Tempting Fate

While the political blame game over pre- and post-Katrina emergency planning and execution continues at full force in Washington, businesses everywhere are taking time to consider where they stand with their own contingency plans. After all, it doesn't take a Category 4 hurricane to disrupt business continuity; every day issues from viruses to utility power failures can knock a company infrastructure offline. Unfortunately, results so far from this week's poll show businesses are not nearly as prepared as they should be for an operational interruption.As of Friday morning, poll results showed less than half of the respondents have what they consider an adequate contingency plan in place to ensure continuous business operations. Thirty-eight percent admitted to having no contingency plan in place.

This is the time for companies to seriously revisit their IT contingency strategies. There are a lot of different options to consider, and to learn from companies that have prepared for everything from brownouts to terrorists attacks. As the old saying goes, it is better to be safe than sorry.