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Be alert and don't panic to Flu, says Gartner

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CIOL Bureau
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MUMBAI, INDIA: Enterprises should not overact to the outbreak for the anticipated spread of AH1N1 influenza (swine flu), They should take this event as a wake-up call and review and test their pandemic response plans, according to Gartner, Inc.

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“Business continuity management (BCM) and disaster recovery (DR) professionals and other stakeholders should use the widespread concern over the swine flu as an opportunity to prevent their enterprises from becoming victims of uncertainty, panic, misinformation and a lack of preparedness to increase enterprise awareness of the potential business impact of a widespread outbreak of disease,” said Richard De Lotto, principal research analyst at Gartner.

“Enterprises in all regions and across all industries should complete their review of their BCM/DR pandemic response plans and fill in any missing elements by the end of this week,” said Roberta Witty, research vice president at Gartner.

“Starting today IT managers should meet with senior executives, line-of-business managers and other high-level decision-makers to answer any questions, should be made aware of the seriousness of this pandemic preparation, to that will ensure a broad, ongoing commitment to this effort. IT managers should plan, test, and add capacity to ensure the sustainability of what is likely to be a predominantly work-at-home environment.”

Gartner analysts said a true pandemic could cause absenteeism rates of 40 per cent or higher for enterprises and their business partners and suppliers, resulting in severe operational disruptions. For this reason, enterprises must recognize the urgent need to develop and implement pandemic response planning.