Disaster Recovery Journal

Just last week we posted on this blog about the World Health Organization’s announcement about the end of the H1N1 pandemic…. And now just less than a week later, we’re reading about a new possible threat to our health and safety.

That’s right the NDM-1 enzyme which creates an antibiotic bacteria. This superbug can exist within bacteria and the concern is that it can make such bacteria resistant to antibiotics, thereby creating a “medical threat”.

Most often people are contracting this bacteria after visiting Southeast Asian countries for medical travel. That’s right, travelers visiting countries such as India and Pakistan with the purpose of receiving specific medical care are returning to their home countries having contracted this drug-resistant bacteria. This, medical officials are warning could result in the next pandemic.

So what does this mean for you? What did you learn from the H1N1 pandemic?

• Did you develop a business continuity plan?
• Did you do a review with your staff to determine what worked and didn’t?
• Have you developed a disaster recovery plan?
• Have you done your due diligence and researched the impacts of a subsequent pandemic on your business?
• Have you done a threat risk analysis and business impact analysis?

Are you responding accordingly to this new possible global medical threat or are you going to “sit back and wait”?

The really only smart choice is to react now. Remember that in times of crisis and disaster, it will be much too late to start developing a business continuity and disaster recovery plan. Take the time now to do a Threat Risk Analysis and Business Impact Analysis. Identify what the threats are to your business and move forward. Develop a plan, test the plan, refine the plan, and be confident that your business is protected and ready in the event that this does turn into the next pandemic.

Really, to be completely blunt about this, you’d be foolish not to do something. With all the information there is now about impending threats and disasters, you’re not going to get much sympathy when at your shareholders meeting, you say “Well, we just didn’t know. We didn’t think it would end up ruining our business supply chain and result in such a huge loss.”

So think about who you want to be, the businessman who can tell his shareholders that his company was protected and was able to respond to the NDM-1 outbreak and it was business as usual or the businessman who has to tell his shareholders that he ignored the warning signs, resulting in a massive financial loss and bankruptcy.

That business continuity and disaster recovery plan does more than protect your business – it protects you.

About KingsBridge

KingsBridge is a Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity company specializing in Software, Seminars and Consulting.  If you are looking for a Microsoft Office integrated recovery planning tool, Phoenix is not only an excellent tool, but the only completely integrated planning tool.  Our seminars (online and in-house) are some of the longest running seminars in the recovery business.  KingsBridge uses turn-key consulting for those who need the plan done, right the first time.  For more information about KingsBridge, checkout www.disasterrecovery.com