Keeping things simple may be key when it comes to business continuity planning.

Computerweekly.com reports that supermarket chain Somerfield has reduced its business continuity plan from a 42-page long document to a set of simple check lists following a year long review.

Speaking to the website, Colin Clark, head of corporate business control at Somerfield, said: "There were several processes and systems that were previously thought to be critical, but had nothing to do with getting beans on shelves and were therefore not that important."

He added: "Organisations need a business continuity plan that can be done in the real world and can be kept up to date easily as part of its annual risk assessment."

The review involved working out what the firm did as a business, what the most critical elements for its ongoing operations are and then finding ways to protect those processes.

Last week, a new international standard on business continuity was launched.

New research from Connect found that, on average, it takes businesses that use backup tapes take 11.6 hours to retrieve and restore files. Connect is now recommending that SMEs switch to www.totalrecall.co.uk