Business continuity ensures that critical business functions will be available following a disruptive event to customers, suppliers, regulators, and other entities that must have access to those functions. These activities include many daily chores such as project management, system backups, change control, and help desk. Business Continuity refers to those activities performed daily to maintain service, consistency, and recoverability.
Disaster recovery is a subset of Business Continuity. It is the process, policies and procedures related to preparing for recovery or continuation of technology infrastructure critical to an organization after a natural or human-induced disaster. While business continuity involves planning for keeping all aspects of a business functioning in the midst of disruptive events, disaster recovery focuses on the IT or technology systems that support business functions.