Businesses were urged to review their business continuity plans
amid warnings that a
swine flu could lead to
absenteeism rates of up to 40% if a pandemic takes hold.
The warning follows growing concern over the H1N1 virus, which
has led to between 20 and 80 deaths in Mexico, with further cases
reported in US Spain and New Zealand.
Analyst firm Gartner advised businesses to place IT at the
forefront of their business continuity plans as the virus
spreads.
"It is important to have pandemic contingency plans that define
what you would do if the workforce absenteeism rates exceeded 40%
or you had to close your offices. As you develop and refresh those
plans don't forget that mobile and wireless technology has a part
to play," said analyst Nick Jones.
Gartner advises businesses to use wireless broadband to allow
employees to work remotely. Organisations should consider buying
mobile broadband adaptors with built-in wireless capability.
"It is also probably a good idea to spread your purchases across
several networks, because if there is a pandemic or epidemic, some
may become overloaded," said Jones.
Businesses should consider using mobile devices in new ways,
said Gartner. For example, they could send a copy of their disaster
recovery plan to every employee's smartphone. And they could use
video phone calls as a low-cost alternative to video
conferencing.
"You may need to enable teleworking for a lot more staff very
quickly. Do you have plans and infrastructure that can cope?" asked
Jones.
Gartner advises firms to identify key skills and begin cross
training staff to ensure they can cover critical business
operations. Firms should make sure that retrained staff are given
access rights to relevant IT applications, as provisioning often
causes delays and disruption.
Business should assess which parts of their operations will be
sustainable with high absenteeism rates. They should begin testing
their business continuity plans immediately to identify and take
remedial action in problem areas.
• Two people in Lankarkshire have been admitted to hospital
after possible infection with swine flu. More than 20 people who
have come into contact with two patients have been given drugs and
are being monitored closely.
Swine flu: questions and answers >>