Business Continuity

To have real business continuity you first need a strategy and plan carefully reviewing the following areas in minute detail:-

Power Failure – Is your main comms environment power protection with power continuity systems embracing both a robust UPS system and a standby emergency generator?

Head Office and Key Hubs – Do any of these already have the above mentioned areas with reliable power protection? Are these power systems checked and maintained? Do you have a regular mains fail test; tuning off the main incomer without warning to see which and where the systems hold up and which are not correctly power protected?

Remote sites – Can you operate your business from a remote site and is it power protected itself to be able to run indefinitely in the event of a catastrophic event occurring at your main control site?

Business Continuity covers more than just Power. It also includes the ability to pay your employees, collect daily orders and dispatch goods as well as maintaining productivity.

The bottom line is your financial bottom line- Profit

Business Continuity planning will the difference between making a loss during the financial year and making a profit.

Think of it like this-

Lets say you have 100 personnel all earning £20 per hour and they can’t function for 5 hours , that’s a cost to your company of £2,000 per hour mean If you can not deliver any orders or process any orders that day the cost per hour can be £50,000 per hour.

Then you were not able to handle key customer accounts due to the inconvenience and unbeknown to you one of the key accounts was so frustrated they have planned to end their contract next year – Cost to your company £500,000 +

PowerContinuity and Business Continuity work hand in hand.
They are not a flamboyant optional extra to a business; they are your life blood.
They are what people don’t see and yet allow you to be 100% functionally operational in the event of a disastrous turn of events should you have to leave your present building or area for a day or days.

It could never happen to you?
We have never had a power outage?
No one ever digs up our area?
We don’t have vandals in our Town.
The national grid is always there 24-7.
Electricity in the sockets; gas in the pipes shortages don’t happen in the UK.

OK think of this scenario-
Someone arrives back from Holiday and they are suspected of having contracted an deadly infectious disease. The local health authority same day arrive unannounced to seal your building and carry out a forced evacuation which will last as long as they feel it is necessary. What business continuity strategy do you have in place today to cope with this?

Or

A major fire happens this evening to a neighbouring building The fire service find toxic matter and seal off the surrounding area for 3 days while they clear it up so over night you have no access to your head office.

In both cases business continuity planning would have allowing a smooth re-location to PLAN B operational status.

In this modern world of fast changing events no one can predict tomorrow but we all can prepare and be actively ready for most issues- Protect and survive.

For details of how a disaster could affect your business, click here