The CDC tells us that H1N1 is accelerating in the general populace in the continental US and that we have an exciting period of “regular” flu activity coming in early 2010.

Check out some interesting tools from the CDC for Influenza Community modeling here: (http://www.cdc.gov/flu/tools/communityflu/).

We are increasingly hearing from clients that they are rethinking their approach to business continuity issues as H1N1  and other factors stress already thinly deployed staff. Anecdotal feedback from our clients over the last several weeks indicates that they are considering these high priority issues:

  1. How they can limit the spread of H1N1 through more vigorous monitoring of sniffling staff in the workplace. The “stay home you’re not doing us a favor by coming to work sick” message seems to be getting lots of traction
  2. In the event of widespread absences, do you shift ongoing IT production work to other staff or wait it out. Do the increased risks and cost outweigh the benefits if the interruption is short term (7-10 days)?
  3. Are existing Business Continuity Plans sufficient to handle ongoing, rolling or recurring interruptions? Most BCPs are focused on dealing with one-time events, either geographically or in specific business units. For the first time, many of our clients are addressing the possibility that interruptions could be rolling across multiple business units over extended periods.
  4. How do you quantify preparedness costs with traditional IT ROI models (supplemental contractor or capacity costs if needed). The consensus here seems to be a focus on people and lost productivity costs.

Hopefully you’re feeling great and not sniffling and coughing. If you are, go home! Either way, if you're looking for advice and guidance for tuning or otherwise improving your business continuity plans, please get in touch with my colleague Ed Coram.