The risk posed by power outages to the economy is significant, particularly because of the reliance on information and communications systems to enable business.
This is according to Richard Lehnerdt, account executive at Business Connexion's KwaZulu-Natal Regional Office.
"Immediate access to information is a vital part of keeping a business competitive. Companies depend on critical applications and information to manage daily operations, interact with partners and suppliers, track competition and serve customers. Risk management should focus on the protection of these vital business processes."
Computers, communication networks and other modern electronic devices need a steady flow of power to continue to operate. If the source voltage drops significantly or drops out completely, even if it is for a fraction of a second, these devices could fail. To try to protect themselves, many companies are installing generators to provide backup power supply.
However, Lehnerdt argues that this does not necessarily provide adequate protection because of the delay in start-up time involved. In addition, hard-drives storing data are not designed to stop spinning abruptly - most computers have a shut down procedure to ensure this is done in a controlled manner.
He says: "Load-shedding is going to affect computer hard-drives if it's not managed properly."
One example is Sothebey's Realty in Umhlanga. Owner, Billy Cambell, says: "We didn't think that power cuts could affect us, as our computers are not mission-critical to the day-to-day operation of our business, but rather a source of market intelligence and history. But, our server, with over 15 years of data on it, recently failed as a result of multiple power outages."
From a planning perspective, most businesses are reluctant to spend money buying new equipment to protect their data, as the extent of the power problems remains unknown. This is why Lehnerdt recommends that companies consider outsourcing their ICT environments to service providers with state-of-the-art data centres as an alternative.
"This allows business owners to drastically reduce the risk of data loss without needing to buy, implement, maintain and manage new equipment," says Lehnerdt, who points out that a number of the company's clients have felt the benefits.
CIO of the McCarthy Limited Group, Marthinus Strydom, agrees. "Load-shedding is not just about power outages, but also about the loss of productivity and the potential loss of data due to equipment failures caused by spikes in the output. By outsourcing to Business Connexion we have been able to reduce these risks."
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