Pandemic Planning? No Thanks, Too Busy

Pandemic planning not a priority in U.S., despite bird-flu threat: Most companies 'simply would not be ready' for disruptions, Gartner analyst says by Patrick Thibodeau July 03, 2007 (Computerworld) -- Last November, Gartner Inc. analyst Ken McGee gave a presentation on the risk of an avian flu pandemic to an audience of IT professionals at a conference in Las Vegas. He concluded with this recommendation: Complete your pandemic planning by Q2 of 2007. (ComputerWorld)

This is not a surprise, except maybe to Gartner. Let us review. In late 2005, H5N1 made a HUGE splash as the biggest disease since HIV/AIDS to hit the radar of the medical community. In fact, it was so big that it was being compared to the Spanish flu of 1918. Finally the medical community had a disaster to prepare for. Fast forward and "bird flu" is the "chicken little" of the medical community. A pandemic that never materialized to more than one or two isolated cases in one or two countries at a time.

Does this mean we are out of the woods? No, certainly not. In fact, the planning that many governments put into preparing for a pandemic really has paid off by pointing out the issues that a pandemic, whether flu or some other biologic incident, could potentially bring to pass. It has focused planning beyond the first few hours and forced planners to consider what sort of recovery issues need to be addressed, especially the issues of manpower and more importantly manpower shortages and how to best address them. This is all good. There needs to be more consideration given to business continuity, whether that is for business or government, especially when you talk about the myth of remote connection capabilities, but that is a planning issue that needs to be walked through.

The problem is that most companies do not have a strategic vision beyond the quarter they are operating in. So if it was important for that quarter, they moved it to the top of the list until some other priority took its place. In this case, the pandemic was trumped by the various federal data leaks with made data security more important than making sure they could keep the company running when they are down 40% of their manpower.

Is a pandemic a real threat? This is an open question. What happens when a company or federal agency is suddenly down 40% manpower be it from natural causes or other disaster is a much more important question that most organizations are even afraid to consider, much less begin to answer. Most companies hope that it will never be something they need to consider. That sort of thinking is what separates those that will survive from those that will fail.