Continuity Requires Recovery Plans

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The Disaster is Being Unprepared

By Rich Ehisen

About 40 percent of all businesses that are forced to close by a disaster never re-open, and of those that do, says the United States Department of Labor, 25 percent shut down for good within two years.     
     Clearly, any business closure, for whatever reason, can and often does have extreme consequences. While the odds of a disastrous event are small, many businesses are taking steps to ensure they continue operating, even if the walls come tumbling down around them.     
     D. Scott Miles, chief operations officer for Sacramento-based Engage Business Continuity Solutions, Inc., says one of the biggest mistakes a business owner or manager can make is to presume that “disasters” are only such devastating events as a 9/11, major fire or Loma Prieta-type earthquake.
     Rather, he says, it’s rarely catastrophic occurrences that cause business interruptions, but more concentrated or even mundane happenings, such as computer viruses, sewer backups and construction delays.      
    “Actually, flooding is the No. 1 threat of work stoppages,” says Miles, but the No.1 cause is human error — accidental or malicious. Miles’ company specializes in business recovery services for small- to mid-size companies. “Our business rarely, if ever, comes from something dramatic like a levee breaking. It’s usually a broken water main or a roof that doesn’t withstand a heavy rain.”  

Continued...

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