The plan did say the call-center staff should use paper forms until the computers came online, but guess what? No copies of the forms had been made. Phones were a problem, too, because the warehouse wasn't properly trunked to support a call center, and we didn't have the call-center phone-system features we required at that site.
Just as we were scrambling to solve these problems, we heard from the third-party contractor that maintains the UPS and generator. The transfer switch had been replaced. Thank goodness, because it was clear that our contingencies weren't meeting our needs.
Hard Lessons
We learned a lot from our self-inflicted disaster. First, make sure your backup facilities have the required resources. Second, be sure backup for key groups or applications, such as call centers, is fully and specifically tested. We had been doing annual tests prior to the outage, but they didn't go deep enough. Third, consider calling in an expert. At ACME, we're bringing in a disaster-recovery planning consultancy to help us conduct a business-impact analysis and thorough annual testing.
Some 43 percent of U.S. companies never reopen after a disaster, according to statistics from the National Fire Protection Agency. Another 29 percent close within three years. ACME survived its self-imposed calamity, but we aren't willing to risk it happening again.
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