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Failure Is Not an Option
In any commercial or government entity, an emergency response plan often means life or death to business continuity and to people. Can you restore the communications necessary to recover and to conduct business as usual? Surprisingly, few organizations are prepared to recover what the military calls "4Ci" (Command, control, communications, computers, and intelligence) after a catastrophic event—let alone conduct business with their customers by phone. Let’s consider each of these 4Ci areas just for a second:
- Command and control. This is the easiest area to understand. However, in a disaster it’s difficult to be in control!
- Communications. This is how you stay in control. By getting instant situational analysis when things go boom, you’ll be able to determine whether you should activate that expensive disaster recovery center and pay that big activation fee.
- Computers. As in the days of the Cold War, where "launch the missiles" decisions had to be made rapidly, business decisions today must also be made within minutes. In many cases, that necessary speed is too fast for people to achieve without the help of computers.
- Intelligence. We’re back at knowing what’s going on, what went bang, what it affected, and whether you need to cancel your dinner reservations tonight or wake the CEO. You have to know what’s going on in order to react properly.
Establishing and maintaining 4Ci capability is the most important first step in any recovery plan, for any organization—and I dare you to prove me wrong. Don’t believe me? Try recovering anything with your eyes and ears covered.