Business continuity for boom not bust

Failure to invest in robust business continuity will leave utilities exposed to blame and reputational damage, says Mike Osborne.

In natural disasters or even incidences of extreme weather, our critical infrastructure is essential to a disaster response and it’s often the first thing to stop working. In floods we lose power, in heatwaves transportation stops working, in fires we lose communication, and, in blizzards we lose access to water.

Take the electrical fire in Holborn Underground Station in April for instance. Because of what was essentially an isolated incident; 3,000 properties lost power, broadband services went down and many businesses in the area had to close for days. This month’s heatwave has also had an impact on critical infrastructure which many have deemed unreasonable. When train services were cut due to the “wrong kind of heat” politicians were quick to condemn the disruptions and customers took to social media to voice their complaints.

“If you’re an organisation supplying critical infrastructure, you need to be prepared for the unexpected because, even in the most trying circumstances, your customers will expect business continuity.” 

The reputational implications of this sort of an incident can be significant and if not handled properly some inevitable questions will be asked; why weren’t these organisations and businesses prepared? Why didn’t they consider risk? Didn’t they know it might get hot in summer? Didn’t they have plans in place for electrical fires in highly electrified environments?

The bottom line is this; if you’re an organisation supplying critical infrastructure, you need to be prepared for the unexpected because even in the most trying circumstances, your customers will expect business continuity. We take our infrastructure and utilities for granted and expect they’ll be there when we need it; able to withstand intense hazards and remain secure, or, in the very least, get back up and running quickly after an incident.

Utilities companies, for the most part, have a good track record in recovering services following something like a natural disaster. But what is also urgent is to recover the processes and systems that ensure, for example, that a member of staff picks up the phone to answer customer questions about when the power might come back on, that ticketing systems are ready for use when a train resumes services, that the communications system people need to communicate with their families are functioning.

The industry has improved customer service and engagement as several incidents have highlighted the consequences of data loss and system downtime But with an increasingly challenging environmental landscape, it’s important that these plans are regularly tested to ensure they are ready for the most extreme circumstances, and, timely enough to meet customer expectations of business continuity.