Are You Prepared?
The last several blogs have been about IT security items. Another component of IT is the need for business continuity. With all the recent news about illness, I thought it would be a great time to spread the word about preparedness planning. This blog will focus upon preparing for wide spread illness, but business continuity plans can also deal with other things like fire, theft, flood or even a zombie attack, if you so choose.
Obviously in the news lately is the Corona Virus (COVID-19). The Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) has issued some training and has information on their website listed below, including a webinar for businesses.
https://idph.iowa.gov/Emerging-Health-Issues/Novel-Coronavirus
Based upon the webinar, they are noting the risk in this region is relatively low, but one of their recommendations is to ensure all businesses and public entities in Iowa have a preparedness plan. They also recommend entities ensure their partners have a plan too. NGT does have a preparedness plan.
In addition the IDPH has also noted that in governmental plans “social distancing” might be called upon by local, state or federal officials.
What is Social Distancing?
Social distancing is a term applied to certain non-pharmaceutical infection control actions taken by public health officials to stop or slow down the spread of a highly contagious disease. The objective of social distancing is to reduce the probability of contact between persons carrying an infection, and others who are not infected, so as to minimize disease transmission, morbidity and ultimately, mortality.
Basically it states that we don’t congregate together and to work remotely/separated when possible. If social distancing is called for, IT systems are one of the key ways to facilitate this. Many organizations have IT systems to allow for remote and/or distributed work, but ensuring these systems are robust enough to provide access to what might be a larger than normal contingent of remote workers is important.
This is a question you might ask of your IT department to understand if your systems will facilitate large number of remote access workers. If NGT is your IT department please reach out to your team, we are glad to help. If NGT is not your IT department and have questions please feel free to reach out, we are glad to steer you in the right direction.
How do I get help?
If you’re not sure, please feel free to reach out to NGT by going to http://www.ngthelp.com to call, email or chat with our help desk staff!