ISO 27001 vs ISO 22301: What's the Difference?

Two ISO standards come up regularly in conversations with Irish organisations: ISO 27001 (information security) and ISO 22301 (business continuity). They’re related but different, and understanding the distinction helps you make informed decisions about which—if either—you need.

The fundamental difference

ISO 27001 is about protecting information. It asks: “How do we keep our information confidential, intact, and available?”

ISO 22301 is about keeping the business running. It asks: “How do we continue operating when things go wrong?”

There’s overlap—an information security incident could certainly disrupt business operations—but the core focus is different.

ISO 27001: Information Security Management

ISO 27001 establishes an Information Security Management System (ISMS). Its scope covers:

• Confidentiality - Ensuring information is only accessible to authorised people
• Integrity - Ensuring information is accurate and hasn’t been tampered with
• Availability - Ensuring information is accessible when needed

Typical concerns

• Preventing data breaches
• Protecting against cyber attacks
• Managing access controls
• Securing data in transit and at rest
• Handling security incidents
• Meeting data protection requirements

Who typically needs it

• Technology companies
• Organisations handling sensitive data
• Companies serving enterprise customers
• Businesses in regulated sectors
• Organisations pursuing public sector contracts

ISO 22301: Business Continuity Management

ISO 22301 establishes a Business Continuity Management System (BCMS). Its scope covers:

• Resilience - Ability to withstand disruption
• Recovery - Ability to restore operations after disruption
• Continuity - Ability to maintain critical operations during disruption

Typical concerns

• What happens if our building is inaccessible?
• What happens if key staff are unavailable?
• What happens if our suppliers fail?
• What happens if our IT systems go down?
• How quickly can we recover critical operations?
• How do we communicate during a crisis?

Who typically needs it

• Financial services organisations
• Critical infrastructure providers
• Healthcare organisations
• Organisations with regulatory continuity requirements
• Businesses where downtime has severe consequences

Where they overlap

The two standards share common ground:

Similar management system structure

Both follow the ISO high-level structure with:

• Risk assessment processes
• Leadership commitment requirements
• Internal audit requirements
• Continuous improvement cycles

Information availability

ISO 27001’s availability objective connects directly to business continuity. If your systems are unavailable, your business is disrupted.

Incident management

Both standards address incident response, though from different angles:

• ISO 27001 focuses on security incidents
• ISO 22301 focuses on business disruption events

Shared documentation

Organisations implementing both can share:

• Risk assessment methodologies
• Internal audit programmes
• Management review processes
• Some policies and procedures

Key differences

Do you need both?

Consider ISO 27001 first if:

• Your primary concern is data protection
• Customers or contracts require it
• You’re in technology or handle sensitive data
• Cyber security is your main worry

Consider ISO 22301 first if:

• Your primary concern is operational resilience
• Regulatory requirements mandate it (e.g., financial services)
• Business downtime has severe consequences
• You need to demonstrate recovery capability

Consider both if:

• You’re in a regulated sector with both requirements
• You need comprehensive resilience coverage
• Customers expect both certifications
• You want an integrated approach to risk

Implementing both: Integrated Management Systems

If you need both standards, implementing them together makes sense. An Integrated Management System (IMS) approach:

• Shares common elements (policy, risk assessment, audit)
• Reduces duplication and documentation overhead
• Creates a coherent approach to resilience
• Simplifies maintenance and audits

The standards are designed to integrate. They use the same high-level structure and complementary processes.

A practical recommendation

For most organisations starting their compliance journey, I’d suggest:

1. Start with ISO 27001 if information security is your primary driver
2. Add ISO 22301 when business continuity becomes a priority
3. Design for integration from the start, even if you only implement one initially

Building a single, well-designed ISMS that considers business continuity makes adding ISO 22301 later much simpler than trying to bolt it on as an afterthought.

The Irish context

In Ireland, we’re seeing increased interest in both standards:

• ISO 27001 driven by customer requirements, particularly from enterprise and public sector clients
• ISO 22301 driven by Central Bank of Ireland expectations for financial services and growing awareness post-COVID

The Data Protection Commission’s focus on security also indirectly supports ISO 27001 adoption, as the standard provides a framework for meeting GDPR’s security requirements.

Trying to decide which standard is right for your organisation? Let’s talk about your specific situation.