Corporate IT Centers Preparing for the Threat of a Flu Pandemic
IT managers are taking the threat of a flu pandemic very seriously. Such a pandemic is expected to knock out 20% of a company's workforce so defenses such as telecommuting and at-work quarantine lock-downs are being considered.
The flu doesn't have to kill the workforce in order to have an impact on a country's economy. It merely has to make them stay home from work. Fortunately for many involved in management and information jobs, that impact can be minimized by providing infected employees with the ability to work from home via telecommuting technology. But there's another advantage as well: it allows healthy employees who are fearful of going to a possibly infected work environment to continue working as well. Key employees could also be protected by telecommuting during the worst phases of the epidemic in the local area. Many IT departments are now strengthening their company's infracture so they can handle a sudden expansion in telecommuting demand.
Ironically, the use of this modern technology may require vital IT personnel to quarantine themselves in the data center so they can ensure the system's uptime. They would have to be locked in with the computers and communications gear along with large caches of food and water for the duration of the outbreak.