Explain the difference between continuity of operations and IT resiliency.

• A. Continuity of operations focuses on sustaining essential business functions; IT resiliency emphasizes the ability of IT systems to withstand and recover from disruptions.
• B. Continuity focuses on IT systems; resiliency focuses on business processes.
• C. They are identical concepts.
• D. Continuity is about backups only.

Answer: (A)

The main idea here is understanding where the emphasis lies and how broad the scope is. Continuity of operations is about keeping the essential business functions going during and after a disruption—covering people, processes, facilities, and even supply chains so the organization can continue delivering its core services. IT resiliency, on the other hand, is focused on the IT layer—the ability of systems, data, networks, and applications to survive disruptions and recover quickly, with mechanisms like redundancy, backup, and rapid recovery.

That makes the best answer correct because it separates the business-level goal from the tech-level capability: continuity concentrates on sustaining critical operations, while IT resiliency concentrates on keeping IT services available and recoverable after an incident. For contrast, one option reverses the focus, another treats them as identical, and another reduces continuity to backups only—each of which misses the broader scope or the distinct emphasis of IT systems versus whole business functions.