In a just-released report, Webtorials Editorial/Analyst Division reports that most businesses are woefully unprepared for dealing with the business impact of a medical epidemic or pandemic. The April 2009 H1N1 influenza outbreak should serve as a much-needed wakeup call concerning the need for epidemics and pandemics to be an integral part of the Business Continuity plan.

Last week, as the H1N1 flu outbreak was unfolding worldwide, we conducted a survey to determine both the extent to which organizations have a plan in place to address Business Continuity during a severe medical emergency and, if such a plan exists, the extent to which key business functions would survive.

The key findings showed that:

- The Business Continuity plans for over half of the respondents address a medical epidemic/pandemic either minimally (36%) or not at all (23%).

- The current economic conditions have resulted in either "some decrease" or a "significant decrease" in the ability to plan/implement/support Business continuity in the event of an epidemic/pandemic.

- The current H1N1 outbreak will have a moderate or strong impact on prompting companies to update/review their business continuity plans for more than 1/3 of the companies, and will have a slight impact on an additional 39%.

Unfortunately, these findings are not really surprising. Business Continuity and disaster recovery are areas that are easily overlooked until the calamity strikes, and by then it’s too late. Further, the capabilities for teleworking have not been implemented to their fullest extent. This could become especially important, for instance, in a situation where an office is shut down due to possible infections – or where schools are shut down and parents need to telecommute. (This is an issue we addressed back in February.)

While we have every hope that the most serious impact of H1N1 is simply as a wake-up call, sooner or later these plans will indeed be needed.

To listen to the Webcast and download the slides concerning this report, please click here.

Also, the Webtorials Editorial/Analyst Division is in the midst of collecting more extensive data on Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery on a broader scope. To participate in this survey, please click here.

Steve Taylor is president of Distributed Networking Associates and publisher/editor-in-chief of Webtorials. Jim Metzler is vice president of Ashton, Metzler & Associates.