Sir [-] Not before time, it seems that an increasingly fearful and risk aware business community has finally started to embrace the need for continuity planning by looking to new technologies ('Broadband stand', SMT, June 2006, pp33-34).

The only problem is that many of those plans already in place remain untested. In the event of a disaster, resulting in anything from data corruption through to the failure of the telephone system, plenty of organisations have absolutely no idea whether or not their plan will work in the real world.

Those relying on a dual system of the standard telephone infrastructure and Voice-over-IP communication, for example, are in for a rude awakening. Voice-over-IP is not a reliable form of communication. It is based on the Internet, which has no minimum guaranteed level of service, and cannot be used as a fail-safe replacement.

Furthermore, following a major 'disaster' the mobile network is highly likely to be swamped almost immediately (as was the case in the wake of 7/7), thereby extracting this alternative option from the equation. Even in a less severe situation, while employees can use their mobile devices, how will customers contact the organisation for an hour, day or even a week if the telephone system is down?

It is only through regular testing that an organisation can discover the constraints imposed by business continuity plans, and ascertain whether or not the constraint is an acceptable compromise.

Perhaps now is the right time for middle managers to ask their business continuity team to simply 'pull the plug', test their individual plan… and then see what shade of white they turn!

Graham Chick, Chief Executive, GemaTech

Source

SMT