IT Outsourcing - A Risk to Business Continuity?
By Tom Farrar
On September 15 2008, top US investment bank Lehman Brothers filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Founded in 1850, in 2007 Lehman Brothers achieved record net revenues, net income and earnings per common share for the fourth consecutive year. In less than one year Lehman Brothers saw their once record net revenue plunge to $6 billion in the red. The question isn’t how does a mammoth organisation such as Lehman Brothers find themselves in this position but, in the current climate where seemingly financially stable firms are filing for bankruptcy, who is your business safe with?
Many businesses outsource (their IT) for various reasons; cost savings, operational expertise, capacity management to name a few. Outsourcing firms also often offer other services, such as business continuity planning and disaster recovery plans. Replication between multiple data centres, redundant links, work space relocation, ISO 27001 and BS 7799 are all good, but what happens when the company providing that service ceases to trade?
Read the rest of this entry »