The importance of business continuity

26 Oct 2010

The London Ambulance Service suffered a major disaster in London last week, when their HQ was destroyed by fire.

Fortunately the control centre was transferred to a back up site so business could resume as normal (12/10/2010 This is London).

In case of a disaster, making sure that there is an effective back up plan for potential network outage is vital to ensure that the business does not suffer a temporary loss of service.

Kcom, part of the KCOM Group, experienced its own incident in 2005 when its Hemel Hempstead office was seriously affected by the explosion at the Buncefield Oil Depot. One of the main concerns surrounded the Network Operations Centre (NOC) which provides 24/7 network management for customers based all over the country and in the US. Swiftly implemented business continuity plans meant that the aftermath had minimal effect and customers had the relief of knowing that their business was not going to be affected.

Brian Condron, Business Development Manager, Kcom stresses the importance of business continuity planning:

“Planning for network and communication outages is an essential part of a business continuity plan. Organisations need to continually assess the risk, plan the right solution, implement as well as test and maintain the plan. This is a continual process and with the business acceptance of mobile/remote working many organisations are starting to explore the idea of cloud computing, which allows employees to collaborate and share documents from any location via the internet."

“Other technologies such as smartphones, video conferencing and presence, allow employees to be able to work efficiently and communicate with other people even when they are not actually in the same location. However organisations must be aware that a cultural shift may be required to provide employees with the confidence to use these technologies when necessary.”

Visit the Kcom website for further information about how Kcom can assist with Business Continuity needs.