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Utility works during 2012

Planning to move office during the Olympics or upgrade your comms lines?

In order to ensure that those involved with the Games get to events on time, there will be an embargo on road works in certain areas.

This means that gas, water, telecoms and electricity companies will be unable to carry out certain works on some roads.

Between 1 March and 30 September 2012, planned roadworks will not be allowed to take place on much of the ORN/ PRN and on the A501 (which is part of the alternative ORN).

On other roads that will be vital to the Games’ success there will be no planned works between 1 July and 9 September 2012. The exact roads affected are yet to be confirmed.

We have also had further confirmation from our Comms partners that no new connections will be installed during this time.

What can one do?

If you think you’re likely to need anything done, such as connections or line installations, you should contact your providers as soon as possible.

This is particularly important for new startups wishing to open an office during the Games that require leased lines or the installation of new lines in an existing office i.e. if fibre is not present in the building.

What will happen in the case of emergencies?

Any emergencies will be dealt with safely, quickly and efficiently.

 

 

Ready or not? Preparing for 2012

As we edge closer to the start of the Olympics, businesses need to give extra thought to planning for the Games.  There is a way to go but many companies are finding that they are behind where they need to be.

Have you considered some of the questions below?

  • How will the Games impact your business or organisation?
  • How will your employees get to and from work during the Games?
  • Will you be facilitating flexible working to minimise the need to travel?
  • Are your business resilience plans robust?
  • When did you last test your Disaster Recovery solution?

Fortunately, there is still time to prepare.  In the download area (opposite) and below, we have included some links that we thought you might find useful.  They provide advice on flexible working, business continuity and general business preparation for the 2012 Games.

With that in mind, we have also included below some pointers to get you going:

 

Transport

Issue: Transport networks will be incredibly busy during peak commuter and competition times – how will your staff get to and from work on time?
Consider:

  • Alter working hours?
  • Encourage staff to walk or cycle?
  • Allow staff to take leave?
  • Enable staff to work from home?
  • Alternative short-term work spaces for production or disaster recovery purposes?

Issue: Travelling during the day across London will be difficult particularly for important meetings.  This also applies to visitors and customers.
Consider:

  • Bringing forward or postponing trips and meetings?
  • Use alternative methods such as video/web or audio conferencing?
  • Meet in less busy places?

Supply Chain

Issue: You may not be able receive deliveries/collections due to road restrictions across London
Consider:

  • You may want to stock-pile on certain goods?
  • Deliver at less busy times?

Technology

Issue: During the Games London will be on high alert.  As a result your main office may be unavailable.
Consider:

  • Have you recently tested your disaster recovery solution?
  • Will staff have the capability for remote working should they not be able to get into the office?

Issue: During the Games, most staff will undoubtedly be streaming from their PCs – have you got sufficient bandwidth for this?
Consider:

  • Having a communal area where staff can watch the Games?
  • Restrictions on watching the Games from user PCs?

Should you need any assistance with preparing your IT infrastructure or BCP to accommodate the upcoming Games, please contact our Sales representatives on 0207 397 7400 or sales@sentronex.com for further advice.

Blackberry & Continuity Lessons

With the recent downtime faced by Blackberry users, there have been several concerns raised about RIMs business continuity processes.

According to RIM the downtime was the result of the failure of a core network switch and then the failure of business continuity processes which were meant to kick-in.

RIM explained via a post on their Facebook page that:

“The messaging and browsing delays being experienced by BlackBerry users in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, India, Brazil, Chile and Argentina were caused by a core switch failure within RIM’s infrastructure. Although the system is designed to failover to a back-up switch, the failover did not function as previously tested. As a result, a large backlog of data was generated, and we are now working to clear that backlog and restore normal service as quickly as possible. We apologize for any inconvenience, and we will continue to keep you informed.”

With this in mind, it is raises important issues for business continuity managers and professionals across all sectors and industries that need to be considered.

  • Business continuity plans need to take into account the failure of failover systems in the event that they do not perform as expected and include a workable strategy on how to move forward.
  • Disaster recovery solutions need to have adequate and robust resiliency plans that include key communication tools and infrastructure.

Looking to revisit your disaster recovery solution or business continuity plan (BCP)?  Sentronex provide bespoke business continuity and disaster recovery solutions for financial institutions – get in touch with one of our Sales consultants today to discuss your requirements.

 

‘Occupy the LSE’ Protest

With planned protests to take place around Paternoster Square this weekend, we are notifying our clients that they may experience some disruption.  We don’t envisage that this will drag over until Monday, but should there be any issues please do inform as soon as possible.

Below an article below on the “Occupy the London Stock Exchange” protest should you require further information.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-10-12/protesters-to-occupy-london-stock-exchange.html