How ready is your business?

The coronavirus outbreak is having a growing impact on the global economy. It’s vital that every organisation has a business continuity plan in place and that this plan is reviewed on a regular basis. While it’s a topic of particular relevance today, this planning isn’t just for dealing with the current COVID-19 situation. These are best practice plans to protect your business in the long run.

COVID-19, or coronavirus, was declared a Public Health Emergency in January 2020 by the World Health Organisation (WHO). To date, there has been no vaccination discovered. As coronavirus has the potential to be fatal, certain precautions must be put into place globally to try to contain its spread. It is imperative that employers take necessary precautions to help stop the spread of this virus.

The Irish Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation have provided a checklist of preparatory actions – access that document here.

You may wish to advise your at-risk employees to self-quarantine, or you may reach a point where you have to close your offices. In order to achieve this, you would need to put alternative arrangements in place, such as enabling your staff to work from home, or another remote location, while considering the relevant legal and GDPR obligations.

Another important thing to have in your business continuity plan is an internal open chain of communication. Being able to get in touch with your employees, not only through online systems but also by text message or by phone call, is extremely important.

Several key players in the collaborative communications space, e.g. Cisco, Microsoft and Google are offering free online meeting tools in response to this outbreak.

Do your staff currently have access to the following:

  • Laptops, monitors, keyboards, printers, docking stations, softphones, etc.
  • Do employees require access to paper documents/files; identify and securely provision access to cloud file storage where shared access to documents is required – using multi-factor authentication and encryption is imperative.
  • Confirm remote access capabilities. Is your VPN equipment in place and do the internet service lines have enough capacity? Do your employees have access to and understand how to use these technologies?
  • Have you tested employees’ ability to work remotely?
  • A VoIP system will ensure that your employees can continue to answer the phones.

Our commitment to ensuring your business remains available and operational during these unprecedented times is an absolute priority. An Irish company with operations in two continents, Unitec are uniquely positioned to continue to assist our clients in these uncertain  times.  service and support

In order to ascertain your unique business requirements, a review should be conducted.

If you require any assistance in understanding how ready your business is, or what options are available to you, get in touch today by contacting us at info@unitec.ie or calling us at 0818 222 132. Existing customers should get in touch with their Unitec Account Manager as soon as possible or send a message to accountmanager@unitec.ie.