Our thoughts go out to all those who have been affected in the recent cyclonic events and our thanks to those incredible folk who are involved in the response and recovery efforts. The work will continue long after Gabrielle has exited the headlines. Friends, family, friends we have not yet met, and businesses who have been affected will need our support and assistance for a long time. Let’s look out for each other and, where we have opportunity, let us do what we can.
As we have seen with the catastrophic weather events that have affected our country in the last few months, damage from natural events can be swift and devastating and have long term consequences, not only to families and homes, but also to businesses and livelihoods.
Previously damage from weather events may have been able to be remedied quickly, with power restored, roads cleared and communication networks operational, but such has been the severity of Cyclone Gabrielle that long term and widespread damage has been suffered by our communications infrastructure and the power and transport networks. Our IT relies on these utilities to continue to function. All businesses should plan for what they can do to mitigate any issues, continue business as best they can and maintain livelihoods while services are being restored.
Does your business have a Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery (BCDR) Plan? If you do, it is a good time to review and update it, taking into account what we are learning from the weather events of 2023. If you don’t have a BCDR plan, there is no better time than the present to start.
BCDR planning doesn’t just cover what to do with your IT infrastructure, applications, data, internet access and telecoms but also all other operational facets of your business such as where you work (office and home), how you travel, what to do in the event of theft or power outage etc. Do you have up-to-date and securely accessible in all circumstances contact information of your employee’s next of kin?
Your IT Account Manager should be able to assist with advice on and implementation of solutions regarding your IT. Make contact and start talking.
You should consider what hardware, applications, data, and functionality your business requires to function and how long you can function without it.
How will you protect it?
How will you access it and operate it in disaster scenarios?
Also, how can you keep it secure while operating in less-than-optimal situations?
The bad actors aren’t going to go on holiday and wait until you’re back to normal before resuming their attacks. Your vulnerability will be noted and added protection will be required against the digital as well as the warm blooded looters.
Let’s work together for recovery but also to make our business landscape more resilient and robust in the future. The worst thing we can do is not learn from the past.
Related: Greening IT
