AH1N1 – An IT issue?
Governments and public health authorities worldwide are bracing themselves for the so called swine-flu virus. The media seems to be the primary carrier at the moment. However it does raise a number of questions:
- Is a truly globalised organisation reducing or increasing its operational risks in the light of potential pandemics?
- Does such scares highlight that off shoring needs to be considered in the context of increased corporate resilience? Having a mirrored back office in Delhi that could take on the load if the Mexican site had a staffing issue seems wise in the current climate.
Business leaders need to be dusting down their pandemic response plans. They need to include the CIO in the response team.
CIOs should not wait to be asked. Despite the misery that the virus is unleashing, it does present an opportunity for the CIO to be the hero of the day. Collaboration is key here. As is disaster recovery and process automation. All squarely in the IT arena.
This is acutely important if you are a government or health agency CIO.
It's time for the CIO to drop the server spanner and take the strategic lead. Business and society are relying on a robust response.
