Usually they happen without warning. In most cases there
is no way to predict where and when they will strike.
They come from the sky, or deep inside the earth, or
from the sea and, though usually short-lived, can leave
devastating destruction in their wake. Flood, fire,
hurricane, tornado, earthquake, tsunami – even acts of
human aggression – disasters are part of the reality of
the world. One need look no further than the horrible
devastation that happened last year in the city of New
Orleans to understand the terrible impact disasters can
have on lives, property and business.
American companies spend tens of billions of dollars a
year on disaster recovery operations, the purpose of
which is to restore performance continuity as quickly as
possible, and minimize costly and often devastating
downtime periods. Virtually every State and major city
has companies in it which specialize in disaster
recovery; as well as trained professionals who can
quickly and accurately assess what needs to be done and
help get your business up and running in the shortest
time possible. Many large U.S. companies have internal
departments specifically set up to deal with disaster
recovery, able to be mobilized at a moment’s notice and
on site usually in a matter of a few hours.
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But
what about when the disaster that affects your
operations happens to an office half a world away, in a
country that you are for the most part unfamiliar with
and with people for whom English is, at best, a second
language? One need only think back to the devastating
earthquakes that have hit China, India and Pakistan, the
Tsunamis that have devastated portions of Singapore and
the Philippines – and even the political disasters that
have befallen American business in parts of the former
Soviet Union and South America to understand that the
risk is very real. One website that I visited recently
asked the question:
How much unscheduled down time can your business
survive. For most mid-sized businesses, the
answer was overwhelmingly: UNDER ONE WEEK.
Here
in the United States – though it can be costly – your
business can usually get up and running again relatively
quickly, due both to the plethora of services available,
and the proximity of your key people to the disaster
site. Overseas, however, the challenges of recovering
from a disaster are multiplied – by distance, time,
language, lack of available services and many other
possible factors. The way to get your overseas offices
up and running after a disaster is to take steps towards
recovery before
a disaster. Here are just a few things for you to
consider, which our experience has shown to be
important:
-
Remote Data Storage –
One of the most devastating things that can happen
to any business as the result of a disaster is the
loss of information. When a mainframe is destroyed
and the information stored on it is partially or
completely irretrievable, many businesses can be
crippled – or even forced under in a matter of days.
This can be particularly true of remote overseas
offices, in countries where data retrieval systems
are not as advanced as they are here in the United
States. The most effective way of securing a remote
office’s data and giving them the tools to get up
and running as quickly and efficiently as possible
is to make sure that their data is securely stored
off site – preferably at the home office and/or
other satellite locations. The simplest way to
ensure that this happens smoothly is to have your IT
professionals set up a real time data transfer
protocol via your company’s Intranet which will, in
essence, automatically transfer all your remote
office’s data to the other mainframes you select as
it is generated, in real time. By doing this, the
information can then be sent back to the remote
office as soon as new quarters and equipment are
secured.
-
Secondary Call Center
– If the call center you use in your United States
operations is disrupted or destroyed by disaster, it
is usually a relatively simple matter to find a
back-up that will be able to, at least temporarily,
keep your business running and service your
customers. This is
not
always the case with overseas offices and call
centers. Depending on where your remote office is
located – and the severity of the disaster in
question – there could easily be a considerable
amount of competition for the services of call
centers surviving “in country” – if, indeed, there
are any available. While it is possible that you
could transfer operations to your U.S. call centers,
language can become an issue depending on the
location of the customers you need to call. The best
way to ensure that you have a call center available
to you is to make arrangements with a secondary call
center that is already staffed with personnel who
speak the language you need spoken
before
you need them (India and Singapore are known for
their multi-language services).
-
Emergency Staffing --
Disasters, unfortunately, do not only happen to
buildings and equipment – they happen to people too.
Depending on the type and severity of the disaster
in question, it is very possible that some of your
key onsite people will be unable to work for
extended periods – due either to injury or their own
personal disaster recovery efforts geared towards
friends and family. Depending on the location of
your overseas operation it might be possible to get
people there from your home office, but this is
almost never expedient or cost effective. The best
way to make sure that your overseas operation has
access to qualified replacement staff quickly is to
make sure that you have retained the services of a
good executive search and staffing consultant before
disaster strikes.
In
most cases it is impossible to predict when a disaster
will strike your overseas offices – but it is
not
impossible to be ready for them when they hit. By
planning in advance, and making arrangements with people
who have the expertise to act quickly and efficiently,
the damage caused to your operation by a disaster can be
greatly minimized. It will require some work on your
part but, in the end, those days or weeks you save
getting up and running again will be worth it!
Author Bio: Steve McLaughlin founded Global Market
Insights, with offices in Europe and the U.S., with his
vision of giving clients two synergistic competencies:
knowledge of the global marketplace and industry
expertise in manufacturing, finance and information
technology. Steve has over twelve years of international
experience in three continents, having started in
executive search as a Beckett-Rogers Associate. Steve is
a graduate of Rice University, where he was student body
president, and completed post-graduate studies in
International Economics at the Universidad Mayor,
Santiago, Chile. He is available for consultation and
can be contacted directly by Email:
smclaughlin@gmi.lu or Phone: 352-26364921.
Additional information is located on his website:
http://www.gmi.lu