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A guide to pandemic planning - Is your business ready?
As the old adage states, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail”. Whilst many businesses will have already devised and implemented disaster recovery plans, pandemics present a new set of challenges which may not be met in planning for DR situations. DR plans are generally scoped to deal with situations which have a direct effect on physical infrastructure and assets, whilst an influenza pandemic will impact on the well-being of your staff, customers and suppliers.
A robust pandemic plan must address the potential for a high level of staff absenteeism, a reduction in face-to-face contact, disruptions in public transport services and interruptions to supply.
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Continuity planning for a pandemic should include the following basics:
*identifying essential business activities (and the core people and skills to keep them running or alternative back-up arrangements)
*identifying the infrastructure and resources required for the organisation to continue operating at the minimum acceptable level
*developing mitigation strategies for business/economic disruptions, including possible shortages of supplies and contingency plans for continued operation
*ensuring relevant employees, customers and suppliers are aware of the contingency arrangements and that they work
*minimising illness in workers.
The role of IT in pandemic planning is largely delivering remote access to your systems & maintaining communications with staff and customers. Throughout this issue of the Netforce Guide we focus on the different technologies which deliver your staff access to your network when they are at home, on the move, or working from a remote location, whilst maintaining the security and integrity of the network.
Test, test & test again
Many companies will rely on employees working from home in the event of a flu outbreak. However, their remote access systems may not be ready for so many employees using them at the same time. Experts recommend a trial run, where you allow a significant number of your staff to work from home for a day and then see how well your systems and applications function. You may need to buy more ports, licenses or cards for your remote access systems.
High Availability
Make sure you have multiple access mechanisms and methods of access to connect to head office data. This could be as simple as being able to offer teleworkers SSL as well as IPSec VPN clients. Make sure key employees have broadband access from home as well as mobile broadband access. Mobile 3G data access is a good solution in a worst case scenario, since people may not be working from home. They may be leaving the area for health or safety reasons, and they may need to take their laptops with them. 3G network access as well as traditional DSL or cable access is another high availability, load balancing tactic.
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ALSO IN THIS ISSUE
Secure Access for Roaming Users
Netforce's 3G solution provides your users secure access directly into the private network.
Access to your network over the Internet - Secure VPNs
Connecting your remote users to your network via a Secure VPN.
Solution Spotlight - Cisco & WatchGuard VPN devices
We profile two solutions which can deliver your team VPN access to your network.
Virtual Desktops - Remote Access to applications
When your remote access needs depend on users accessing large files, and "data heavy" applications, you may need to investigate implementing a virtual desktop solution.
Managing PCs and Laptops remotely
New remote management tools make it simple to manage and support remote users.
Benefits of Teleworking
Increasing the flexibility and accessibility of your network can deliver many business benefits.
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