authoring, crisis-mode activation, AAR sign-off and the SAMA submission pack — all from one workspace, one audit log.

How BCMStack covers the lifecycle

Six stages, six modules, one audit trail.

Each stage of the BCM lifecycle has the right module, the right approval flow, and the right SAMA / ISO clause mapped behind it. Below is what each pair of stages looks like inside the platform.

Stage 1 · GovernStage 2 · Analyse
Committee
12
members
BIA
38
processes
Risks
12
3 critical
≤4h
≤24h
≤72h
>72h
Financial
Customer
Regulatory
Operational

Govern & Analyse — set the frame, then size the impact

Stand up your BCM Committee, charter and policy in week one. Then run the analysis layer: a configurable BIA impact matrix per tenant — categories × timeframes × per-cell severity — feeding a polymorphic risk register that links to processes, applications, vendors, locations and the organisation as a whole.

  • Govern: BCM Committee · members · meetings · charter · BCM strategy & policy register
  • Analyse — BIA: RTO · RPO · MTPD · MAO · MBCO · resource × timeframe grids · versioned approvals
  • Analyse — Risk: 5×5 inherent vs residual · treatments · scenario library · top-10 view
Stage 3 · DesignStage 4 · Implement
BCPs
9
approved
Recovery steps
142
across plans
DRP sites
4
primary+alt
v3BCP-Payments — recovery step #4 'DC2 failover' updated2m
draftBCP-Cards — communications plan v2 submitted for approval14m
v1DRP-DC2 — primary→alternative failover runbook approved31m
scopeBCP-Payments — 6 vendors, 4 applications, 2 locations linked52m

Design & Implement — strategies become living plans

Choose a continuity strategy (active-active, warm standby, manual workaround), then author the BCPs and DRPs that operationalise it. Recovery steps, communications, scope links to BIA processes and a 5-tab execution surface that's actually usable mid-crisis — not a PDF nobody opens.

  • Design: continuity strategy options · IT-DR architecture · primary / alternative data-centre tracking
  • Implement — BCP: recovery activities · communications log · scope (processes, apps, vendors) · loss scenarios
  • Workflow: draft → in_review → pending_approval → approved → archived · versioned snapshots
Stage 5 · ValidateStage 6 · Improve
Cyber-Q2 tabletop · 8 of 12 injects fired
T+0Inject 01 — Phishing email reaches CFOFired
T+15Inject 02 — SOC alert on outbound C2Fired
T+55Inject 04 — Activate BCP-PaymentsDecision pending
AAR-1Improvement action #IA-088 — owner assigned, due 2026-06-15→ tracked
SAMAAnnual test programme submitted (within January window)Filed

Validate & Improve — close the loop, satisfy the regulator

ISO 22398-aligned exercises with MSEL injects and structured evaluator observations. Every observation links to an owner, a due date and an improvement action that survives the audit cycle — and rolls up into the SAMA annual test programme submission, due January.

  • Validate — Exercises: 7 types (tabletop / walkthrough / simulation / full-scale / drill / parallel / cutover) · MSEL inject library · DR-specific metrics · structured AAR
  • Validate — Audit: internal audit reviews · gap register · document-review enforcement
  • Improve: improvement actions tracker · management review · SAMA annual programme & results submissions
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How BCMStack compares

Honest, technical, side-by-side comparisons against the platforms most often shortlisted in KSA and GCC RFPs.

Moving off SharePoint + Excel? See BCMStack vs spreadsheets →

SAMA-Submission_AnnualTestProgramme_2026.docx
W
P
X
P
Stage 6 · Improve — outputs

Mission reporting & SAMA submissions

Every lifecycle stage produces a regulator-facing artefact. BCMStack generates preliminary and final continuity reports with review and approval workflows in a configurable format. Real-time audit-trail history and regulator-ready submission packs — Word, PowerPoint, Excel and PDF.

  • SAMA annual programme (due January) · Test results (within 4 weeks of test) · Improvement plans (within 2 months)
  • Board packs and committee minutes generated from data — not authored from scratch every quarter
  • Tenant-aware audit log with actor + IP + payload, exportable to CSV / JSON for external assurance
  • Incident classification (Medium / High) with immediate SAMA reporting workflow built in
6
BCM lifecycle stages — Govern · Analyse · Design · Implement · Validate · Improve
3
Frameworks pre-mapped end-to-end — SAMA BCM, ISO 22301, ISO 22398
70%
Less audit-prep time vs spreadsheets
14d
Signed contract → first BIA approved
Quality Support

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