Chennai lesson: industry needs back-up for back-up

If there was one lesson that last December’s rains taught industry in Tamil Nadu, it was to have a back-up plan for a back-up plan.

Take the case of the IT industry, which is one of the largest employers in Chennai. Most companies serve clients in the US and other parts of the world and hence work to a different time zone. They cannot afford disruption in work. But, following the rains in December 2015, most of them had to shut down for at least a few days because their employees could not reach office, the power supply was disrupted, and the communication network was down.

According to RK Dhanabalan, Vice-President, Human Resources, Maveric Systems, despite having a Business Continuity Plan (BCP), “We could not have imagined a situation where our main offshore delivery centre and corporate headquarters were simultaneously down for many days. Such learning reinforced need for a strong multi-city BCP.”

Much like the fire drill that happens every month or quarter, a BCP drill to enable employees quickly evacuate to different locations and begin work without delay is essential, he said.

Offices and guest houses are being equipped with sleeping kits, dry rations and essentials to act as safe houses.

Traditional DRBC (Disaster Recovery & Business Continuity) models are more aligned towards providing continuity in terms of hardware infrastructure, networks and connectivity. These fail when human resources cannot reach the alternative sites. Sunil JNV, Senior Vice President – Delivery, Aspire Systems, said the key is to evolve a model where both infrastructure and human resources can be made available at an alternative location in a short duration. Distributed teams across multiple locales are key to having an effective DRBC plan, he said.

According to Ananth Subramanian, CEO and Managing Director, Hitachi Solutions India and Asia Pacific, the company is practising multi-site project staffing to enable quick disaster recovery when needed. Hitachi Solutions is housed in the DLF IT Park, which was one of the worst affected office spaces. Redundancy in mobile internet connectivity in all disaster prone sites in India, tie-ups with hospitals for preventive medical check-up and vaccinations in such scenarios across all locations in India are being arranged.

K Purushothaman, Regional Director, Tamil Nadu & Kerala, Nasscom, says even nine months after the floods, the storm water management system has not improved along the IT corridor, where nearly three lakh people work for the industry.

“We will be happy if the State government calls an early meeting with stakeholders and the industry to discuss challenges that can be expected during the rain,” he said. “We don’t want a repeat of last year.”

IT companies are talking among themselves to ensure there is a proper system in place to pump out water, keep the sewage lines clean, and ensure there is enough diesel to see them through power outages, Purushothaman said.

The IT industry got a pat on the back for its efficient handling of last year’s disaster, and more importantly ensuring customers across the world were unaffected through a well-structured BCP.

Nagaraj Mylandla, Founder and Managing Director, Financial Software & System, said, “We have to be prepared for the worst every monsoon season. Also every business has to evaluate and include multiple parameters in the disaster recovery plan to account for extreme natural calamities.”

To contend with the possible breakdown of communication systems, a vital cog in business continuity, both government agencies and telecom providers should put in place a contingency plan, Mylandla said.

Power supply is another challenge, he added. The government should ensure that power stations, especially the ones set up at IT and industrial parks, are equipped to handle natural calamities, said Mylandla.

Chennai is also home to a number of automobile manufacturers, including MNCs such as Ford, Hyundai, BMW, Renault-Nissan, Daimler, as also domestic companies such as truck-maker Ashok Leyland and two-wheeler manufacturer Royal Enfield.

Most of these plants have come up within the last two decades and have all incorporated adequate storm-water drains and similar facilities that helped prevent major flooding within their premises. Since most of them are big brands and major exporters, the factories have been built to global standards with all precautionary measures.

Many of them have taken up preparedness measures. Ashok Leyland formed a database of all its employees, and Whatsapp groups too, so that every functional head will be in a position to reach out to team members. The company has also formed alternative methods of cluster-based communication so that when networks fail, internal team leads can reach out to each member, said P Harihar, Senior Vice President - Manufacturing and Project Planning, Ashok Leyland.

The company has also de-centralised the production process to ensure daily production volumes. The supply chain has been similarly sensitised to respond to emergency situations. It has taken measures to keep assembly lines from getting submerged, Harihar said.

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