Be Prepared for the Absolute Worst

Today's Telegraph reports on a pamphlet, called Expecting the Unexpected - Business Continuity in an uncertain world, produced by the British Home Office, which says businesses should produce a disaster recovery plan.

The pamphlet contains some very interesting statistics that come out of the British experience with terrorism over many years before 9.11. The 32 page booklet says that 40% of the businesses affected by the IRA blast in Manchester in 1996 went under; and that "current estimates suggest that between 40% and 80% of small businesses would never reopen their doors if disaster struck." In an uncertain world "you owe it to yourself" to be confident of being back in business in the shortest time, it adds.

We are looking at Real Estate Continuity as an integrated component of Business Continuity Planning in the UK, as well as the US and Canada. Each of these governments has established specific websites to coordinate information about the wide range potential emergencies. Our readers from these countries should be familiar with their own national and local initiatives, but might find information of value from the others. It's interesting, also, to compare the differing attitudes with regard to these common problems, as expressed in these government sponsored websites: the British UK Resilience.info; the American Ready.gov; and the Canadian SafeCanada.ca