Businesses, like SA citizens, need agility to weather the storms of our times
I AM thinking about the events in the past year and most recently those that have impacted the South African business environment and society in general. They show that a business's continuity plans must be agile to meet the changing economic climate.
Most companies were engulfed by the floods we saw in KwaZuluNatal and parts of the Eastern Cape, thus ceasing business operations. These events are coming against the backdrops of the Covid-19 pandemic and resultant lockdowns. These have forced businesses to close.
In essence, are our businesses ready to remain operational after a disaster has occurred?
This question is becoming vital as we consider the events that have recently impacted South Africa at a national or business level.
Business must be prepared, and the government in all spheres should bolster its efforts to ensure that it can weather the storms.
Obviously, to prepare for the unfortunate times or moments like these, we need to plan.
We need to establish risk management processes and procedures to mitigate the risk of disruptions in the organisation's critical services to re-establish its business-critical activities as quickly as possible.
Thus, it is further acknowledged that these events will be a norm, especially considering climate change impacts.
This, therefore, raises the question if your business can weather the storms as they happen.
It is time for companies to invest in their business continuity strategies and infrastructure that will enable them to quickly maintain their mission-critical activities.
We have seen some positives that have helped the businesses move out to the new normal.
The ability of companies to really adapt to remote working has helped most companies in these challenging times, and that was possible through necessary infrastructure investment.
So, you cannot win in these difficult times without the required investment.
What we have seen is an indication that all of us need to remain agile in how we react to the new realities of our environment. NYANISO QWESHA | Wynberg