KingsBridge Blog

When you think of disaster what do you think of? Chances are you put flood, massive power outage, fire, and pandemic at the top of your list. These are all events that really we can’t control – the hurricanes are going to happen, the power does go out, fires happen sometimes due to human error, and health crisis are still one of the large mysteries of life. So for these events that may or may not happen, you understand the need to have a disaster recovery and business continuity plan. Since you’re reading this blog post, I assume you have such a DR/BCP in place to keep your business working efficiently when “disaster” strikes.

But what about smaller seemingly less risk business interruptions? One that comes to mind and is in the news again – disrupted travel plans. The impact from the April 13 eruption of a volcano on Iceland’s Eyjafjallajokull glacier was felt worldwide. We all know someone, perhaps even you, who had to shuffle travel plans or worse yet was stranded in an airport with no chance of making it home or to that all-important business meeting. For the first few days of airport closures, people were taking things in stride, you adjusted your meetings pushing them ahead a few days, convinced that you’d be on your way soon enough.

Then the delays continued. Airports through-out Europe remained closed. You or your business partners were trapped. Slowly but surely, things are getting a bit stressful. Meetings have been canceled. Potential business deals are falling through. There is only so much business you can conduct over Skype and with your laptop in an airport…

So after considering this, would you now add airport closures and flight delays to your list of disasters? The impacts are pretty darn similar to a hurricane or fire – you can’t travel, you’ve missed meetings, business deals are getting pushed aside, there is a slight level of chaos in you office. All this to say that when you think about DR/BCP you need to think beyond the big picture. You need to really look at your business – how do you make your money? What technologies (yes air travel is part of the technology sphere) do you rely on? How are you going to keep running making money and closing deals when these technologies are impaired?

All this to say that when it comes time to do your semi-annual analysis of your DR/BCP strategy – be sure to remember April and May 2010. The lessons learned during these two months can come in very handy when making adjustments to your plans and working with qualified DR/BCP consultants to ensure that when disaster strikes, you’re ready.

About KingsBridge

KingsBridge offers private businesses and government organizations a unique combination of industry knowledge and cost-effective disaster recovery / business continuity solutions. KingsBridge products and seminars provide the tools to assess possible threats and create tailored plans which mitigate risks and minimize losses in the event of a disruption to business. Kingsbridge is headquartered in Ogdensburg, New York, with offices in Ottawa, Canada and Burlington, Vermont. For more information visit us at www.DisasterRecovery.com