A law firm with offices in London and the West Country recently experienced a power blackout at 4pm as a result of a failure at an electrical sub-station. At that very time, the firm was on the brink of closing a film business deal worth close to £20m. Fortunately, the firm was able to implement its contingency plans, work around the blackout and close the deal, even though it was nearly two days before power was restored.
This real-life example demonstrates that disasters can and do happen at the most inconvenient moments. Besides power cuts, there are risks from floods, fraud, hacking, IT failures and terrorist bombs, to name but a few. The impact of such dangers can potentially result in large financial, human and property losses. And with today’s complex business environment, both the dangers and impacts are growing daily.
